German super-middleweights Arthur Abraham (33-3, 27KO’s) and Robert Stieglitz (41-2, 23KO’s) both scored victories tonight in Germany but the performances couldn’t have been more different. Stieglitz had no problems at all scoring a wide unanimous decision over fellow German Henry Weber (15-1-1, 3KO’s), but Abraham, returning from a loss to Andre Ward in the Super Six, looked less than impressive despite scoring a fifth-round TKO over Argentina’s rugged Pablo Farias (19-2, 11KO’s).

Abraham,31, had lost three of his last four coming into tonight’s fight, so could be forgiven for being a little cautious, but up until the stoppage in the fifth round barely landed a punch. Farias was game and stood in front of Abraham, throwing hooks and body shots, but Abraham’s sporadic wild swings hit thin air.

In an expected move, the WBA have ordered an immediate rematch

In an unsurprising move, the World Boxing Association has ordered an immediate rematch between Lamont Peterson and Amir Khan after Khan’s team made a protest over certain irregularities on the night.

Khan lost his WBA and IBF titles to Peterson in controversial fashion last December in Washington, and today the WBA have confirmed they must fight again within 180 days, citing the fight to be “riddled with controversy as a result of a plethora of anomalies.”

Martinez (left) and Macklin at yesterday's press conference to announce their fight

Following his close, controversial split-decision loss to WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm in Germany, England’s Matthew Macklin (28-3, 19KO’s) now has his focus on another World title shot, this time against Argentinian WBC holder Sergio Martinez (48-2-2, 27KO’s). The fighters came face-to-face for the first time at a good-natured press conference yesterday to announce the bout, which will take place at Madison Square Garden, New York on March 17.

“Coming face-to-face with Martinez, he comes across as a nice, humble, friendly kind of guy and you can’t read too much into it.”

Peterson and his team have clearly had enough of Khan's complaints

Lamont Peterson’s manager Barry Hunter has hit back at claims that his fighter’s win over Amir Khan for the WBA & IBF light-welterweight titles in Washington last month was fixed. Leaving no doubt about his, and his fighters stance on the matter, Hunter slammed Khan for being a bad loser and suggested the financial clout of Golden Boy is the only reason this matter is being pursued.

The statement read: “Unfortunately, we are in this process of dealing with these unfounded protests. It would be an understatement to characterize Lamont as being disappointed in the unprofessional manner in which Khan is attempting to discredit his performance in the ring and victory. We were raised to conduct ourselves where Champions display professionalism, both in victory and defeat. Lamont previously tasted defeat and handled it the way it should be handled — he worked harder on areas that needed improvement to maximize his performance in the ring. Now, he is World Champion.

Arum has told Pacquiao to hold out for a bigger purse despite the calls from boxing fans

To the disappointment of boxing fans everywhere, Manny Pacquiao’s financial advisor Michael Koncz has told the press that fighting Floyd Mayweather on May 5 is not going to happen because it is ”foolish from an economic standpoint”, and would require a far larger venue than the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Mayweather called Pacquiao out via his Twitter account on Tuesday, challenging the Filipino superstar to a fight on May 5, a date Mayweather has pencilled in already. Even though Pacquiao responded positively to the challenge, calling for the fight himself, it now appears as if the men behind the scenes have influenced his thinking and once again greed has scuppered the biggest fight in the sport today.