Fedor Chudinov vs. Felix Sturm 2: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction

In a result that defied the match statistics and the opinion of many watching the bout, Felix Sturm (40-5-3, 18 KOs) exacted revenge against Fedor Chudinov (14-1, 10 KOs) to retake the WBA Super world super middleweight title in a 12-round majority decision at the Koenig Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany.

Bad Left Hook relayed the cards but certainly felt the Russian deserved the win: 

Boxing Monthly and Saturday Night Boxing's Adam Abramowitz decried the results:

CompuBox's final punch stats also heavily favored Chudinov: 

Chudinov defeated Sturm by split decision in May 2015 to win the WBA belt, surviving the German champion's initial onslaught and outpacing him for the rest of the match.

Chudinov came into this bout with confidence after a decision win over Frank Buglioni in September 2015, but he did tell ESPN.com's Dan Rafael that "I haven't taken Sturm for granted."

This fight followed a similar pattern to their first contest, with Chudinov actually improving on his body work and the 37-year-old Sturm again looking tired and sluggish for much of the fight.

However, the judges apparently appreciated Sturm's ability to knife into Chudinov's defenses with his combinations and accurate power punching.

Boxing star Amir Khan didn't seem to have a problem with the result:

In the end, the 28-year-old Chudinov couldn't escape Germany for a second time, suffering the first loss of his pro career. The judges awarded Sturm with his fifth world title in his long career and his first win since defeating Darren Barker via TKO in December 2013. 

Sturm got the crowd into the match early, stringing together a few long combinations, but they were more flash than fury. Chudinov survived the flurries and acquitted himself well in the toe-to-toe exchanges. 

Both fighters' willingness to stand their ground and exchange made for an entertaining bout, per Bad Left Hook: 

CompuBox noted Chudinov wasn't throwing the jab as much as he did in the first fight:

Even though Chudinov wasn't pushing the pace quite as much in this bout, he substituted voluminous jab work with more body shots, another way of effectively tiring out his elder opponent. 

Sturm's work rate indeed decreased starting in the middle of the fourth round. He did keep Chudinov honest with some stinging one-two combinations, and the raucous crowd buoyed him with plenty of chanting and cheering. 

However, the punch numbers from CompuBox showed Chudinov was asserting control over the bout: 

Chudinov certainly could have done a better job of pressing his advantage, and his punches weren't always landing cleanly. Sturm did well to thwart his momentum at times with a stiff left jab. The four-time champion also made sure to ramp up the action at the end of each round, perhaps in an attempt to color the judges' perception of each frame.

Fight Ghost still had Chudinov up after nine rounds:

Perhaps sensing he wasn't quite convincing enough in the middle-late rounds in enemy territory, Chudinov stepped up the aggression and work rate in the final rounds.

The roaring crowd did its best to support Sturm through a wild final round, and whatever final push he mustered was apparently enough to sway the judges—or at least keep them from rewarding Chudinov for his hard work. 

WBA provided a ringside view of the decision:

Boxing Monthly assessed where Chudinov might have went wrong and looked ahead to Sturm's potential future opponents: 

Chudinov isn't a spectacular fighter in any one area, but he's a hard worker who has game-planned well in his bigger fights. He should continue to make noise in the division.

Had Sturm lost this bout, retirement would have certainly been on the table. However, the decision has given his career a bit of new life. Considering the contentious result, it will be interesting to see which fighter steps up to take on Sturm in a bout that will likely again take place in his home country.