Well, I have returned home from my time in Germany with Matt Godfrey this past weekend where we unsuccessfully challenger for Marco Huck's WBO Cruiserweight world title. I've gotta' tell you, I've traveled and won and traveled and lost and its a lot more fun coming home with a win, that's for sure. What can I say, though? We trained hard for the fight. Got a lot of sparring, did a lot of running, a lot of strength training. Watched the films and prepared as well as we could. Huck, however was the much stronger and tenacious guy. The better man won that night, that's the end result.
A lot about the way the bout unfolded surprised me. I have trained Matt Godfrey for about three years now and have known him since he was a fourteen or fifteen year old amateur. He's always been a good boxer with a lot of talent and skill. Always had a good boxing mind. Despite a loss to Rodolph Kraj in Germany in 2008 I still considered Matt at least as one of the ten best cruiserweights in the world. Wins over Shawn Hawk, Emmanuel Nwodo, Felix Cora, Michael Simms and Shaun George had given him a great amount of confidence and seasoning. Watching Huck on tape I knew he was rough and raw and aggressive and presented a problem but I also figured Matt to outbox him in what would either way amount to a close and competitive fight.
With that said, I had no idea Marco would be as strong and relentless as he was. Not that we underestimated him or anything like that, just saying that some things aren't really always obvious on videos. He's still raw and rough and aggressive but he uses those things in conjunction with a lot of strength and tenacity and determination and more ring intelligence than he is given credit for. Matt was an elusive target at times and there were several moments that I thought Godfrey boxed extremely well and even made Marco look amateurish and easy to hit. To his full credit, though, Marco stayed with his game plan and impressively used the ring and Matt's lateral movement to his advantage. He seemed to know when to push the issue, when to attack, and that's something that can't always be taught. It's an internal sense of what to do and when to do it that some people just don't have.
Marco apparently has it.
He's there to win at all costs apparently and with what he brings to the table I believe he is a serious threat to any cruiserweight in the world. On the right night I think he may be favored over anyone but Cunningham. Just a word to the wise, though. Steve's win over Marco was three full years ago. My advice to him should there be a rematch would be to keep himself very aware that this isn't the same man he faced back in 2007. But then again, Steve is more mature and seasoned now, too. In my opinion, a rematch between these two is probably the most significant fight to be made in the cruiserweight division at this time.
A nice surprise for me came at the end of the evening after many in the crowd had already left the arena. I was coming from the dressing area back out towards the ring when I saw a taller, distinguished looking guy walking back out into the arena from the opposite side of the room. I recognized him immediately and headed his way. As I was coming up on him he was looking down, signing an autograph for one of the fans who had stopped him. I interrupted him as he wrote his name.
"Hey," I said. "How about a rematch??"
The guy quickly looks up to see who would say such a thing to him and instantly he recognizes me. He breaks into a big smile and stands back up so that he can reach over and give me a warm hug hello.
It was the first time I had seen Henry Maske in person since November of 1996 in Munich when I was there sparring with him in preparation for his first fight with Virgil Hill.
One thing about boxing that I have always loved is the bond that is shared between fighters, especially two who have shared a ring at some point. I fought Henry for his IBF light heavyweight title in Leipzig back in 1996, losing a twelve round decision. Later that year I traveled to Munich where I served as the chief sparring partner for his unification fight with Virgil Hill. To be completely honest, we didn't really even speak to each other that much for the entire three weeks I was in camp with him. He was focused on his fight and I was off doing my own thing when I wasn't actually in the gym with him for two hours a day.
When I left him on that last day of camp back in 1996 we departed with what amounted to a pleasant, if not even remotely emotional, farewell.
Seeing him this past Saturday night, though, was just like seeing an old high school classmate or an old neighbor from childhood who had moved away many years earlier. The very first thing he said to me was, "They just told me only thirty minutes ago that you were here."
It sounded to me like he was trying to let me know that he was hoping to see me and was happy that I had found him. The vibe between us was strong, just like it is when I see anyone else from years gone by that I shared the ring with. Again, it's one of the things I love about this boxing game of ours.
And when I left him this time, as opposed to our going our separate ways back in 1996, it definitely had the feel more of two old friends saying good-bye.
So I'm happy to report that even if I once again didn't leave Germany with a world championship I am at least happy enough that I left with what I consider a renewed friendship with the former champ.
