In a 12-round rematch in Magdeburg, Germany, on Saturday night, super middleweight Arthur Abraham defeated Robert Stieglitz by split decision. Their first meeting took place in March of last year, which Stieglitz won by fourth-round TKO to take Abraham’s WBO belt.

German promoter Sauerland Events released the following press statement:

“Arthur Abraham (39-4, 28 KOs) regained the WBO super middleweight title with a split-decision victory over Robert Stieglitz (46-4, 26 KOs) tonight in Magdeburg.

“Abraham looked close to forcing the stoppage, dropping the defending champion in the final round. However Stieglitz was able to hold on and take the fight to the judges’ scorecards.

“The judges scored the fight 114-111, 115-110, and 112-113 in favor of ‘The King,’ who avenged the loss he suffered to Stieglitz last year and became a world champion for a third time.

“Abraham will return to action on May 31st, when he will make the first defense of his newly won title. The opponent and venue will be announced shortly.”

Photo by Sebastian Heger