Smith's performance against Abraham good enough to warrant rematch

Paul Smith’s gallant attempt to snatch the WBO world super middleweight title from Arthur Abraham in Kiel last night will be reflected in the record books as a wide points defeat which doesn’t tell the story of a career best performance from the Liverpudlian, who delivered the goods for as many as 1,000 travelling fans.

When the fight was announced, plenty asked what Smith had done to deserve the opportunity, which arrived courtesy of a blossoming relationship between Sauerland, Abraham’s handlers, and Matchroom, promoter for three quarters of the Smith brothers. The eldest quarter seized his chance with both hands and should be proud of his showing.

In the build up, Smith was insistent that he was catching King Arthur at the right time, and that the 34 year old champion was on the slide. Indeed, Abraham has not been the force at super middle that he once was at eight pounds lighter. Aside from the trilogy with Robert Stieglitz, from which he emerged with the WBO’s 168lb version, Abraham has been matched frugally since exiting the super six tournament more than three years ago following schoolings from Carl Froch and Andre Ward.

The question wasn’t whether Abraham was on the slide, but whether Smith could cope with him. Despite a WBO ranking, the Liverpudlian’s recent ledger provided absolutely no evidence to suggest he could, but the performance in Germany certainly did.

Smith stood his ground in the opener and set a fairly brisk tempo. Throughout the fight, he coped admirably with Abraham’s heavier shots and moved around the ring well to resist a surprisingly active jab from the champion.

Abraham is usually at his most dangerous in the last thirty seconds of the round, but in several sessions it was Smith’s work that caught the eye before the bell sounded. Those expecting Abraham to crank up his efforts in the second half of the fight were perhaps surprised when Smith outworked Abraham in the seventh and eighth sessions, targeting his body successfully, and surviving the inevitable final round assault from Abraham fairly easily.

Did Smith do enough to usurp the throne from King Arthur? In terms of closeness, this world title contest could perhaps be likened to Barker v Geale and Brook v Porter, both held in the States and resulting in a British victory. Unfortunately for Smith, something in the German air caused all three judges to side heavily with Abraham. Smith and his trainer Joe Gallagher can rightly be disgusted at one of the judges scorecards in particular - Spaniard Fernando Laguna (119-109), who gave Smith just one round. Zoltan Enyedi (Hungary) and Waleska Roldan (USA) both tallied 117-111.

The online headlines from a couple of national publications, including the Telegraph, contained the word ‘robbed’, which is misleading as it indicates Smith was a clear winner. While some did indeed have Smith edging the contest, it was a close affair with subjective rounds which could have gone either way.

For me, close enough to warrant a rematch. Don King’s old adage: “You don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate” continues to be a running theme throughout the Abraham/Smith story, and it’ll be interesting to see if Matchroom can wangle another crack at Abraham for their man. If they can, the odds on the eldest scouser becoming the first of his boxing brothers to pick up world honours will be a great deal shorter than they were this time.

Although Abraham will look towards fights with Felix Sturm or Robert Steiglitz (a fourth? really?), Kalle Sauerland said that if the money is right, the champion will go anywhere.

Smith v Abraham at Anfield, anyone?