https://Abraham stops Ikeke to win I...leweight title
LEIPZIG, Germany -- Armenia's Arthur Abraham stopped Nigeria's Kingsley Ikeke in the fifth round to win the vacant IBF middleweight title on Saturday.
Abraham improved to 20-0 with 18 knockouts as he took the title vacated by Jermaine Taylor. Ikeke, ranked second by the IBF, fell to 23-2.
"It was his fight, not mine -- I couldn't stop him," Ikeke said.
Abraham had no trouble hitting the 6-foot-4 Nigerian. By the fourth round, he was taunting Ikeke, and Abraham's corner told him to stop showing off.
In the fifth, Abraham knocked Ikeke into the ropes with a left, and after several more shots the referee pulled him off Ikeke.
"It may not have looked like it tonight, but I think he beat a world-class guy," said Abraham's trainer Uli Wegner.
Abraham improved to 20-0 with 18 knockouts as he took the title vacated by Jermaine Taylor. Ikeke, ranked second by the IBF, fell to 23-2.
"It was his fight, not mine -- I couldn't stop him," Ikeke said.
Abraham had no trouble hitting the 6-foot-4 Nigerian. By the fourth round, he was taunting Ikeke, and Abraham's corner told him to stop showing off.
In the fifth, Abraham knocked Ikeke into the ropes with a left, and after several more shots the referee pulled him off Ikeke.
"It may not have looked like it tonight, but I think he beat a world-class guy," said Abraham's trainer Uli Wegner.