ROBERT STIEGLITZ TKO end of 10 KAROLY BALZSAY

In one of the most sensational and dramatic fights you could wish to see, Robert Stieglitz, outscored early, came back to pound Karoly Balzsay into defeat in 10 rounds in Budapest on Saturday night to win the WBO super middleweight title.

This result was a major surprise, perhaps even in the shocking category.

Stieglitz was considered a good, competent fighter and a solid puncher but by no means exceptional.

Balzsay, who looked so good when beating Denis Inkin to become champion in January, figured to win — an undefeated southpaw boxing in front of his compatriots in a Hungarian homecoming.

The homecoming turned out to be a horror story for Balzsay, who was severely punished in the ninth round, hammered to a standstill in the 10th and pulled out by his trainer Fritz Sdunek before the start of round 11. The correct way the fight should be recorded for posterity is TKO end of 10, not TKO11, but we’ve been through this before (see Rounds that never were in the Graham Says archives).

Balzsay was removed on a stretcher with his head immobilised by a neck brace, but this seemed a precaution more than anything.

The fight started well for the 30-year-old Balzsay, but not sensationally well. He is fast and classy, but Stieglitz looked very strong and purposeful, moving in behind his high guard, and it was immediately apparent that the 28-year-old, Russian-born German challenger was the puncher in the fight.

I was thinking, watching Balzsay burn up the ring with movement, that the Hungarian fighter had better be in shape for a gruelling, long-distance fight because it was clear to me that Stieglitz wasn’t going anywhere.

Stieglitz blocked a lot of Balzsay’s blows and he was scoring solidly with his own punches — jabs, right hands through the middle, and, ominously, some strong left hooks and right hands to the body, under the Hungarian’s elbows.

While Balzsay was faster and flashier, and seemed to be winning the early rounds, Stieglitz was fighting a steady, smart fight, and making his shots count.

In the seventh round, I detected a turning of the tide. Stieglitz was getting his right hand through the middle of Balzsay’s guard with greater consistency now, and he was fighting with considerable confidence, and I scribbled the note as the round ended: “The last 5 rds will be very tough for B.”

I didn’t realise how tough.

Balzsay still seemed on course to winning after eight rounds, but heads clashed in the ninth and the Hungarian fighter suffered a nasty, vertical cut over the right eye, near the bridge of the nose.

The ringside doctor checked on the cut and told referee Joe Cortez that the fighter could continue, but what was developing into a dour struggle for Balzsay immediately descended into disaster. He just seemed to fall apart after the head clash, and Stieglitz was right on him, piling into him with hard punches from both hands. Balzsay could barely stand, and late in the round his legs just seemed to give out and he went down, with referee Cortez ruling a slip.

The fight was now effectively over. Balzsay was allowed to come out for the 10th but he had nothing left. All he could do was throw hopeful, desperate punches, but Stieglitz was smashing right through him, looking almost like a reincarnation of Rocky Graziano against Tony Zale as he blasted punches into his faltering opponent. Referee Cortez visited Balzsay’s corner at the end of the round to express his concern, but trainer Fritz Sdunek raised an arm to signify surrender as the bell sounded for the start of round 11, with a brave but disorientated Balzsay on his feet and trying to push past his handler in a feeble and forlorn attempt to continue. Full marks to Balzsay for courage, but he needed saving from himself and Sdunek knew it.

How, then, did it all go wrong? Balzsay seemed to be clearly in front after eight rounds but Stieglitz was coming on strongly. I think that Balzsay might have been able to stave off Stieglitz down the stretch, although I am not at all sure of this, but the collision in the ninth had a major effect on the proceedings.

How boxing matches are decided can come down to inches, to matters of seconds, to one punch and to sheer bad luck.

Had it been Stieglitz who got the worst of the head clash, and been the one to suffer the cut, I might today be writing about a different outcome.

In another big fight on the weekend, Juan Diaz battled his way to a unanimous 12-round decision over Paulie Malignaggi in an entertaining junior welter bout (actually fought at a catchweight of 138 1/2 pounds) in the main event on HBO’s Boxing After Dark.

I’m not going to go into this fight in any detail here. I have my views, but I will save them for when I write about the fight for the readers of Boxing Monthly.

I will say that I thought Malignaggi boxed his best fight in years, and I was very impressed with the coaching of his new, hitherto unknown, trainer Sherif Younan — I think we will be hearing a lot more about Mr. Younan in the future. I thought that judge Gale Van Hoy’s 118-110 score was way off the mark. However, sorry, I emphatically do not agree with the popular view that Paulie got robbed — although I know I’m definitely swimming against the tide on that.