In the first of two world title fights this weekend the WBO Super Middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (46-3, 26) successfully defended his title thanks to clear decision over Nigerian Isaac Ekpo (22-2, 16) in a scrappy and less than exciting contest.
The opening round was close, it wasn't great but it was competitive as both men seemed to try and feel out what the other had. Neither man really committed themselves to an attack and as a result neither man really found out much about the other as cautious respect seemed to overshadow the round.
Unfortunately the fact the opening round had "failed" as a scouting expedition saw the same cautious attitude applied in the second round by both men. It seemed as if Stieglitz didn't want to find out if Ekpo's power was for real and it seemed that Ekpo, who looked good defensively, didn't want to let Stieglitz know about his power too soon. Unfortunately this played off as a second uninteresting round.
Thankfully it appeared that Stieglitz had began to figure Ekpo out and moved up a gear in round 3, landing the first notable combination of the fight. The class different seemed obvious as soon as Stieglitz let his hands go and this showed over the next few rounds as he began to rack up clear rounds thanks to a single flurry or two of eye catching action.
From round 3 onwards Stieglitz just grew and grew in to the fight. Ekpo, who had entered with an aura of being a hard hitting livewire was beginning to be outclassed, out boxed, out worked and generally made to look like a second rate challenger. A typical WBO challenger if you will. Whilst Ekpo was looking like a typical second rate challenger Stieglitz was beginning to look like a second rate champion and as a result was starting to have a field day with Ekpo who was being broken down physically and forced into a shell mentally.
By the end of round 9 it was becoming a route as Stieglitz moved up the gears and starting to really let his hands go, seemingly staggering Ekpo late in the round. From then on it was game over, Ekpo lacked the power to trouble the German, lacked the skills to compete and lacked any trait at all that could push Stieglitz into looking for a plan B. It was just a matter of what did Stieglitz want, was he happy with a wide decision or would he push for a late stoppage?
The answer didn't really matter, Ekpo, for his faults, did seem to be tough and seemed like he'd find a way to see out the final bell one way or another. That's exactly what he managed thanks to some very scrappy work, especially in a final round marred by holding and and lack of clean action as the fight fizzled to a clear decision in a bout that won't be on any end of year lists I'm afraid.
It's fair to say that despite scores of 118-110-twice, and 119-111 people won't be in a rush to see Stieglitz again on the back of this contest. it was poor and certainly nothing worth re-watching.
Showing posts with label Robert Stieglitz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robert Stieglitz. Show all posts
Saturday, 19 October 2013
Saturday, 13 July 2013
Robert Stieglitz v Yuzo Kiyota
WBO Super Middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (45-3, 25) began his second reign as champion with a less than inspiring technical decision over Japanese puncher Yuzo Kiyota (23-4-1, 21).
The fight was a very slow burner with no more than a handful of clean punches landed through the first 4 rounds as the men wrestled almost continually. What little clean action did occur was solely single shots which were followed up by the fighters clinching and the referee needing to separate them. In fact for much of the bout the referee was busier than the two fighters combined.
It wasn't until round 5 that we actually had some notable action as Kiyota was deducted a point for hitting on the break, both men pushed the other down and Stieglitz landed a memorable right hand that sent Kiyota backwards but didn't seem to really hurt the Japanese fighter. This was a surprise to many who had assumed that Kiyota couldn't take a shot due to his opening round stoppage loss to Jameson Bostic a few back.
Kiyota's problem was that at range his hand speed was so much slower than that of Stieglitz who was able to land and up close he was being tied up. This saw him reverting to launching hail mary style right hands which often missed by a country mile but ended up with the men messily clinching.
Round 8 was arguably the closest with any real action as as Kiyota landed several hard shots of his own though unfortunately a clash of heads left him with a nasty cut above the right eye. The doctor looked at it between rounds 8 and 9 and decided it was fine to continue though it didn't take long for the challengers face to be covered in his own claret. With Kiyota's face becoming a bloody mess he was taken to the doctor in the middle of the round who said it was again fine to continue.
Unfortunately the doctor's opinion changed the following round with him deciding the cut had worsened partway in to the round taking us to the judges scorecards. Unfortunately for Kiyota the scorecards were widely against him with the point deduction in round 5 just making the gap even wider.
Whilst Stieglitz had looked tremendous in his previous outing (a stoppage over Arthur Abraham) he looked really bad here. Sure he won and that's the important part but every other fighter in the division will be circling him like a pack of vultures.
The fight was a very slow burner with no more than a handful of clean punches landed through the first 4 rounds as the men wrestled almost continually. What little clean action did occur was solely single shots which were followed up by the fighters clinching and the referee needing to separate them. In fact for much of the bout the referee was busier than the two fighters combined.
It wasn't until round 5 that we actually had some notable action as Kiyota was deducted a point for hitting on the break, both men pushed the other down and Stieglitz landed a memorable right hand that sent Kiyota backwards but didn't seem to really hurt the Japanese fighter. This was a surprise to many who had assumed that Kiyota couldn't take a shot due to his opening round stoppage loss to Jameson Bostic a few back.
Kiyota's problem was that at range his hand speed was so much slower than that of Stieglitz who was able to land and up close he was being tied up. This saw him reverting to launching hail mary style right hands which often missed by a country mile but ended up with the men messily clinching.
Round 8 was arguably the closest with any real action as as Kiyota landed several hard shots of his own though unfortunately a clash of heads left him with a nasty cut above the right eye. The doctor looked at it between rounds 8 and 9 and decided it was fine to continue though it didn't take long for the challengers face to be covered in his own claret. With Kiyota's face becoming a bloody mess he was taken to the doctor in the middle of the round who said it was again fine to continue.
Unfortunately the doctor's opinion changed the following round with him deciding the cut had worsened partway in to the round taking us to the judges scorecards. Unfortunately for Kiyota the scorecards were widely against him with the point deduction in round 5 just making the gap even wider.
Whilst Stieglitz had looked tremendous in his previous outing (a stoppage over Arthur Abraham) he looked really bad here. Sure he won and that's the important part but every other fighter in the division will be circling him like a pack of vultures.
Saturday, 23 March 2013
Arthur Abraham v Robert Stieglitz II
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.
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.
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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