Abraham faces Sjekloca tonight

Abraham faces Sjekloca tonight

(Credit: Thomas Goos / Team Sjekloca) WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (39-4, 28 KO’s) will be making an optional title defense tonight against #12 WBO Nikola Sjekloca (26-1, 8 KO’s) in what hopes to be an entertaining fight at The Velodrom, Prenzlauer Berg, in Berlin, Germany. It’s not a particularly interesting fight because Sjekloca has little to no power to speak of, and he’s only fought one good opponent during his career in Sakio Bika, who beat him soundly.

Abraham recently won back his WBO title with a victory over Robert Stieglitz last March, and now Abraham is taking an optional title defense before he faces Stieglitz likely for a fourth time in either late 2014 or sometime next year. Stieglitz needs to win at least one of two fights before he can get a fourth fight against Abraham, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to be asked by the WBO to fight his way to another shot at the title.

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Maccarinelli asking Braehmer for a rematch

Having failed to capture Jurgen Braehmer’s WBA World light heavyweight title last Saturday night, Enzo Maccarinelli (38-7, 30 KO’s) would like nothing better than to get a second shot at Braehmer’s title if he’s willing to let him. Maccarinelli suffered an eye injury last night early in the fight that eventually led to the bout being stopped before the start of the 6th.

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Braehmer beats Maccarinelli; Pulev defeats Perkovic

Braehmer beats Maccarinelli; Pulev defeats Perkovic

Former WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli (38-7, 30 KO’s) put in a game performance in losing to WBA World light heavyweight champion Juergen Braehmer (43-2, 32 KO’s) by a 6th round TKO tonight at the Stadthalle, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The fight was stopped due to swelling to Maccarinelli’s right eye after the 5th round. Maccarinelli’e eye had swelled up completely to where he couldn’t see out of it after the 1st round.

Maccarinelli complained that he couldn’t see out of it following the 2nd. But surprisingly, Maccarinelly fought well in the 4th and 5th rounds, and he landed some really nice shots to control both of those rounds. Braehmer was doing a lot of holding in between landing his punches, and just waiting until the fight was halted. Braehmer didn’t have the power to stand in and trade with Maccarinelli once he started swinging for the fences in the 4th, so he played it safe with constant clinching.

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Maccarinelli: I got the punch to KO Braehmer

Maccarinelli: I got the punch to KO Braehmer

Former WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli (38-6, 30 KO’s) is counting on his power advantage to bail him out tonight in his title challenge against new WBA World light heavyweight champion Juergen Braehmer (42-2, 31 KO’s) at the Stadthalle, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.

Maccarinelli, 33, has certainly picked out the perfect champion for him to beat, as Braehmer is considered a paper champion by a lot of fans, and someone who has got through an entire career without really facing anyone good. It’s been a career of careful match-making that has gotten Braehmer to this point, and it’s quite possible he could lose if Maccarinelli can land his big power shots.

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Felix Sturm vs. Sam Soliman 2 on May 31st in Germany

Felix Sturm vs. Sam Soliman 2 on May 31st in Germany

A rematch between IBF middleweight champion Felix Sturm (39-3-2, 18 KO’s) and #1 IBF Sam Soliman (43-11, 18 KO’s) will be taking place next month on May 31st at the König Palast, Krefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Soliman and Sturm previously fought back in February of last year with Soliman winning a 12 round unanimous decision that was later overturned and changed to a no contest after Soliman tested positive for a banned substance.

Soliman, 40, has fought once since then in beating Les Sherrington by a 9th round TKO last December in Australia. For his part, Sturm has had two easy stoppage wins over Predrag Radosevic and Darren Barker. The fight against Barker might have turned into a tough one for Sturm if not for Barker suffering a hip injury in the 2nd round that it impossible for him to fight.

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Sauerland: Kubrat Pulev will not face Elijah McCall; Replacement Announced

Sauerland: Kubrat Pulev will not face Elijah McCall; Replacement Announced

IBF heavyweight mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev (19-0, 10 KO’s) will be fighting in an 8-round tune-up fight against little known fighter Elijah McCall (12-3-1, 11 KO’s) on the undercard of the WBA light heavyweight title clash between champion Juergen Braehmer and Enzo Maccarinelli. Pulev, at the Stadthalle, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany according to Sauerland Events.

Pulev, 32, is already locked in for a world title shot against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko for later this year, so he just needs to stay active, get a little rust out, and avoid injuries in winning this fight against McCall.

McCall, 26, is the son of former heavyweight champ Oliver McCall. He played college football at James Madison University as a defensive end. He turned pro in 2009 without any amateur experience at all. In looking at some of his past fights, McCall seems to be a very good body puncher, but not much hand speed or power in throwing to the head. McCall looks like he’s a better puncher than Pulev, who is more of a slapper and jabber.

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Abraham defeats Stieglitz

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WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (46-4, 26 KO’s) failed to pace himself tonight in running out of gas in the 2nd part of his rubber match against Arthur Abraham (39-4, 28 KO’s) in losing a 12 round split decision at the GETEC Arena, Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. Stieglitz unloaded everything but the kitchen sink on Abraham in the first four rounds of action going for broke to get a stoppage. But when Abraham was still there after the 4th round, Stieglitz had no answers in what to do to try and win the fight.

Abraham knocked Stieglitz down in the 12th round. Before the knockdown, Stieglitz had been wobbled from a right hand from Abraham. It looked like for a second there that he might make it out of the round without going down, but Stieglitz took another big shot and that caused him to hit the canvas.

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Abraham and Stieglitz make weight

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WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (46-3, 26 KO’s) made weight today in coming in at 168 lbs on the dot for his title defense on Saturday against the 34-year-old Arthur Abraham (38-4, 28 KO’s) at the GETEC Arena, Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. Abraham, 34, also weighed in at 168 lbs. If Abraham looks as feeble and clueless as he did in losing to Stieglitz last year, then you can count on Abraham getting whipped again.

Abraham let Stieglitz bombard him for three rounds in their 2nd fight until the bout was halted in the 4th. From what I could see, Abraham didn’t look mentally into the fight. Even if the bout had been allowed to continue on, it was clear that he was going to lose. Abraham looked like someone that didn’t want to fight anymore.

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Abraham-Stieglitz battle it out in rubber match this Saturday in Germany

Abraham-Stieglitz battle it out in rubber match this Saturday in Germany

34-year-old former two division world champion Arthur Abraham (38-4, 28 KO’s) will have his career on the line this Saturday night in his rubber match against WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (46-3, 26 KO’s) at the GETEC Arena, in Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany.

Abraham took a beating the last time he fought Stieglitz last year in March in Germany. Stieglitz didn’t do much to win the fight other than throw massive amounts of punches for three rounds until Abraham couldn’t continue due to a badly swollen eye in the 4th round. No secret: Abraham never learned to counter punch or to try and catch his opponents off guard after they’ve committed to a punch. Stieglitz used a primitive but highly effective attack-oriented style to get the better of him last year. It was like watching Aaron Pryor fight. Stieglitz didn’t take any breather’s from his bombardment of Abraham, and he punished him badly with head shots.

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Huck vs. Arslan II: Will the judges get it right this time?

huck43On January 25th, WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (36-2-1, 25 KO’s) will be facing Firat Arslan (33-6-2, 21 KO’s) in a rematch at the Hanns-Martin Schleyer Halle, in Stuttgart, Germany. Arslan gave Huck a beating less than 2 years ago in losing a 12 round unanimous decision in a fight that most people felt that Arslan had done enough to deserve a victory.

The three judges that scored the fight saw it different, giving Huck the win by the scores of 115-113, 115-113, 117-111. Huck was pummeled the entire fight, and it’s difficult to figure out what the judges saw in him to give him the victory. Huck just looked like a confused and beaten fighter throughout the fight.

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