From the Lanxess-Arena in Cologne, Germany WBA Super World Middleweight Champion Felix Sturm(36-2-1, 15 KO) successfully defended his title after defeating Matthew Macklin (28-3, 19 KO) by split-decision.

It was a hard-fought fight throughout, but it was the German who got the hometown decision, and it is a fairly controversial one. Sturm takes his win streak to eight and has not lost a fight since 2006.

I had the fight scored a draw and was impressed with the work-rate and volume of punches being thrown by Macklin throughout the 12-round distance. Sturm was a lot more accurate than Macklin, but he was far less active.

One scorecard was scored 115-113 for Macklin while the other two were scored 116-112 for “Leonidas,” who was fighting in his 16^th title fight since he began his professional career 10 years ago.

This takes Sturm one step closer to a potential meeting with current pound-for-pound star and middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (47-2-2, 26 KO)

Rounds 7 through 12:

Round 7- Macklin doubling up on the left hook and keeping Sturm on the defensive side. Stiff jabs land for Sturm. Nice jab and right hand land for Macklin. Macklin lands consecutive left hooks on Sturm’s chin. Macklin opening up a lot in this round, but he takes a right hand from Sturm. Macklin having a good, offensive round, but Sturm landed the bigger shots. 10-9 Macklin

Round 8- Right hand clips Macklin 30 seconds into the round. Macklin sitting back this round, but Sturm isn’t taking advantage of it. Left hands land for Sturm. Macklin appears slower this round, but he is still pressing forward. Anyone’s round, but it was very close. I like Macklin's work rate, but Sturm is very accurate. 10-9 Macklin

Round 9- Sturm opening up the round strong, but Macklin comes back with a combination and presses the champion backwards. Right hand lands for Macklin. Good left hands land for Sturm. Macklin takes consecutive jabs to the face, and Macklin’s mouthpiece falls out. Sturm hasn’t done much in the last minute, and Macklin is still firing away. Round ends 10 seconds early. 10-9 Macklin

Round 10- Sturm looking good in the opening minute of this round. Jabs landing for Sturm. Hard uppercut lands for Sturm. Macklin takes a right hand and comes back with a strong combination. Macklin pushes Sturm back with 30 seconds to go but takes an uppercut for his troubles and turns to the ropes. Macklin reverses Sturm and gets him in the corner. Uppercut lands for Sturm to end a very good round. 10-9 Sturm

Round 11- Sturm hurts Macklin with a couple right hands in the opening minute of the round. Macklin pushes Sturm back with his own flurry of punches. Triple left hook lands for Sturm. Double left hook lands for Sturm. Macklin lands a right and a left. Brutal punches being landed by both boxers with 30 seconds left in the round. Macklin showing a lot of determination and is very busy as the round ends. 10-9 Sturm

Macklin out-landing Sturm 139 to 131 going into the final round.

Round 12- Both boxers landing shots in the first minute. It’s hard to pick just one who is getting the better of the other. Macklin is throwing a lot more though. Right hands land for both boxers. Half the round is still left, and it could go either way. Sturm comes forward with a minute to go, but Macklin begins to throw again. Uppercut pushes Macklin into the air, and he lands a right hand. Macklin comes back and gets rocked with a few seconds to go. Sturm may have stolen the fight with that last-second flurry. 10-9 Sturm

Amazing technical war and a fight of the year candidate. It could go either way.

My scorecard: 114-114 Draw

SkySports commentator scorecard: 114-114 Draw

Official Decision: 115-113 Macklin, 116-112 Sturm and 116-112 Sturm.

Felix Sturm def. Matthew Macklin by split-decision.

From the Lanxess-Arena in Cologne, Germany WBA Super World Middleweight Champion Felix Sturm(35-2-1, 15 KO) puts his title on the line against Matthew Macklin (28-2, 19 KO). It will be his 16th title fight.

The winner of this fight will be looking for a future shot against pound-for-pound star and top middleweight Sergio Martinez.

It has been over 10 minutes, and Macklin is still waiting for Sturm to make his entrance. He has even started hitting the pads as he waits inside the ring.

Ok, it's been nearly 20 minutes, and the boxers are finally ready to go!

Round 1- Macklin comes out fast and goes to Sturm's body. Macklin looks anxious to get this fight going, and Sturm finally fires back after 30 seconds. Sturm using a lot of defense in the round. He’s thrown maybe 10 punches so far halfway through. Macklin still throwing a lot of body shots. Sturm lands a combination. Right hands land for Sturm. Very good opening round for Macklin. 10-9 Macklin

Macklin out-threw Sturm 85 to 24 in the first round.

Round 2- Macklin landing a lot of shots in the first minute of this round. Sturm appears to be in a small amount of trouble, but he did block a lot of them. Sturm lands a combination and a jab. Hard right hands landing for Sturm. Macklin using his work-rate to keep Sturm from throwing too much. Very close round. 10-9 Macklin

Round 3- Both boxers use the jabs to open up the round. Macklin is the only one utilizing the body shots. Left hand lands for both, and Macklin’s appeared harder. Macklin comes forward and lands two jabs to the body. Sturm comes back with accurate jabs of his own that push Macklin back. Macklin pushes Sturm back and throwing consistently. Right hand lands for Sturm. Macklin ends the round big and lands a good amount of left hands. Great fight so far. 10-9 Macklin

Round 4- Left hands land for Sturm, but Macklin is still pressing forward. Right hand lands for Macklin. Hard right hand lands for Sturm. Good body shots by Sturm followed by solid head shots. Sturm looking a lot better this round. Macklin isn’t as active as he was before but still coming forward. Macklin throws an eight punch combination and lands a couple of them. This is a great technical battle. 10-9 Sturm

Round 5- Macklin avoids shots from Sturm early on. Sturm using the jab and counter right hands. Left hand lands for Sturm that snaps Macklin back. Macklin taking a lot of clean blows this round. Sturm’s defense is tight but very effective. Three right hands land for Sturm. Macklin comes back with body shots. Sturm looks tired as the round comes to a close. 10-9 Sturm

Round 6- Uppercut lands for Sturm. Boxers going head-to-head with Macklin taking the better blows this round. Hard right hands land for Macklin. Sturm doesn’t throw back. Macklin’s right eye is swelling. Good pressure being applied by Macklin this round. Close round. 10-9 Sturm

I have it 57-57 so far. SkySports commentator has Macklin ahead 59-55.

Rounds 7 through 12:

Round 7- N’dou comes out faster and lands a few right hands in the opening minute. Straight right lands for Brook. N’dou ducks a second right hand by Brook. Both boxers landing some solid shots inside with 30 seconds to go. Round ends with N'dou throwing a flurry of punches. 10-9 Brook

Round 8- Brook in new territory this round. N’dou pressing the action this round. Brook may be taking the round off. Left hand lands for Brook as N’dou comes in. Brook leaps into N’dou with a right hand. Brook backs N’dou up with a combination. 10-9 Brook

Punch stats through eight rounds: Brook 131/484; N’dou 69/295

Round 9- Left hook glances off of Brook’s head. N’dou coming forward and throwing hard left hooks this round. Brook on his toes this round and using good movement to keep N’dou at bay. N’dou comes forward with a flurry of left hooks and presses Brook back. Brook lands an uppercut, but N’dou lands some body shots. Right hand lands for Brook. 10-9 N’dou

Round 10- Big right hand misses by N’dou. Brook having a better round than the last one but seems to be set on going the distance. Right hand lands for Brook and he rocks N’dou with a huge uppercut. N’dou appears to be on wobbly legs and lands another uppercut. N’dou goes across the ring and fires back. N’dou ends the round with a few good shots. 10-9 Brook

Round 11- N’dou throwing left hooks to open the first minute of the round. Brook bobbing and weaving to get inside as he clinches up with N’dou. Right hand lands for Brook as N’dou goes against the ropes. Right hand lands again for Brook with 30 seconds to go. Brook 10-9

Round 12- Referee warns Brook for pushing N’dou. Hard punches landed by Brook, and N’dou almost falls over. N’dou looks rocked as Brook comes forward. N’dou comes back with a combination. Half the round to go, and it’s all Brook. Wide right hand misses from N’dou. Brook ends the round with another uppercut, and the fighter’s give each other a hug for their efforts. 10-9 Brook

My scorecard: 118-110 Kell Brook

Official Decision: 118-111, 119-110 and 119-110 all for "Special K" Kell Brook

Impressive showing by both boxers. N'dou is incredibly tough. Brook looked good going all 12 rounds for never being past the seventh in his career.

SkySports is showing the Kell Brook vs. Lovemore N'dou bout before Sturm vs. Macklin. It comes from the Hillsborough Leisure Centre located in Sheffield, United Kingdom and is scheduled for 12 rounds in the welterweight division.

At 25, Kell Brook is one of the UK's best up-and-coming boxers and he is undefeated at 23-0 with 16 knockouts. He has knocked out his last eight opponents.

Lovemore N'dou is 48-12-2 and has never been knocked out even with 12 losses to his record, including his last fight versus Saul Alvarez.

N'dou out-numbers Brook in total rounds boxed at 421 to 85.

Here are the results, round-by-round and blow-by-blow.

Round 1- Brook pressing the action early. N’dou acting like an old pro using defense and picking his shots. Brooks establishing the jab with head and body shots. N’dou missing with wide left hooks. Three-punch combination lands for Brook. 10-9 Brook

Round 2- N’dou using the left hand a lot in this round. Brook keeping the jab pumping as N’dou comes forward. Good straight right by Brook. N’dou covers up as Brook unloads and delivers a body shot. Left hook misses by N’dou. Right hand by N’dou clips Brook. 10-9 Brook

Round 3- Brook lands a few body shots to open the round. Boxers trading in-close. Nice body shot lands for N’dou. Brook still utilizing the jab. Combination lands for Brook, and N’dou comes back with a right hand. Close round. 10-9 Brook

Round 4- N’dou coming forward and pushing Brook against the ropes. Brook opening up with combinations and throwing a lot of punches. N’dou comes forward with a right hand that lands. Left hand lands for Brook. Referee halts bout to get more tape on Brook’s glove. N’dou lands a left hook. N’dou throwing power punches and clipping Brook. Brook returns with his own power shots to the end the round. 10-9 Brook

Round 5- Hard right hand lands for N’dou early in the round, but Brook shakes it off. Three right hands come back from Brook. Right hand lands for N’dou. Brook takes a couple body shots and comes back with his own. Right-left combination lands for N’dou. Brook snaps N’dou’s head back with a jab. Brook may have stolen the round with that. 10-9 N’dou

Round 6- Brook controlling this round early on with his jab. N’dou not throwing as much. First clinch of the fight occurs halfway through the round. Short right hands doing well this round for Brook. N’dou misses big with a right hand and takes one by Brook. Uppercut lands for Brook, but N’dou returns with punches. N’dou backs up and grabs onto Brook as the round comes to a close. Great close to the round for Brook. N'dou looks ready to go for the first time in his career. 10-9 Brook