WBSS cruiserweight tournament: Usyk vs. Huck results, free live stream info, discussion

The World Boxing Super Series kicks off with the first quarterfinal matchup in the cruiserweight (200 lbs) tournament, as WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk (12-0, 10 KOs) travels to Germany to face former champ Marco Huck (40-4-1, 27 KOs). As one of the four seeded fighters in this eight-man field, Usyk was allowed to choose any unseeded opponent he wanted, and he went with Huck, who is trying to stay relevant at the top of the division after losing his title to Krzysztof Głowacki in August 2015.

Huck pushed Usyk at the final press conference, and both fans of Ukraine’s Usyk and Germany’s Huck were quite vocal during Friday’s weigh-ins. I imagine the atmosphere at the Max Schmeling Halle in Berlin will be a great one. There’s no doubt that Usyk is a huge favorite given his pedigree as an Olympic gold medalist and his high-level wins in just a handful of pro fights, but Huck will be looking to silence any doubters who believe he’s past it.

In a pleasant turn of events, especially with no TV deal in sight for American viewers, there will be a free live stream for viewers based in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Spain, and Japan. All you have to do is go to the World Boxing Super Series website, register your name and email address (note: it seems Hotmail has been an issue for some), get your automated password, and you’re all set. The stream is set for 4:30 PM ET/1:30 PM PT and the fight should start at around 5:00 PM ET/2:00 PM PT.

To get you caught up to speed on the cruiserweights, I recommend this article from Boxing Monthly.

Cruiserweight bracket

#1 Oleksandr “The Cat” Usyk (WBO champion - 12-0, 10 KO) vs Marco “Captain” Huck (40-4-1, 27 KO) - September 9th in Berlin, Germany

#3 Mairis Briedis (WBC champion - 22-0, 18 KO) vs Mike “The Rebel” Perez (22-2-1, 14 KO) - September 30th in Riga, Latvia

#2 Murat “Iron” Gassiev (IBF champion - 24-0, 17 KO) vs Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (53-3-1, 37 KO) - October 21st in Newark, New Jersey

#4 Yunier “The KO Doctor” Dorticos (WBA secondary champion - 21-0, 20 KO) vs Dmitry “The Russian Hammer” Kudryashov (21-1, 21 KO) - September 23rd in San Antonio, Texas

The winner of this tournament will make as much as $10 million in prize money, the Muhammad Ali Trophy, and some commemorative belt that the WBC likes to trot out.

Results: Oleksandr Usyk def. Marco Huck by 10th round TKO