BERLIN - Germany's Robert Stieglitz will face world champion Arthur Abraham for the fourth time next year for another crack at the WBO super middleweight title after Stieglitz's draw with Felix Sturm this weekend.
German super middleweight boxer Robert Stieglitz celebrates victory over Armenian-German Arthur Abraham after the WBO World Championship Super Middleweight title bout on March 23, 2013 in Magdeburg, eastern Germany
The fight had been a decider to see whether Stieglitz or Sturm will challenge Abraham for the world title, but Stieglitz remains the WBO's mandatory challenger after the result against compatriot Sturm in Stuttgart on Saturday night.
The judges failed to separate the fighters on the scorecards after 12 action-packed rounds as Sturm stepped up a division, having lost the IBF middleweight title to Australia's Sam Soliman on points in May.
"They both gave absolutely everything, it was a war," said Abraham, who was ringside in Stuttgart for the Stieglitz-Sturm bout.
"For me, Felix was the winner."
Stieglitz is ready for a rematch, but first he has the right to try and regain the WBO super middleweight title from Abraham he first won in 2009 and has held twice.
Germany's Abraham will fight Stieglitz in the first few months of 2015, while a rematch between Stieglitz and Sturm is unlikely to happen until late next year.
The 33-year-old Stieglitz last lost to Abraham in March in their third meeting after originally losing on points to the world champion in August 2012, then won the rematch in March 2013 when swelling forced Abraham's left eye shut and Stieglitz earned a fourth-round technical knock-out.