?King? Arthur Abraham made like Elmer Fudd when he defended his WBO super-middleweight crown against Robert Stieglitz, the man from whom Abraham had lifted the bauble in August of last year. Abraham fired so many rabbit punches during the bout that the referee deducted a point from the champion during the abbreviated three-round contest. In the end, though, Abraham looked more like Popeye the Sailor, with his left orb swollen shut. The bout was stopped after the end of the third session, and just like that, Stieglitz is a champion again and Abraham is on the outside looking in.
In their first encounter, Abraham prevailed by a comfortable unanimous decision. There was little reason to believe that the rematch would turn out differently. Abraham?s brain trust probably figured that this would be a ?marking-time? bout to earn a payday before seeking potential superfights against Andre Ward or the winner of the upcoming Carl Froch-Mikkel Kessler rematch. Instead, Stieglitz is the one who is in line for those lucrative assignments, while Abraham is reduced to seeking a rubber match with his conqueror.
Stieglitz took advantage of Abraham?s propensity for slow starts, and went after him from the opening bell. Normally, Abraham weathers such early storms, then wears his opponents down until they either retreat or get knocked out. This time, though, the tissue around Abraham?s eyes betrayed him, and he didn?t get a chance to put his usual fight plan into action. By the end of the third round, he was a one-eyed fighter. Because the swelling was not caused by a clash of heads, Stieglitz was awarded a TKO triumph ? and revenge for his loss in the first match.
If Abraham hadn?t suffered the eye injury, he might well have been disqualified for making a target of the back of Stieglitz?s skull. Shades of Abraham?s DQ loss to Andre Dirrell during the Super Six tournament, when he clouted Dirrell after Andre slipped to the canvas.
Is Abraham finished in the wake of this loss? No. He didn?t suffer a prolonged beating or a concussive knockout. At 33, he?s still young by today?s boxing standards. However, he underwent grueling defeats in the Super Six at the hand of Dirrell, Ward, and Froch. Those wars may well have taken something out of him. Still, if he wants to fight Stieglitz again, or attempt to avenge his Super Six setbacks, why shouldn?t he?
As for Stieglitz, he has secured a solid position in the crowd of impossible dreamers who are seeking to dethrone Ward. Ward has not fought since his masterful stoppage of light-heavyweight champion Chad Dawson last year. Because he did not participate in the Super Six, Stieglitz is a relatively fresh face among the super-middleweights. That could give Stieglitz the inside track for a chance at Ward in the near future, especially if Ward is interested in unifying his division?s titles.
Stieglitz?s chances to upset Ward are remote as Underdog?s against Superman. Then again, so are the chances of everyone else in the super-middleweight Top 10. But Stieglitz?s prospects against any other 168-pounder not named Andre Ward are no worse than even.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers. His award-winning novel, Damballa, which centers around a fictional heavyweight title bout, is available at Amazon.com.
