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Hernandez vs Cunningham Rematch Will Have Vacant Ring Title on the Line

Steve Cunningham will get another crack at both the IBF title and the Ring Magazine championship on February 4. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Steve Cunningham will get another crack at both the IBF title and the Ring Magazine championship on February 4. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Bongarts/Getty Images
Scott Christ is the managing editor of Bad Left Hook and has been covering boxing for SB Nation since 2006.

The vacant Ring Magazine cruiserweight championship will be on the line on February 4 in Germany, when Yoan Pablo Hernandez defends the IBF belt against Steve Cunningham in a rematch.

The decision comes down because Marco Huck has been moved out of the Ring's rankings with his coming move to the heavyweight division to challenge Alexander Povetkin on February 25. Huck was ranked No. 1, with Hernandez and Cunningham at Nos. 2 and 3. Ring has dropped Huck, which moves everyone else up.

Hernandez (25-1, 13 KO) and Cunningham (24-3, 12 KO) fought to a controversial and highly unsatisfying technical decision last October 1, with the fight stopped due to a cut that should not have stopped the bout, and a points win being given to Hernandez, who had dropped Cunningham in the opening round.

But it was Cunningham coming on strong when the fight was stopped, and Hernandez appeared to be badly fading. After the fight, Cunningham remarked that he'd "been had," and said he felt 'set up."

This will be the second time Cunningham has fought for the vacant real world championship, as he lost to Tomasz Adamek in an extremely memorable slugfest back in December 2008.

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