
Arthur Abraham (19-0, 17 KOs) won the vacant IBF middleweight world title with a fifth round stoppage of Kingsley Ikeke (23-2, 13 KOs) Saturday night at the Arena Leipzig in Leipzig, Germany. Abraham, who was very sharp, was able to hit Ikeke almost at will the entire fight. He finished the 6'4 Ikeke in the fifth with a series of hard shots punctuated by a crushing left hook to prompt a referee's stoppage at 1:36. Ikeke was in the process of collapsing to the deck when referee Samuel Viruet stepped in.
I actually didn't like this stoppage. Yes, Ikeke was hurt, and he did go down, but I don't see any reason why he shouldn't have gotten a count when he went down. It's not like the 7 consecutive bombs Corrales hit Castillo with in their 1st fight. Ikeke was hurt, but he's pretty tall and has no legs. IMO the ref stepped in way too soon and after a glancing blow. Ikeke would have went down, and should have got a count.
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