By: Travis Kennedy
The power punching Super Middleweight Arthur Abraham, looks to add one more knockout to his belt this Saturday night, August 25th. Abraham will face WBO World Champion Robert Steiglitz at the O2 World Arena in Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany. Abraham is the mandatory opponent for Stieglitz WBO Super Middleweight title. At 34-3 with 27 knockouts, Abraham is known as a power puncher who can really bring the heat in the final rounds of a fight. Stieglitz, with a record of 42-2 with 23 knockouts, hasn’t lost a fight in four years. Abraham’s last fight was a unanimous decision win against Piotr Wilczewski on March 31st, 2012. Stieglitz is also coming off a unanimous decision victory against Australian Nader Hamdan, on May 5th 2012. Unfortunately, since both fighters are not Pay Per View stars or household names, this fight will not get a lot of attention in the United States. This fight is however, a big fight for Germany. It really does have the makings to be a very interesting match-up!
Robert Stieglitz is riding an eleven fight win streak into this fight. The last time Stieglitz lost was in 2008 when he lost by TKO against Librado Andrade. Stieglitz fought a passive style in this fight, and also didn’t appear to be confident and utilize his hand speed. Andrade was just a step quicker and aggressive that night, and wasn’t afraid to let his hands go. Since this fight it seems evident that Stieglitz has really improved in many areas. Stieglitz is really utilizing his jab as of late, and can lead with a straight right, hooks, or uppercuts. He has a very good body attack, and can throw nice combinations downstairs. He is also fighting aggressively and winning rounds at ease.
Arthur Abraham’s three loses were against Andre Dirrell, Carl Froch, and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward. Although Stieglitz has been fighting professionally for a few years longer than Abraham, I feel the experience factor favors Abraham due to the competition level he has faced in the last few years. Besides the fighters Abraham has lost to, he also has two wins over Edison Miranda, and a win against Howard Eastman. Abraham won by a stunning twelfth round knockout against Jermain Taylor in 2009. Although Abraham has multiple late round stoppages on his record, this fight really showed how strong he can fight in the championship rounds, and his ability to step on the gas pedal when he needs to. Abraham is a very devastating puncher, and is always in there going for the knockout. His punching power and ability to punch with his opponent is enough to make many fighters nervous to open up against him. He also has a great chin, and has the ability to take a lot of punishment. Abraham is more of a head hunter than a body puncher. He will throw body punches at very close range, but he often times throws body shots to get his opponent to lower their elbows to block the body so he can hit their unprotected chin upstairs. Abraham does have some offensive and defensive flaws. His punches are almost always wide looping shots. He also loads up too much on his punches, and lacks basic head movement. The most important thing is… he can be out-boxed! In all three of Abraham’s losses, he was clearly out-boxed by his opponents. If you are a smart and slick boxer you definitely can beat Abraham on points.
Something tells me this fight is going to be all action from start to finish. Both fighters have an aggressive style, yet average defensive abilities. Stieglitz is definitely the more technically sound fighter, but I feel he doesn’t possess the style to beat Abraham. Stieglitz aggressive style is what Abraham handles best. Most fighters can’t hold up to his punching power and aggression. When two aggressive fighters face each other, often times it comes down to who has the better chin, and Abraham definitely wins in that category. Stieglitz will have his moments in this fight with his nice punch selection and body work, but I look for Abraham to win this fight by stoppage somewhere around the eighth round. Although I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised if this fight went to a decision. Both fighters are German citizens, and are basically fighting on their home turf. If this fight does go to the scorecards, it should be a fair and justifiable decision. Come Saturday night, we could see a new WBO Super Middleweight champion, or see Robert Stieglitz retain his title and add Arthur Abraham’s name to his list of 42 victims.
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How about a prediction with that preview? It should be an interesting fight. If I had to pick a winner, I’d have to lean towards Stieglitz by UD — he’s more accustomed to winning as of late and knows a win today can lead to more money stateside. On the other hand, Arthur knows this could be his final shot at a major title, so he should come out blazing. If Stieglitz can withstand the early rounds, he should box his way to a close decision victory.