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OFFENBURG, Germany (AP) — Giovanni De Carolis of Italy stopped Vincent Feigenbutz in the 11th round of their rematch to claim the vacant WBA super middleweight title on Saturday.
De Carolis, who was the busier fighter throughout, rocked the German with a huge right and pinned him against the ropes with a flurry of punches before referee Gustavo Padilla stopped the bout 32 seconds into the round.
"This is the work of a lifetime," De Carolis said. "You can always do better, but yes, I am satisfied."
Regarding talk of a second rematch, the Italian said, "It's no problem, I am a fighter, I fight."
Feigenbutz had won their first bout by unanimous decision in October, when his interim WBA title was on the line.
The WBA announced the rematch would be for the "regular" world title following Andre Ward's move to light heavyweight and the promotion of Fedor Chudinov to "super" champion.
The 31-year-old De Carolis improved to 24-6 (12 KOs), while Feigenbutz, 11 years his junior, dropped to 21-2 (20 KOs).
De Carolis took the initiative from the off, dominating the opening rounds when Feigenbutz had few answers to the Italian's endeavor.
The German finally found some range in the fourth round, when he rocked De Carolis with a swinging right as both fighters went all out. Feigenbutz was throwing the harder punches and had opened a cut by De Carolis' right eye by the end of the sixth, but the latter was more elusive in the following rounds and his work paid off in the 11th.
Feigenbutz was hoping to become Germany's youngest ever world champion. Graciano "Rocky" Rocchigiani, who was 24 when he defeated Vincent Boulware for the vacant IBF super middleweight title in March 1988, kept his record.
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