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Re: Boxing
3rd Title Defense for Arthur. 6th victory in a row, and 9th victory in 10 fights since comeback. He's now at 42-4 for his career
Arthur Abraham vs. Paul Smith: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction
Arthur Abraham (42-4-0, 28 KO) retained his WBO world super middleweight title on Saturday night, defeating Paul Smith (36-5-0, 20 KO) via unanimous decision over 12 thrilling rounds from the O2 Arena in Berlin, Germany.
The judges scored the bout 117-112, 117-112, 116-112 in Abraham's favor, a fitting result for a match that provided all of the thrills of their first encounter five months prior, but without the scoring controversy.
Abraham won that September 2014 bout on points by a fairly wide margin, but one could have made a decent case that Smith looked more the part of a champion that night.
Regarding the September result, Smith said prior to Saturday that it was "an injustice that I need to put right," per Michael McKenna of the Liverpool Echo, and it was clear from the opening bell just how determined he was to right a perceived wrong.
Smith was the aggressor in the first round, utilizing his jab early and often in an attempt to break down Abraham's high guard. The champion's reluctance to open his hands at the start was perhaps by design, as he blocked many of Smith's punches and eventually tagged the challenger with a couple of hard shots very late in the round.
The second and third rounds saw plenty of movement from both fighters, with Smith dictating the pace for the most part. The hometown crowd greeted every stinging punch Abraham landed with a roaring response, and he did well to target Smith's chin early on with his jab and right straight.
Abraham turned the early tide of the fight in the fourth, finally lining up Smith and landing a few ripping combinations when he managed to corner the Merseyside challenger on the ropes. His best flurry of the round came with 30 seconds left in the fourth, as he caught Smith flush on the face several times with either hand.
The 35-year-old Armenian dished out even more punishment in the fifth. Smith held his ground valiantly and even managed to connect on a barrage of body shots midway through the round, but it only drew apparent derision from Abraham, who dropped his hands briefly and invited Smith to come forward.
A powerful body shot from Smith rocked Abraham in the sixth round and stifled the latter's momentum a bit, but the rebound round wasn't enough for Smith to reverse the course of the bout.
Abraham came roaring back in the seventh and eighth rounds, breaking through Smith's slack defense with his jab and rocking his chin with right straights and left hooks.
The ninth proved to be another rollicking round from Abraham, one that saw him land a crushing right early on in the frame. He was proving his worth as a titleholder, seemingly drawing energy from the raucous crowd at O2 Arena.
Indeed, the jab-and-move proved to be an ineffective tactic, especially later in the fight, but no one can question Smith's heart and tenacity.
Other than a brief surge at the end of the 10th, Abraham coolly controlled the final three rounds. He saved energy by hiding comfortably behind his rigid high guard and pressed forward whenever Smith relented. The challenger attacked vigorously in the final round, when only a knockout could save him, but his brave offensive was not enough to bring Abraham down. The champion countered with several crushing blows of his own, earning a well-deserved win in the process.
Smith may have come away empty-handed once again on Saturday, but he has proved over these past two bouts he's one of the toughest fighters in the super middleweight ranks.
Abraham deservedly holds onto his title, and at his advanced age he will likely be careful to pick and choose his challengers from here on out. There likely won't be a third match between these two considering Abraham has won the first two, but boxing fans will be looking for more from these two exciting fighters.
3rd Title Defense for Arthur. 6th victory in a row, and 9th victory in 10 fights since comeback. He's now at 42-4 for his career
Arthur Abraham vs. Paul Smith: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction
Arthur Abraham (42-4-0, 28 KO) retained his WBO world super middleweight title on Saturday night, defeating Paul Smith (36-5-0, 20 KO) via unanimous decision over 12 thrilling rounds from the O2 Arena in Berlin, Germany.
The judges scored the bout 117-112, 117-112, 116-112 in Abraham's favor, a fitting result for a match that provided all of the thrills of their first encounter five months prior, but without the scoring controversy.
Abraham won that September 2014 bout on points by a fairly wide margin, but one could have made a decent case that Smith looked more the part of a champion that night.
Regarding the September result, Smith said prior to Saturday that it was "an injustice that I need to put right," per Michael McKenna of the Liverpool Echo, and it was clear from the opening bell just how determined he was to right a perceived wrong.
Smith was the aggressor in the first round, utilizing his jab early and often in an attempt to break down Abraham's high guard. The champion's reluctance to open his hands at the start was perhaps by design, as he blocked many of Smith's punches and eventually tagged the challenger with a couple of hard shots very late in the round.
The second and third rounds saw plenty of movement from both fighters, with Smith dictating the pace for the most part. The hometown crowd greeted every stinging punch Abraham landed with a roaring response, and he did well to target Smith's chin early on with his jab and right straight.
Abraham turned the early tide of the fight in the fourth, finally lining up Smith and landing a few ripping combinations when he managed to corner the Merseyside challenger on the ropes. His best flurry of the round came with 30 seconds left in the fourth, as he caught Smith flush on the face several times with either hand.
The 35-year-old Armenian dished out even more punishment in the fifth. Smith held his ground valiantly and even managed to connect on a barrage of body shots midway through the round, but it only drew apparent derision from Abraham, who dropped his hands briefly and invited Smith to come forward.
A powerful body shot from Smith rocked Abraham in the sixth round and stifled the latter's momentum a bit, but the rebound round wasn't enough for Smith to reverse the course of the bout.
Abraham came roaring back in the seventh and eighth rounds, breaking through Smith's slack defense with his jab and rocking his chin with right straights and left hooks.
The ninth proved to be another rollicking round from Abraham, one that saw him land a crushing right early on in the frame. He was proving his worth as a titleholder, seemingly drawing energy from the raucous crowd at O2 Arena.
Indeed, the jab-and-move proved to be an ineffective tactic, especially later in the fight, but no one can question Smith's heart and tenacity.
Other than a brief surge at the end of the 10th, Abraham coolly controlled the final three rounds. He saved energy by hiding comfortably behind his rigid high guard and pressed forward whenever Smith relented. The challenger attacked vigorously in the final round, when only a knockout could save him, but his brave offensive was not enough to bring Abraham down. The champion countered with several crushing blows of his own, earning a well-deserved win in the process.
Smith may have come away empty-handed once again on Saturday, but he has proved over these past two bouts he's one of the toughest fighters in the super middleweight ranks.
Abraham deservedly holds onto his title, and at his advanced age he will likely be careful to pick and choose his challengers from here on out. There likely won't be a third match between these two considering Abraham has won the first two, but boxing fans will be looking for more from these two exciting fighters.
In his earlier years I would attend his fights with my entire family decked out with Flags. 
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