My Stieglitz vs Abraham prediction

[londoner]

Here is my take on the upcoming WBO super middleweight title fight.

 

Robert Stieglitz vs Arthur Abraham - WBO super middleweight title - August 25, O2 Arena, Berlin, Germany.

 

My first prediction couldn't be any trickier as i try to get my head around the upcoming WBO super middleweight bout between champion Robert Stieglitz and challenger Arthur Abraham in Berlin on 25th August.

 

The champion will enter the ring with an impressive record of 42 wins, 2 losses and 23 wins coming by way of knockout. One thing that is glaringly obvious on his record though is a lack of top quality opponents. His best opponents to date include Librado Andrade, Henry Weber, Khoren Gevor, Eduard Gutknecht and Karoly Balzsay. All of whom are decent competitors but certainly not elite fighters.

​

The challenger holds a record of 34 wins, 3 losses and 27 wins coming by way of knockout. He also holds a distinct edge in the level of competition he has fought. Having competed in the inaugural Super 6 competition and having held the IBF middleweight title for close to four years he knows all about what it means to be a champion. His opponents have included Andre Ward, Carl Froch, Andre Dirrell, Jermain Taylor and Edison Miranda.

​

The thing that probably most stands out on their records is that Stieglitz has lost twice, both times by way of stoppage. Firstly to Alejandro Berrio in 2007 then to Librado Andrade in 2008. Abraham has lost three times, all of which were to stellar competition (Dirrell, Froch and Ward) and never by way of stoppage.

​

Can we hold the two stoppage losses by Stieglitz against him after 4 years? Afterall, he has 11 fights since his loss to Andrade and won the WBO title. We must remember that Wladimir Klitschko was knocked out on three occasions before he became the dominant heavyweight he is today. But, of course, we must also remember that Abraham is a heavy handed fighter.

​

Abraham also has his negatives. He has shown very little at super middleweight to date to suggest he is still an elite fighter, certainly at 168lbs. He has fought seven fights at the weight, winning just four. The best of which was his 2009 victory against Jermain Taylor, who was coming off of three losses from his last four.

​

The one thing Abraham certainly has in his favour is his choice of trainer, Ulli Wegner, who is one of the World's best. Few people would have heard of Stieglitz' trainer Dirk Dzemski. Of course, it isn't the trainers doing the fighting in the ring though.

​

As for the fight itself, Abraham has a very unsophisticated boxing stance. He keeps his guard up high and invites punches. This worked well at middleweight as his record shows. His knockout ratio at the weight was one of the best in the World. At super middleweight however, it has not worked. This could be explained by his height disadvantage at his new weight (he is 5ft9) or maybe it is simply because he is fighting a much higher calibre of fighter now.

 

Stieglitz can fight on both the front foot or back foot and keeps things simple. He certainly isn't an elite fighter but then neither is Abraham anymore.

​

I think the outcome of this fight will be one of two scenarios:

 

Stieglitz shows he is one of the better super middleweights out there and does enough to keep Abraham at bay for the twelve rounds. He uses his jab well, keeps things simple and doesn't allow Abraham to get too close, too often, and unleash some of his bigger punches.



Or, Abraham does manage to keep on top of Stieglitz for the whole fight and Stieglitz is incapable of keeping him at bay with the jab. If this happens, i think Abraham will get the stoppage.

​

We all know that Abraham is no longer an elite fighter but we also don't know if Stieglitz is or ever will be. This is a massive fight for both guys. For one, it is a chance to get back in the mix, for the other it is about making a statement of intent. The bookies certainly know who they think will win as they have Abraham as odds-on favourite. For me, the champion might just not be good enough for the elite level.

​

VERDICT: Abraham wins by late round stoppage.

 

http://www.picksfromthepaddock.co.uk/#!Boxing%20HeadlineArticle/c1lmk

[londoner]

[iamasadlittleboy]

You have Abraham TKO12 listed twice, think one of them is supposed to be Abraham TKO10 (at the bottom)

[londoner]

You have Abraham TKO12 listed twice, think one of them is supposed to be Abraham TKO10 (at the bottom)

 

Yeah, that must've been the guy who runs the site. I knew somebody would notice it although i couldn't be bothered to tell him.

[LondonRingRules]

Re: My Stieglitz vs Abraham prediction

 

​

Abraham also has his negatives. He has shown very little at super middleweight to date to suggest he is still an elite fighter, certainly at 168lbs. He has fought seven fights at the weight, winning just four. The best of which was his 2009 victory against Jermain Taylor, who was coming off of three losses from his last four.

 

------ Froch and Kessler are the only fighters to show something at supermid, so unless someone is a psychopathic Ward fan in love with his lack of any grace, power, or class as a fighter, Abraham has up there since only one guy ever handled him, Froch in a genuine masterclass performance.

 

Ward needed all the ugliness he could muster to help his hometown ref cook up the result, and the Dirrell result came after two lame fight postponements by Dirrell ending in a hamhanded farce by one of the worst refs in boxing, L Cole who counts Joe Cortez as one of his heroes.

 

Abraham does have some weakness, primarily being a slow starter and only an OK boxer, but he was easily reeling in Dirrell when he knocked him out as he skidded/ducked down for the umpteenth time without warning from the hamhanded ref.

 

In Germany or even England Ward won't be able to fight as dirty and ugly as he does, so the result in a fairly officiated fight would probably see a fight going like Dirrell since Ward can't punch either. And, yeah, Stieglitz probably gets KOed and Abraham goes back to being a German hero and much wiser in the ways of the sorry super 6 promotion he found himself in.