By Cliff Rold

With a final, devastating left hand on Saturday night, Arthur Abraham (26-0, 21 KO) made another statement that he, and he alone, is the number one contender to World Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik.  Successfully defending his IBF belt for the seventh time, the German-based Armenian Abraham left outclassed challenger Elvin Ayala (18-3-1, 8 KO) of New Haven, Connecticut, face first on the mat in the closing seconds of the final round to score his fourth straight knockout.  The bout was broadcast live worldwide online by www.mdr.de from the Sparkassen-Arena in Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

Abraham and Ayala, both of whom weighed in just shy of the division limit at 159.8 lbs. at Friday’s weigh-in, flopped their strategy cards almost at the opening bell.  The 27-year old Ayala came out circling the ring, throwing his jab two and three at a time and looking for openings to unleash flurries.  Abraham, 28, held his hands high to block incoming fire while using his occasional stalking jabs to probe for the openings his straight right and left hook would take advantage of.

Through the first three rounds, it appeared the upstart Ayala was holding his own.  Abraham’s relaxed posture wasn’t resulting in many punches, allowing Ayala’s activity to carry the first and third rounds.  Abraham’s punch output swung decisively upwards in the fourth with sharp right hands. 

The fight became all but academic in the fifth.

Two left hands, one to the body and another to the head of Ayala, stunned the American.  Dipping to his right to avoid further punishment, Ayala never saw the right hand from Abraham that landed behind his left ear for the first knockdown of the night.  He survived the assault and made the bell. 

The sixth was fought at a measured pace and Abraham was warned for using his elbows to trap Ayala’s head.  The punishment resumed in the seventh when a left-right to the body sent Ayala towards the ropes.  In hot pursuit, Abraham landed three left hooks to the head, wobbling his man and following with another flush right hand in the corner as the round came to a close.  Abraham, increasing his focus on the body, would land a harsh three punch combination to the guts of Ayala in the eighth and a five-punch salvo along the ropes in the tenth.

Ayala’s best moment of the fight after the third round would come in the eleventh when a wet spot at center ring forced a halt in the action.  As the fight neared its scheduled conclusion, it seemed Abraham might be willing to coast through the final two frames and take the decision.  Then came the final explosion.  In the bouts final minute, Abraham blew a right hand through the guard of Ayala and followed with the finishing left hook/uppercut.  Ayala fell face first into the mat, his hands laid out beside his bent knees and the referee signaled the end at the 2:32 mark.

Following the bout, Abraham reiterated his recent stance that he would like to display his talents to America in the near if not immediate future.  His only roadblock is the potential that Germany’s Sebastian Sylvester (28-2, 13 KO) could be named an IBF mandatory.  While Sylvester would be a decided step up from Ayala, it may not be what’s best for Boxing’s classic Middleweight division.  Disregarding alphabet bodies, the case is made for Abraham, who also has wins over solid Middleweights Howard Eastman, Kingsley Ikeke, Edison Miranda and Khoren Gevor, that the real mandate is for Pavlik-Abraham sooner than later.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com