By Alexey Sukachev

Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin - Tyron Zeuge (18-0-1, 10KOs) came close, but his showdown with WBA 'regular' super middleweight world champion Giovanni De Carolis (24-6-1, 12KOs) ended in a twelve round majority draw. The scores were 114-114, 114-114 and 115-114 Zeuge.

It was a cracking fight with both boxers giving it their all. Zeuge showed what he was made of in the championship rounds, when his left shoulder went out and he continued to display his warrior spirit by fighting hard in the final two rounds.

Similarly to Vincent Feigenbutz, Zeuge is another highly touted German super middleweight prospect that looked to have the goods. He had to prove he was goods against a savvy Italian veteran in De Carolis, who wrestled the WBA belt from Feigenbutz in an emphatic fashion this past March. Zeuge did his best but it was still not enough.

Unlike a majority of German fighters, Zeuge, 24, is offensive-minded - partially because his coach right now is reigning WBA light heavyweight champion Juergen Braehmer, who himself is different from the basic German pack.

Zeuge tried to be aggressive from the early start. He looked to be the aggressor but his success was limited due to the Italian's superior guard. De Carolis, 31, picked his spots, used feints to avoid getting hit and added his sneaky jab on occasion. Nevertheless, Zeuge did better in the first half, remaining active and poised.

It got worse for the challenger by the midst of the fight. Being tightly neat by De Carolis, Zeuge failed to create something really dangerous for the Italian. Meanwhile, De Carolis began to mount some attacks of his own. He used body shots to trouble Zeuge, landed some clean shots and used uppercuts as well. In the crucial tenth round, De Carolis had outpunched and outlanded his foe convincingly. Moreover, Zeuge injured his left shoulder which effectively imitated him to rare one-sided offensives. De Carolis felt his chance but was unable to dominate Zeuge the way he should (as a champion).

ON THE UNDERCARD

In his first fight since losing the WBO super middleweight title in April to Gilberto Ramirez in Las Vegas, 'King' Arthur Abraham (45-5, 30KOs) broke down and stopped Tim Robin Lihaug (15-2, 8KOs) in eight rounds.

Lihaug, who was taking a very big step up in class, was broken down round by round by big punches. He went down hard in the eight round, started taking more punishment and his corner threw in th towel to stop the contest.

With the win Abraham picks up the vacant WBO International super middleweight world title.

Norwegian super middleweight Lihaug might have thought the King was dethroned... and he was. But coming back to a rebel region of his European patrimony King Arthur has shown how wrong and disguised his 23-year old opponent was.

WBO #15 Lihaug, who is much bigger than the former IBF middleweight champion, relied on his jab and defensive prowess. It was soon revealed, however, that Lihaug's jab was inconsistent, while location of his hands (way too low) allowed Abraham to connect well - specifically with his right hand.

As always, the German took some time off to evaluate his opponent. Hidden well behing his tight block Abraham wasn't overly active with his trademark offensive outbursts but when he did outburst the effect was clearly seen. Lihaug's ability to take Abraham's punches was limited. He did well in the second and third rounds but Abraham connected with a big right hand at the end of the round. Round four saw Abraham on the offensive. Lihaug moved backwards, held when he could and tried to pop his jab into the King's face. But it was way too ineffective.

Abraham's pressure became even more telling by the end of the fifth. He went slowly after Lihaug and looked for a shot or two to put him down. Lihaug was badly shaken in the sixth while Abraham was confident and reserved. He tagged Lihaug with one right hand after another but mostly with single shots. The German uleashed more combos in the seventh stanza, rocking Lihaug several times. Early into the eighth he applied even more pressure and finally caught Lihaug with a right hand, and then another right hand, dropping him down hard. Lihaug got up and immediately found himself under fire. Abraham kept punching up until a moment referee Mikael Hook of Sweden intervened to wave it off.

WBO #6 Arthur Abraham has still something left in his tank even at a solid age of 36.