By Allan Fox: WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (40-4, 28 KO’s) proved on Saturday night that it only takes one hand to beat #12 WBO Sjekloca (26-2, 8 KO’s), as Abraham was able to jab and hook his way to a 12 round unanimous decision win at The Velodrom, Prenzlauer Berg, in Berlin, Germany. The 34-year-old Abraham came into the fight with an injured right hand that he hurt while in training camp.

Knowing that he had an opponent without much power in 35-year-old Sjekloca, Abraham took the fight anyway and was still able to beat Sjekloca with just one hand. The final judges decision was 116-113, 116-112, and 119-110, all for Abraham.

Abraham tried using his right hand in the first half of the fight, but it was causing him too many problems. By the 6th, Abraham was complaining to his trainer Uli Wegner about the pain in his right hand, but he wasn’t too interested in hearing complaints and told him to keep fighting. Sjekloca didn’t have the kind of pressure and/or power to bother Abraham and take advantage of his injury, even though it was pretty clear by the 7th round that there was something seriously wrong with Abraham’s right hand because he was no longer using it.

Sjekloca should have gone after Abraham and poured it on in hopes of getting a stoppage or at least in hopes of out-pointing him, but he chose to stay on the outside and play it safe for the last six rounds. Sjekloca did land some shots every now and then, but he wasn’t putting his punches together the way he needed to in facing an injured fighter. Abraham was there for the taking had Sjekloca opened up with his punches, but he was only willing to throw one or two punches at a time and this wasn’t going to be nearly enough to get the better of Abraham.

Sjekloca’s right eye was swollen by the 8th round, courtesy of Abraham’s jabs. Instead of keeping his guard up to block Abraham’s jabs, Sjekloca kept it down and was a sitting duck for Abraham’s shots.

After the fight Abraham talked about the pain in his hand, and how didn’t want to call off the fight after he hurt his hand during training camp. As bad as Sjekloca was tonight, you can’t blame Abraham for not calling off the fight because he probably would have beaten Sjekloca with two injured hands. This was a very average opponent Abraham had in the ring with him tonight.