Arthur Abraham successfully defended his WBO super-middleweight title when he stopped Frenchman Mehdi Bouadla in the eighth round in Nuremberg.
The 32-year-old was fighting for the first time since his unanimous points win over compatriot Robert Stieglitz in August which crowned him world champion for the second time.
The win over Bouadla was the 36th of his career and the 28th knockout in his 39th fight.
Former IBF middleweight champion Abraham dominated from the first bell and put together some good combinations in the early rounds.
After catching Bouadla with a strong right in the fourth, Abraham finished the round by pinning the challenger to the ropes and the 30-year-old Frenchman was left with a bloody nose.
Berlin-based Abraham kept up the pressure and launched a fierce assault with 90 seconds left of the seventh round, opening up a cut over Bouadla’s right eye.
The Frenchman was allowed to box on but Abraham continued to rain down the blows and the bout was stopped after two minutes 11 seconds of the eighth round by referee Mark Nelson.
“I am really pleased to have fought in Nuremberg, I started my career here,” said Abraham.
“You can’t have a better feeling than to fight here in front of 10,000 fans. He fought hard until the end.”
