The 32 year-old, who improved his record to 24-0 with the win, looked to be blowing hard from round six but consistently found the target with his jab and at the end of the fight, Huck looked worse for wear.
On my card, I had Huck taking the fight 116-113 as Povetkin laboured through the second half of the fight, but the judges obviously thought that the Russian did enough to keep his title with a majority verdict.
Both fighters’ threw their all into the fight in what was one of the most entertaining heavyweight contests in recent times and with scores of 114-114, 116-113 and 116-112, Povetkin made a successful second defence.
Huck, 27, has enhanced his reputation was a game performance and may now decide to stay at the higher limit as he didn’t look out of place – even though he gave away 20lbs to the champion at yesterday’s weigh-in.
A rematch between the pair would be most welcome, although former WBC champion Hasim Rahman has been assured that he will be granted a shot at Povetkin after stepping aside for Huck, who lost for only the second time in 36 bouts.
