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OBERHAUSEN, Germany (AP) — Felix Sturm of Germany defeated the previously unbeaten Fedor Chudinov of Russia by majority decision in their rematch to reclaim his WBA super middleweight title on Saturday.
The 37-year-old Sturm became the first German fighter to become a world titleholder for the fifth time.
Judge Ignacio Robles scored the bout a 114-114 draw, while Jean-Louis Leglande and Giuseppe Quartarone both scored it 115-113 in favor of Sturm, a former four-time middleweight champion whose perseverance paid off despite Chudinov appearing the fresher fighter after 12 evenly matched rounds.
Sturm forced the initiative, especially in the opening rounds, though Chudinov appeared to gain the upper hand as the challenger tired.
"Perhaps that was my last bout today. There was huge pressure. I'll give it a bit of time. We want to come down from this first," Sturm said. "All in all, it was a nice way to sign off if that was it."
Sturm improved to 40-5-3 (18 KOs), while Chudinov, who won their first bout by split decision for the vacant title last May, dropped to 14-1 (10 KOs).
"Felix fought very well, very hard," Chudinov said. "There were a few clashes of heads, sometimes Felix's fault, sometimes mine. But I'm not in agreement with the decision."
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