World super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham will take an enforced break from the ring after breaking his right hand during his points win over challenger Nikola Sjkeloca in Berlin.
The 34-year-old Abraham defended his WBO super-middleweight title when the judges awarded a unanimous points victory (116-113, 116-112, 119-110) against Sjkeloca of Montenegro in the early hours of Sunday.
But the champion left the ring in clear discomfort and the injury clearly impeded his performance.
"If you push too hard, it really hurts," said Germany's Abraham.
"I couldn't really hit with the right."
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The Armenian-born fighter had injured the hand in the fight's build-up and laboured with it from the first round, revealed his coach Ulli Wegner.
It forced the champion to jab with his left as he picked up the 40th win in his 44th professional bout, just 61 days after winning back his title from Germany's Robert Stieglitz.
Abraham says his dream is to fight Germany's IBF middleweight champion Felix Sturm at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.
"Everyone dreams of boxing in the Olympic Stadium," said Abraham, but Sturm must first face Australian challenger Sam Soliman on May 31 before any plans can be made.
