In an early contender for shock of the year Robert Stieglitz (44-3, 25) stopped the teak tough Arthur Abraham (36-4, 28) and regained the WBO Super Middleweight title whilst also getting revenge over the man who beat him last year.
Stieglitz set off for the opening round like a man possessed and was unrelenting in his offensive work which forced Abraham to cover up from the opening bell. Although this was technically round 1 it appeared from the off to be round 13 and a continuation of their previous battle. where Abraham looked for counters, this time however Stieglitz wasn't allowing him the space or time to fire counters back.
The fast start from Stieglitz continued in to the second round and this forced Abraham to fire back which saw both men trading for a short burst of time as Abraham was force to fight back. It seemed as if Stieglitz was wanting to make a point to Abraham and that's exactly what he did as he just kept coming. It was from the relentless shots that Abraham seemed seriously hurt late in the round as his left eye swelled up into an ugly mess.
In round 3 we saw the pace of the fight drop somewhat. Stieglitz was still the fighter pressing the action but Abraham was starting to create some space and distance though was unfortunately not landing anything of note on the challenger. In fact what Abraham did land was the cause of a point deduction for rabbit punches as Stieglitz moved to a shocking 4 point lead after just 3 rounds.
After the third round Abraham's trainer Ulli Wegner refused to leave the ring and retired his fighter in the corner at the start of the 4th as Stieglitz shocked the boxing world and became the first man to stop Abraham.
It seems likely that Abraham will be out for quite some time due to the injury so whilst a rubber match is possible it's likely that Stieglitz will be looking for a new dance partner next time out. There is a strong possibility of it being British fighter George Groves.
Showing posts with label Abraham v Stieglitz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abraham v Stieglitz. Show all posts
Saturday, 23 March 2013
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Arthur Abraham v Robert Stieglitz
The O2 World in Berlin was the host of the major bout of the weekend as hard punching, former IBF Middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (35-3, 27) claimed the WBO Super Middleweight title from the much maligned Robert Stieglitz (42-3, 23) in a thoroughly engaging bout that ebbed and flowed wonderfully.
Stieglitz started brightly and whilst he probably gave away the opening he grew in confidence over the following few rounds often forcing Abraham onto the back foot an unleashing eye catching flurries as he sought to bank the early rounds. Abraham, for his part was blocking many of Stieglitz's shots behind his shell like guard whilst looking for chances to unleash his own, much heavier, artillery. Despite not being anywhere near as busy Abraham was landing the much cleaner shots, often piercing right through Stieglitz's guard.
Whilst I had Stieglitz in a slight lead after 4 rounds, Abraham showed his class in round 5 really dominating the defending champion as he marked up his face and appeared to shake him with a really nasty 2 handed salvo that showed just how good Abraham can be when he lets his hands go. Abraham then continued his charge as he took control of the middle rounds, stalking the champion, who was beginning to show signs of tiring. Stieglitz was really starting to show the scars of a battle after rounds 6 and 7 with his face becoming seriously reddened by the thunderous shots of Abraham which were starting to find their target almost at will.
Just as it appeared that Abraham was going to go in for the kill Stieglitz found his second wind, bit down on his gum shield and fought back, like a champion. Stieglitz wasn't going to give up his title with out a fight and despite having both his nose and right eye bleeding noticeably he fought on pressing the action and forcing the fight in the later rounds. A tired looking Abraham was forced on to the back foot time and time as Stieglitz worked incredibly hard trying to cling to his title. Despite looking beaten up Stieglitz just kept coming, attack after attack as he tried so hard to keep his title against a man who just couldn't miss him when he threw.
In the final round we saw Abraham throwing his arms in the air, dancing away in early celebration. It appeared a very risky strategy in a fight that looked incredibly close and could well have seen Stieglitz in the lead going into the 12th and final round. Luckily for Abraham however the judges had him in a comfortable lead with the Armenian born German based fighter taking a unanimous decision with scores of 116-112 (twice) and 115-113. In my eyes, the 116-112 scores were too wide as I fail to see 8 rounds you could have awarded to Abraham. A score of 115-113 either way would have been acceptable though as it was a very closely fought bout. Abraham however will not be a dominant champion at Super Middleweight, his power doesn't have the effect it used to have at Middleweight and Stieglitz, a supposedly "chinny" fighter stood up to a number of solid and clear Abraham right hands.
Now a 2-weight world champion Abraham has put his name in to the history books joining a long list of other 2-weight champions however his reign at 168 is likely to be limited to say the least.
Stieglitz started brightly and whilst he probably gave away the opening he grew in confidence over the following few rounds often forcing Abraham onto the back foot an unleashing eye catching flurries as he sought to bank the early rounds. Abraham, for his part was blocking many of Stieglitz's shots behind his shell like guard whilst looking for chances to unleash his own, much heavier, artillery. Despite not being anywhere near as busy Abraham was landing the much cleaner shots, often piercing right through Stieglitz's guard.
Whilst I had Stieglitz in a slight lead after 4 rounds, Abraham showed his class in round 5 really dominating the defending champion as he marked up his face and appeared to shake him with a really nasty 2 handed salvo that showed just how good Abraham can be when he lets his hands go. Abraham then continued his charge as he took control of the middle rounds, stalking the champion, who was beginning to show signs of tiring. Stieglitz was really starting to show the scars of a battle after rounds 6 and 7 with his face becoming seriously reddened by the thunderous shots of Abraham which were starting to find their target almost at will.
Just as it appeared that Abraham was going to go in for the kill Stieglitz found his second wind, bit down on his gum shield and fought back, like a champion. Stieglitz wasn't going to give up his title with out a fight and despite having both his nose and right eye bleeding noticeably he fought on pressing the action and forcing the fight in the later rounds. A tired looking Abraham was forced on to the back foot time and time as Stieglitz worked incredibly hard trying to cling to his title. Despite looking beaten up Stieglitz just kept coming, attack after attack as he tried so hard to keep his title against a man who just couldn't miss him when he threw.
In the final round we saw Abraham throwing his arms in the air, dancing away in early celebration. It appeared a very risky strategy in a fight that looked incredibly close and could well have seen Stieglitz in the lead going into the 12th and final round. Luckily for Abraham however the judges had him in a comfortable lead with the Armenian born German based fighter taking a unanimous decision with scores of 116-112 (twice) and 115-113. In my eyes, the 116-112 scores were too wide as I fail to see 8 rounds you could have awarded to Abraham. A score of 115-113 either way would have been acceptable though as it was a very closely fought bout. Abraham however will not be a dominant champion at Super Middleweight, his power doesn't have the effect it used to have at Middleweight and Stieglitz, a supposedly "chinny" fighter stood up to a number of solid and clear Abraham right hands.
Now a 2-weight world champion Abraham has put his name in to the history books joining a long list of other 2-weight champions however his reign at 168 is likely to be limited to say the least.
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