Huck will fight Israeli challenger Nakash

Marco Huck will defend his WBO cruiserweight title against unbeaten Ran Nakash on April 2 at Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Germany, Sauerland Promotions confirmed Thursday.

Nakesh (25-0, 18 knockouts), of Israel, replaces Giacobbe Fragomeni, who pulled out as Huck's opponent after suffering a cut during sparring.

"I don't care about the late change," said Huck (31-1, 23 knockouts. "It will not exactly be a walk in the park, but as the world champion, I will find a way to deal with it. I will be prepared for Nakash, and I will defeat him just like I defeat anybody who wants to take the belt away from me."

Huck is a 26-year-old Serbian who now lives and trains in Germany. The Nakash fight will be his sixth defense of the cruiserweight belt he won in 2009 with a unanimous decision over Victor Emilio Ramirez. He won four times during a busy 2010, beating Adam Richards (23-2), Brian Minto (34-3), Matt Godfrey (20-1) and Denis Lebedev (21-0). 

Nakash, 32, will be making an enormous leap in the class of his opposition, fighting his first-ever big-name opponent. His most-recent conquest came against Victor Barragan (11-5) in Philadelphia last July.

<i>Dennis Taylor is editor/publisher of www.ringsideboxingshow.com and co-host of The Ringside Boxing Show</i>