Paul Smith has been granted a rematch against WBO super-middleweight champion Arthur Abraham on 21 February in Berlin, mix96.co.ukreports.
The Liverpudlian suffered a points defeat against Abraham in September, but a hard-fought contest was overshadowed by the scorecards, with the German receiving wide margins from all three judges.
Smith’s work-rate was barely acknowledged by the officials, one of whom, Fernando Laguna, awarded a 119-109 verdict to the champion, and the WBO held an investigation into the scoring.
The governing body initially insisted that Abraham was under no obligation to defend his belt against Smith again, but King Arthur has agreed to the return bout.
Smith told Sky Sports News: ‘It was a close fight but believe I won the fight. ‘It was a travesty the way it was scored.”
“Arthur has been true to his word, he said he would give me a rematch. He told me at the press conference that he’s going to knock me out, as he did last time,” Smith said.
Abraham said: ‘I’m a man of my word. I promised Paul that I would give him a rematch after our first fight in Kiel. I will honour that promise.”
“However, Paul should be careful what he wishes for. I’ve already beaten him once and this time I plan to win in even more spectacular fashion,” he added.
Both boxers will be in Liverpool on Thursday to officially announce the fight.
Abraham, 34, is in his second spell as the WBO’s champion having initially held the belt for five months from August 2012.
He lost it in his rematch with Robert Stieglitz but regained it a year later with a split-decision victory in their trilogy clash.
Smith, who is two years younger than the champion, had won four fights since losing to George Groves in 2011 before challenging Abraham.
