Krzysztof Glowacki lay flat on his back early in the sixth round Friday night, his gloves briefly squeezing both sides of his head after he was flattened by Marco Huck’s equilibrium-stealing left hook to the temple. At that moment, not even the large contingent of Polish fans in attendance at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, would’ve wagered on their countryman making it to his feet before the 10 count.
Krzysztof Glowacki puts the finishing touches on his knockout of Marco Huck during their 200-pound title fight in Newark, New Jersey, on Friday night. (Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions)
Somehow, though, Glowacki did rise from the canvas, then wobbled against the ropes before convincing referee David Fields to let him continue.
It appeared like a bad decision by both parties, as the Polish southpaw proceeded to lose three of the next four rounds while dealing with two nasty gashes—one over his right eye, the other over the bridge of his nose.
Entering the 11th round, Glowacki trailed on all three judges’ scorecards—96-93, 96-93 and 95-94—and seemed destined to lose his American debut to Huck, the long-reigning 200-pound champion.
“I was tired. I knew I needed a knockout to win,” said Glowacki, 29. “My strategy was to throw body shots to force Huck to hold his hands low.”
That strategy paid off. Glowacki found The Moment with 47 seconds remaining in the 11th, clipping Huck’s chin with a vicious overhand left, then hammering a straight right to his forehead and bridge of the nose.
Huck (38-3-1, 26 KOs) crumpled to the canvas, his eyes staring up at the bottom rope. Although Huck staggered to his feet, he was quickly floored for good after Glowacki unleashed a sensational 10-punch assault, which ended with Fields stopping the fight at the 2:39 mark.
“I caught him badly and felt in both my arms that he must be hurt,” said Glowacki, who denied Huck what would’ve been a division-record 14th consecutive title defense. "I can punch strong, but sometimes I need to punch a few times to finish opponents.”
Glowacki (25-0, 16 KOs), who required eight stitches to close one of his cuts, was so disoriented that he said he doesn’t recall finishing the sixth round or fighting the seventh, a round he won on all three judges’ cards.
The stunning finish to the candidate for Fight of the Year began when Glowacki took advantage of a flaw in Huck’s defense, leading to the first knockdown in the 11th.
“Glowacki saw Huck pulling straight back with his hands down and caught him with that [overhand] left in succession with the right hand,” said former 147-pound champion and ringside analyst Shawn Porter. “Being a southpaw against an orthodox fighter, every time Glowacki threw his jab, he took a step outside of Huck’s lead foot with his own lead foot to create a better angle for his straight left.”
Glowacki’s decisive flurry began at the 29-second mark with a right to the body. The fourth and fifth blows, a left-right sequence, were similar to what led to the first knockdown.
This time, Glowacki drove Huck to a corner turnbuckle where the Serbian-born boxer absorbed five straight punches, fell to the left along the ropes and toppled halfway out of the ring as Fields finally stepped in and halted the bout.
Huck, 30, entered the ring with a 19-0-1 record (12 knockouts) against division rivals; he had been a world champion since August 29, 2009, and his 13 straight title defenses was a record he shared with England’s Johnny Nelson.
“The Prudential Center is electrified by the Polish fighter coming to the United States,” blow-by-blow announcer Scott Hanson told the Spike TV audience. “A man who was knocked down in the sixth round and came within two seconds of being knocked out comes back in the 11th round to score one of the most thrilling, spectacular, punishing knockouts you’ll ever see.”
For complete coverage of Huck vs Glowacki, visit our fight page.
