Arthur Abraham retains WBO super middleweight title after unanimous decision against Paul Smith
Credit: Photos by Getty Images
Abraham has successfully retained his WBO World Super Middleweight Championship following the fight
- Arthur Abraham defended his WBO super middleweight title
- The judges scored 116-112, 117-111 and 117-111 in his favour
- Abraham’s professional record improved to 42-4 with 28 knockouts
Arthur Abraham retained his WBO super middleweight belt by defeating Paul Smith of England by unanimous decision for the second time on Saturday.
The judges scored their rematch 116-112, 117-111, 117-111 in favor of Abraham, who again dominated in the face of a spirited challenge from Smith.
Smith was angered to lose their first bout in September in Kiel, Germany, but there could no doubt about the winner here.
Germany’s Arthur Abraham lands a punch on his opponent Paul Smith of Great Britain
The Armenian-born German seemed comfortable taking Smith’s punches and was more effective with his own, delivering punishing barrages that the Liverpudlian did well to weather.
Smith came out on the front foot, landing with the jab and throwing a useful combination on the ropes but it was nothing to trouble Abraham who landed a left of his own at the end of the first.
Abraham was more aggressive in the second as he targeted the body with both men throwing some wild punches as the third came to a close.
Smith was the first man to look hurt in the fourth and his legs appeared shaky after a barrage of shots ending with a right hook, but the Liverpudlian responded well before the champion unleashed a flurry of blows to the head as the round wound down.
The German had Smith on the ropes again early in the fifth with a flurry of punches but the challenger managed to block the majority of them. Abraham was growing in confidence now and dropped his gloves to invite Smith on before going back on the front foot and landing with more frequency.
Abraham gave an assured performance and won a unanimous decision against the challenger
Smith hits Abraham with a strong uppercut during their fight in Berlin
The momentum was with Abraham but Smith is made of stern stuff and a big body shot appeared to rock his opponent, sending Abraham into his shell for the remainder of the sixth.
Both men appeared to be tiring early in the seventh but a combination from Abraham sparked Smith to life with the Briton landing more body shots but a good left from Abraham in the closing stages rocked Smith again.
Abraham appeared to be growing in confidence and was beginning to get through with more punches on the ropes and the challenger kept going back to the body as he was getting little joy with the jab.
The German landed a good right hand just over a minute into the ninth and it was looking likely that the scorecards were getting away from Smith going into the last three rounds.
Abraham kept coming forward in the 10th and landing with more and more regularity, a big right hand wobbling Smith who was looking weary but still battling against the man three years his senior.
Smith seemed to find something else in the next but Abraham was sitting back now, clearly sensing that the job was done, and the German cruised through the last to retain his title.
Abraham improved his professional record to 42-4 (28 KOs) after making the third defense of the title he won back from Robert Stieglitz by split decision in March 2014. Meanwhile, Smith dropped to 35-5 (20 KOs).
After the match, Abraham poses with his belt in his dressing room in Berlin