Sturm retains WBA title from Macklin by decision

Felix Sturm retained his WBA middleweight title with a contentious split-decision win over Irish challenger Matthew Macklin in Lanxess Arena on Saturday.

Two judges awarded it 116-112 in favor of the defending champion fighting in his hometown, while the other scored 115-113 to Macklin after a thrilling fight.

''I was very strong, stronger than Felix and I won, no doubt,'' Macklin said in German. ''I hope Felix will give me another fight, maybe in November.''

Sturm successfully defended his title for the 10th time since losing it to and winning it back from Javier Castillejo in 2006-07.

The 32-year-old said Macklin surprised him in the first three or four rounds.

''I made a mistake at the start and allowed him too much space.'' Sturm said. ''We'll see each other again soon.''

Macklin, a former Irish, British and European middleweight champion, had the better of the early rounds but Sturm used his experience and greater accuracy to fight his way back and convince the judges.

Sturm, a German of Bosnian parentage, improved to 36-2-1 with 15 knockouts, while the 29-year-old Macklin, who fights out of Birmingham, England, dropped to 28-3 with 19 KOs.