MBS Arena, Potsdam, Brandenburg - In a battle for the vacant WBA 'regular' super middleweight title, Tyron Zeuge (19-0-1, 11KOs) captured gold by stopping Giovanni De Carolis (24-7-1, 12KOs) in the twelfth and final round.
The fighters picked up where they left off following their World title tussle at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin on July 16, which after twelve fiercely contested rounds ended with a majority draw decision. Two judges scored the fight 114-114, while the third had Zeuge ahead 115-114.
Having narrowly missed out on World title success, Zeuge, who injured his upper left arm in the sixth-round of their first encounter, was overjoyed at landing a second shot at De Carolis’ WBA strap, and insisted that injury free he would be ready to dethrone the Italian Champion.
The undefeated 24 year-old was training under the guidance of coach Conny Mittermeier and mentor Juergen Braehmer.
The rematch was closely contested, with each man having his moments with hard shots and combinations. Each fighter showed a good chin, taking hard shots at close range while trading in toe to toe fashion. Both boxers were tired by the tenth due to the hectic pace of the fight and mostly fought on fumes until the twelfth.
During the final round, Zeuge badly hurt De Carolis with a serious of punches that sent him down. He beat the count, but was obviously out on his feet with almost nothing in the tank. He was barely able to stay on his feet as Zeuge went for the kill. As De Carolis was being punished in the corner, the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.
De Carolis won the WBA belt in January with an eleventh-round TKO win over Zeuge’s countryman Vincent Feigenbutz.