Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
KIEL, Germany (AP) — Arthur Abraham retained his WBO super middleweight belt by defeating Paul Smith of England by unanimous decision on Saturday.
The judges awarded it 117-111, 117-111, 119-109 to the defending champion, who dominated the majority of the bout, albeit in the face of a spirited challenge from Smith, who was cheered on by a sizable traveling support.
Abraham's punches seemed more effective, more powerful, and he reasserted his control in a commanding final round, when punishing right blows had the Liverpudlian against the ropes.
The Armenian-born German improved to 41-4 (28 KOs) after making the second defense of the title he won back from Robert Stieglitz by split decision on March 1.
"I love coming here," Abraham said. "It was a great fight. We trained hard. I worked a lot with my jab today."
Smith, who was taking his first shot at a world title, dropped to 35-4 (20 KOs).
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.