by Cliff Rold

The winner won’t be the best Super Middleweight in the world. Sometimes that’s not all that matters. After suffering three straight losses in the Super Six tournament to Andre Dirrell, Carl Froch, and Andre Ward, Arthur Abraham needed something to keep his career relevant.

Robert Stieglitz, then the WBO titlist at 168 lbs., needed something to make him stand out as more than just the belted guy who wasn’t Ward or Froch.

They found each other.

Largely unappreciated outside Germany, Abraham and Stieglitz have given each other hell three times and get together one more time. Abraham holds the edge, 2-1, winning and regaining the title in the first and third bouts and losing by stoppage in the second.

Despite the edge in the series, it’s still not clear who the better man is. That’s what matters Saturday.

Can someone prove to be the better man once and for all?

Or is this destined for a chapter five?

Let’s go the report card.

The Ledgers

Arthur Abraham
Age: 35
Title: WBO Super Middleweight (2014-Present, 3 Defenses)
Previous Titles: IBF Middleweight (2005-09, 10 Defenses), WBO Super Middleweight (2012-13, 1 Defense)
Height: 5’9
Weight: 167.6 lbs.
Hails from: Berlin, Germany
Record: 42-4, 28 KO, 1 KOBY
Rankings: #1 (BoxingScene, TBRB, Ring), #2 (ESPN), #3 (BoxRec)
Record in Major Title Fights: 17-3, 7 KO
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 5 (Raul Marquez RTD6; Jermain Taylor KO12; Carl Froch L12; Andre Ward L12; Robert Stieglitz UD12, TKO by 4, SD12)

Vs.

Robert Stieglitz
Age: 34

 Current Title: None
Previous Title: WBO Super Middleweight (2009-12, 6 Defenses; 13-14, 2 Defenses)
Height: 5’11

Weight: 167.3 lbs.


 Hails from: Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany

Record: 47-4-1, 27 KO, 2 KOBY
Rankings: #2 (BoxingScene, TBRB), #3 (ESPN), #4 (Ring, BoxRec)

Record in Major Title Fights: 10-3, 4 KO, 1 KOBY
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 4 (Alejandro Berrio TKO11, KO by 3; Karoly Balzsay TKO11; Arthur Abraham L12, TKO4, L12; Felix Sturm D12)

Grades
Pre-Fight: Speed – Abraham B; Stieglitz B
Pre-Fight: Power – Abraham A; Stielglitz B
Pre-Fight: Defense – Abraham B; Stieglitz B
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Abraham B; Stieglitz B+

While he hasn’t scored a knockout since 2012, the perception of Abraham as a puncher remains. It’s not wrong. The heavy-handed titlist can still land with authority. His biggest flaw, long exposed and never corrected, is that he doesn’t always move his hands enough to make his power a factor. Against fighters below the upper levels since he’s moved to Super Middleweight, that’s been okay.

Against real contenders, it’s been a problem. In the third Stieglitz fight, he let his hands go more and eeked out the points win. He got more than he was looking for against Paul Smith in their first fight last year by handcuffing himself too often again. Can Stieglitz exploit that hole in his game?

He appeared to in their first fight and never let it matter in their second. In a career best performance, Stieglitz fought like a bat out of hell and just overwhelmed Abraham. He’d never been quite that good before and we haven’t seen it again since. We have seen the battling will. Stieglitz’s draw with Sturm in his last fight was highly entertaining.

This fight could ultimately be about who has the most left in the tank. Both have been around a long time and part of fighting a fourth time might be protecting both men from the rest of the field for better pay. Stieglitz has had more rest since the Sturm fight while Abraham looked pretty good in more easily defeating Smith the second time around. 

The Pick

Even with two losses, it’s hard to shake that Stieglitz has looked like the better man for most of this series. Ongoing rivalries can often end with a whimper, as the two fighters simply know each other too well to keep making good fights. This should better than that. Both men are aging, slower, and likely to land more because of it. The taller, longer Stieglitz will take better advantage of it and is the pick to tie things up with a decision or late stoppage.

Report Card and Staff Picks 2015: 58-13

Cliff’s Notes…

The best fight of the weekend will probably be on US TV on Showtime. It won’t be the main event featuring Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The fight to look for is at 115 lbs. for the vacant IBF belt. McJoe Arroyo (16-0, 8 KO) has a little more on the ball technically than Arthur Villanueva (27-0, 14 KO) and appears a hair quicker. That will be enough for the win in what should be a fine scrap…Earlier in the day in China, Ik Yang (19-0, 14 KO) will face Cesar Cuenca (47-0, 2 KO) for the vacant IBF 140 lb. belt. Cuenca might outbox Yang but his complete lack of power, and the aggression of his foe, could make it easy for the judges to favor the local man. The pick here is Yang by decision, maybe with some debate…Also earlier in the day, in the UK, Scott Quigg (30-0-2, 22 KO) will defend the WBA 122 lb. sub-title against former IBF titlist Kiko Martinez (32-5, 24 KO). This is a comparison-shopping special, with Quigg getting a chance to face a man who has twice faced regional rival Carl Frampton. Like Frampton, Quigg will win but he may not look as good doing it.

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com