Felix Sturm retained his WBA middleweight title with a unanimous points victory over Randy Griffin in Halle on Saturday night.

Nine months after fighting the American challenger to a surprise draw, the German eventually set the record straight in their second meeting in Halle with the judges ruling it 116-113, 116-112 and 118-110 in his favour.

"I owed Randy the rematch and it really was a great fight," Sturm said. "That is what the sport of boxing needs - fights like this. He has my full respect for his performance."

The 29-year-old controlled much of the action, cleverly picking Griffin apart with his jab.

Griffin proved his heart as he constantly marched forward and tried to unload heavy combinations, but most of his shots were absorbed by Sturms defence.

Sturm made good impact with his left jab on several fast counter-punches.

Griffin had his moments, especially in the third when he connected strongly, but failed to make significant impact in the following as Sturm was too versatile to be caught.

Sturm turned it on in the 11th round when he landed a few big lefts and rights but Griffin refused to give in. Both fighters then exchanged punches in the final round - and both raised their arms after the final bell.

Griffin was disappointed with the clear verdict, especially of the judge who called the bout 118-110.

"That difference is outrageous," he said. "I thought this fight was much closer to a draw than the first one.

"Maybe we can do a third fight, maybe in the US."

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