Huck (left) squeeked past Lebedev (right)

Marco “Kapt’n” Huck 31-1 (23) retained his WBO cruiserweight title for the fifth time after winning a split decision over Denis Lebedev 21-1 (16) in a fight that was very tough to score.

The fight was an absorbing affair but did not have the excitement that I was expecting from these two. For the majority of the bout Lebedev was more active although Huck was quite accurate in his sporadic attacks and the crowd roared every time Huck landed.

Huck seemed to be on a reconnaissance mission in the opener as he covered up tightly while Lebedev tried to force Huck into the corners. Huck did land a couple of shots that snapped Lebedev’s head back but I felt Lebedev shaded it.

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Alexander Povetkin

Alexander “Sasha” Povetkin 21-0 (15) tonight won again to keep himself near the top of the World heavyweight rankings but did not impress when outpointing Nicolai Firtha 19-8-1 (8) in Berlin.

Povetkin was offered a World title shot but trainer Teddy Atlas has decided to keep Povetkin away from the Klitschko’s for now and is putting Povetkin in with very average opponents in the hope of honing Povetkin’s skills.

However if anything Povetkin seems to be slightly regressing. When he turned professional, Povetkin was an attritional pressure fighter. Yes he got hit a bit too much but he beat Eddie Chambers, Larry Donald and Chris Byrd. Now he seems to be trying to box more and although his head movement has improved, he seems to be too static to try and become the boxer that Atlas seemingly wants him to become.

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Gennady Golovkin- Potential superstar?

Gennady Golovkin 20-0 (17) today won the WBA middleweight title with a third round stoppage over the Columbian Nilson Julio Tapia 14-3-1 (10) in Golovkins home country of Kazakhstan.

Golovkin won the interim WBA title back in August with a one round knockout of Milton Nunez but todays fight was for the full title.

Although this is not earth shattering news, Golovkin could be one to watch. Tapia in his last fight shut out Jorge Heiland who I thought was unlucky not to get the decision against interim WBC middleweight champion Sebastian Zbik earlier this year so was in good form but not good enough to dethrone Golovkin.

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David Haye in his last year as a professional boxer?

WBA heavyweight champion David Haye 25-1 (23) is convinced that he will fight Wladimir Klitschko 55-3 (49) and that it will happen soon.

The big punching, fast talking Brit today told Sky Sports that he was willing and able to fight the younger of the Ukranian brothers:

“From our side, we are raring to go. I am positive the fight will happen. As I have said before. I will retire next year, so this fight has to happen. It is a fight the World wants. It is the only fight the Klitschko’s can have to cement their legacy.” said Haye.

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IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud

Until August of this year, many people said that Tavoris Cloud 21-0 (18) had yet to be tested despite being the IBF light heavyweight champion and beating the veterans Julio Cesar Gonzalez and Clinton Woods.

However when he outpointed Glen Johnson in his last fight, Cloud proved he can fight and could possibly be the best light heavyweight in the World. Tomorrow night in Miami, he defends his title for the second time against the Columbian Fulgencio Zuniga 24-4-1 (21) in what looks like a routine defence.

Zuniga is like many Columbians in that he can punch very hard but is crude. He started off his career down at middleweight but a fourth round stoppage loss to Lucian Bute in an IBF super middleweight challenge does not bode well for his chin against a big puncher like Cloud at light heavyweight.

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John Simpson 22-7 (9) from Greenock, Scotland tonight turned in probably a career best performance to dethrone British featherweight champion Martin Lindsay 17-1 (6) in Lindsay’s home town of Belfast.

The fight was an excellent affair full of good action from both fighters but I felt that the judges got it about right, which was nice for Simpson who has been on the short end of several close decisions in the past.

The defending champion Lindsay seemed to me to get off to the better start as he was more accurate, although as early as the first round Simpson had laid down his aggressive strategy. Lindsay’s right eye started to swell from the second and this gradually got worse as the fight progressed despite some sterling efforts from his corner.

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Paul Edwards- The new British flyweight champion- Photo credit- Sporting Life

Paul Edwards 8-0 (2) tonight won the British flyweight championship with a first round cut  stoppage over Shinny Bayaar 15-5-2 (4).

However this was mainly due to an antiquated ruling from the British boxing board of control. Halfway through the first round, there was a nasty clash of heads which left Bayaar with a nasty tear across his forehead. After another thirty seconds of action, the referee called over the doctor who called a halt to the action.

In British boxing rules, even though the cut was caused by a clash of heads, the title still changes hands. In America and other countries, if a cut caused by a clash of heads happens within the first four rounds, the result is a technical draw.

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Boxing great Erik Morales

Erik Morales 50-6 (35) is lining up a new opponent for his WBC silver light welterweight bout scheduled for Saturday night.

His original opponent Jorge Barrios 50-4-1 (35)  has seemingly been refused permission to travel from his native Argentina.  Barrios was involved in a huge car crash  in Janaury 2010 in which a pregnant woman lost her life and although Barrios was charged, he was not found guilty and was allowed to resume his career.

However it now appears that the family of the deceased woman are planning to appeal the ruling and for this reason a judge has refused Barrios permission to travel for the fight.

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Due mainly to the darts World championship, Sky Sports bring their boxing show forwards to Wednesday this week and the last UK sky live show of 2010 is a double header with two British titles on the line and takes place at the Kings Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

All action British featherweight champion Martin Lindsay

The unbeaten Martin Lindsay 17-0 (6) defends his British featherweight title on home ground against the clever John Simpson 21-7 (9) in the main event.  Lindsay won the title in April 2009 at the Kings Hall when he stopped defending champion Paul Appleby in six rounds. He has since beaten Alfred Tetteh and Yauheni Kruhlik in non title bouts and defended the British title by widely outpointing Jamie Arthur.

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Nathan Cleverly should have used the long jab more often tonight

Nathan Cleverly 21-0 (10) won a unanimous decision and the interim WBO light heavyweight title but did not impress against awkward Frenchman Nadjib Mohammedi 23-2  (12).

Mohammedi was a late substitute and had a slippery style but Cleverly could have and should have made the tactical adjustments needed to make the fight easier for himself.

The fight started with both fighters looking cagey and looking for openings. Mohammedi was content to circle the ring while Cleverly tried to use his long jab while stalking his man. The next few rounds were also quiet with highlights being a neat left hook from Cleverly in the second round and unfortunately lots of holding from both men and warnings from the referee. Despite being a very dull fight, Cleverly had got himself into a handy lead.

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James DeGale looked superb tonight- Photo credit Getty images

James DeGale 9-0 (7) proved his class tonight and put in a superb display of boxing to dismantle reigning British super middleweight champion Paul Smith 29-2 (15) in nine rounds in Smith’s home city of Liverpool.

I felt DeGale was sensational and seemed a step ahead of Smith for the entire duration of the bout. Despite Smith being competitive in every round, by the fights end I had only given him a share of the third.

There was an electric  atmosphere with the crowd being very hostile to the Olympic Gold medallist but DeGale showed early that he was up for the battle after he was warned for use of the elbow after only fifteen seconds. Smith was trying to mix up boxing on the outside with brawling on the inside but everything he tried, DeGale had an answer to.

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Matt Skelton

Former British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight champion Matt Skelton 25-6 (20) has today been sentenced to five months in prison for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Skelton was stopped three times in his Porsche between November 2006 and August 2008 for speeding and each time gave the name “Car Valet- Brian Williams”. When police made attempts to trace Brian Williams, he obviously did not exist.

Skelton is obviously well known around his home town of Bedford and so eventually the police were in no doubt of his guilt and decided to prosecute.

The judge left Skelton in no doubt that he was not happy with the crimes committed and Skelton’s attitude to them;

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Nathan Cleverly- Wales' new hope

Nathan Cleverly 20-0 (10) has his first World title fight (of sorts) tomorrow night when he fights for the vacant interim WBO light heavyweight championship against late substitute Nadjib Mohammedi 23-1 (12).

However even if Cleverly wins the bout, it could be a fair wait before he gets a full shot as WBO full champion Juergen Braehmer has signed up for a unification bout with WBA champion Beibut Shumenov. On the positive side of things, Braehmer has been sentenced to 16 months in prison so Cleverly will be champion if Braehmer’s appeal fails.

Frank Warren deserves a bit of credit for getting a decent looking opponent in at such short notice after the original opponent withdrew late on. Mohammedi has a decent record but not at a great level. He stopped the reasonable Tomas Adamek (not the famous one!) two fights ago and won the minor EU European title at the same time.

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Champion Paul Smith and challenger James DeGale- Photo Credit: Action Images / Andrew Couldridge

Two fighters who fight in totally different styles and are completely different characters collide on Frank Warren’s big bill in Liverpool on Saturday when Paul “Smigga” Smith 29-1 (15) makes the second  defence of his British super middleweight title against Beijing Olympic gold medallist James “Chunky” DeGale 8-0 (6).

Smith’s career has been a triumph of hard work and determination. Normally a come forward fighter but with underrated boxing skills, his career looked stagnant until a superb last 18 months. Smith entered the Contender series in 2007 but after beating the useful David Banks he had to withdraw.

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Breaking news tonight is that the IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko 55-3 (49) has withdrawn from his defence against the Brit Dereck Chisora 14-0 (9) on Saturday night.

Klitschko has reportedly injured his back and the fight has been cancelled.

Also according to the Daily Mail, Klitschko who will be out injured for six weeks wants to fight WBA champion David Haye next and Haye’s manager Adam Booth will fly into Las Vegas on Saturday to meet with Golden Boy Promotions who have been alerted by team Klitschko that he wants the brash Brit next.

Golden Boy Promotions are in Las Vegas promoting the Khan-Marcos Maidana fight this weekend. This could be good news for Haye as it seemed that he would likely face the iron chinned Vitali first. With Wladimir having been stopped three times in the past, a battle between two big punchers with suspect chins will not be a hard sell to the boxing public.

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