Arthur Abraham vs. Mahir Oral : Round By Round

It was kind of a late edition to Showtime's boxing schedule, but IBF middleweight titleholder Arthur Abraham is in Berlin tonight to put his undefeated record on the line again. This isn't live, and Nick Charles and Steve Farhood aren't even in Germany, but we'll act like this fight is live.

The announcers talk about how there's only one fight in the middleweight division anyone wants to see - Abraham vs. Kelly Pavlik - and I have to agree. They sound like they don't think it will happen.

Charles also says Abraham could be headed up to 168 pounds if he can't land Pavlik, where there are more juicy fights that he could make. Farhood suggests that Arthur is having trouble making 160 pounds and it's more of a question of when he'll move up rather than if.

The tale of the tape shows Oral with a height advantage, but strangely, not a reach advantage. Oral is 25-1-2 but has only 10 KO victories.

Abraham is 29-0 with 23 KOs, and this is his tenth defense of his IBF belt. Michael Buffer handles the fighter intros and we are ready to go.

Round 1

Oral comes out attacking with jabs and body shots. Abraham is covered up well. Arthur flicks the occasional jab. Oral keeps throwing even if not much is getting through. The announcers mention that Abraham is a slow starter. Oral sneaks in a right to the body. Abraham gets clubbed by a right coming in.

Franchise: 10-9 Oral
Spartan117: 10-9 Oral

Round 2

Abraham's corner tells him to stay cautious but pick it up. He keeps blocking shots with his high guard. Oral is working a lot of jabs. Abraham sticks a left hook to the body. Both men exchange jabs that connect. Nice body work by Arthur and a counter right by Oral. Arthur starts to find the range with his own jab. He goes to the body with both hands, then both men land before the bell.

Franchise: 10-9 Oral
Spartan117: 10-9 Oral

Round 3

Oral certainly seems confident as he presses the issue. He is getting a few jabs through the guard. Abraham throws a few shots upstairs with some sizzle on them. Left hook by Arthur. The crowd tries to get into the action. Flurry to the body by the champ. Oral is still doing much more of the work right now. He's been able to score with some counter shots too. Left and a strong right by Abraham before the bell.

Franchise: 10-9 Oral
Spartan117: 10-9 Oral

Round 4

The announcers point out Oral is playing with fire by having his hands so low. Abraham starts coming forward more. Oral pumps jabs and fires an occasional right behind them. Body shots by Arthur answered by a counter right. Abraham flurries to the body again. Oral stands his ground while the champ feints. Left hook to Oral's body, followed by body shots and a right to the head. A right from Arthur sends Oral to the mat. Abraham pours it on after his foe beats the count. Oral eats a few more rights but he makes it to the bell.

Franchise: 10-8 Abraham
Spartan117: 10-8 Abraham

Round 5

Abraham's edge in power is so apparent in this fight. A right hand just misses and Oral slips down. Another right crashes home for Arthur. Oral is game, still throwing punches. Combo punches score for Abraham. Right-left-right combination rattles Oral a bit. He comes right back with a left hook that knocks the champ back a step. Both men throw to the body. King Arthur lands two more rights int he closing seconds.

Franchise: 10-9 Abraham
Spartan117: 10-9 Abraham

Round 6

Oral isn't giving up, exchanging jabs once more. Nice right to the body by King Arthur. More jabs both ways. Oral still punching but losing even more steam. A right hand sends Oral down to the mat again. He makes it up and there's 45 seconds to go. They trade in the center of the ring with the champ getting the better of it. Oral backs Arthur up late in the round but still easily lost that round.

Franchise: 10-8 Abraham
Spartan117: 10-8 Abraham

Round 7

Oral's jabs battle Abraham's hooks. The challenger stays busy but can't crack the defense of his foe. Slow round for Arthur so far. Oral bounces and tries some left hooks. Both fighters show some good defense as they dodge punches. Have to give that round to Oral just based on activity.

Franchise: 10-9 Oral
Spartan117: 10-9 Oral

Round 8

The translator in Abraham's corner has an amusingly high voice. The announcers debate whether Arthur is having too much trouble making 160. Good shots both ways in an exchange. Abraham just misses a smoking right upstairs. Body shot by Abraham. Left hooks in succession by the champ. Oral eats a right and some jabs. Abraham sizes up more right hands. Right-left combo to Oral's face.

Franchise: 10-9 Abraham
Spartan117: 10-9 Abraham

Round 9

Abe's corner urges him on a bit more between rounds. He starts with more jabs but goes right back to covering up. Right and a left for Abraham. Oral limited to just jabs at the moment. Left hook by Arthur. Abraham lands a couple of punches in the midst of an extended flurry. He keeps short lefts in Oral's grill. Oral stumbles a bit while getting tagged by another right.

Franchise: 10-9 Abraham
Spartan117: 10-9 Abraham

Round 10

Abraham opens right up with a body attack. A left hook in the corner forces Oral to his knee. He's up at eight and the action restarts. A right to the body forces Oral to his knee again. The ref tells him he can't allow it to continue much longer. Oral goes down for a third time, and though he wants to continue, his corner calls a stop to it.

The replay showed a smiling Abraham actually pointing out to Oral that his corner had thrown in the towel.

The winner by TKO at 1:23 of Round 10... and still IBF middleweight titleholder... "King"Arthur Abraham.

Abraham tells Al Bernstein that he was not hurt by any of Oral's punches. He says his style is to watch his opponent for a few rounds and then go for it when he has the guy figured out.

King Arthur also says he wanted to wait for the tempo of the fight to caome down a bit.

Asked about taking his mandatory or fighting Pavlik, Abraham says he could be at middleweight or super middleweight depending on where the biggest fights are to be made. Switching to English for a bit, Arthur makes it clear he'd like to fight in America.

Abraham also gives a funny answer to the question of whether anyone can hurt him, quipping, "Yeah, my mother."

Posted by The Franchise