Strum Retains WBA Title

HALLE, Germany (Ticker) -- It wasn't a win, but it was good enough for Felix Sturm. Sturm came up with a late flurry in the 12th round and battled Randy Griffin to a draw Saturday at the Gerry Weber Stadium, retaining his WBA middleweight title. One judge awarded the fight to the 28-year-old Sturm, 115-114, while Griffin received a score of 117-111 on another scorecard. The third judge had the bout even at 114-114.

"I am pleased with my performance and thought I won," Sturm said. "I landed the clearer punches. My left jab worked very well. I did not even had to use my right because the left kept coming." Griffin disagreed. "I feel like I had won," he said. "It was a very good and a very close fight. I would love to fight against him again. The next time, I will leave the ring as the winner. The next time, I will stop his left jab. I will try to knock him out." Sturm has no qualms about taking on Griffin a second time. "I think we will have a rematch because that is something the fans want to see," the champion said. "I offered it to him in the ring."

Making his second defense of the belt he won from Javier Castillejo in April, Sturm (28-2-1) came out strong, tagging the 31-year-old challenger with sharp jabs in the opening round. Sturm twice caught his opponent with a crisp left in the fifth, but Griffin replied with quick combinations to the head and body. Both fighters were aggressive throughout the first five rounds before Griffin (24-1-3) turned it up a notch in the sixth. Sturm then appeared to get the better of his opponent during a wild exchange at the end of the seventh. The German started to tire in the eighth, however, when Griffin pelted him with several nice combinations. Griffin landed a nice combination in the ninth as the tempo remained high, and the fists kept flying in the 10th, with both men landing quick combinations to the head. Neither could make significant impact in the 11th, and both fighters raised their hands in triumph after the final round.