King Arthur Abraham (33-3, 27 KOs) celebrated a successful ring return on Saturday night when he knocked out Pablo Farias (19-2, 11 KOs) in the fifth round of their clash in Offenburg, Germany. Fighting in front of a sell-out crowd of 4,000 fans and more than five million fans on German public TV ARD, Abraham punished his opponent with his trademark power punches.

He knocked him down three times before the referee waved the bout off after two minutes in round five. “It's good to be back,” King Arthur said. “This was a good start, nothing more and nothing less. I am pleased with my performance and will keep working hard to get back to the very top. I want to be world champion again in 2012.”

Farias came out aggressively and was on the front foot throughout most of the fight. “It took Arthur a while to find the right distance,” coach Ulli Wegner said. “Once he had found it, we all know how hard he can punch. It was a good comeback victory.” Said Farias: “I started well but when he hit me with his power it was over. His punches are very hard.”

Promoter Kalle Sauerland believes that 2012 will be Abraham's year. “He just knocked out the IBF's number three in five rounds, that's a very good start,” Sauerland stated. “King Arthur is back on track and he has great things ahead in 2012.” The victory made him the new WBO Europe Super-Middleweight Champion.

In the co-featured main event, WBO Super-Middleweight Champion Robert Stieglitz (41-2, 23 KOs) retained his title with a points victory over brave challenger Henry Weber (15-1-1, 3 KOs). Stieglitz was ahead 116-112, 118-110 and 119-109 after twelve rounds. Heavyweight hopeful Kubrat Pulev (15-0, 7 KOs) continued his march up the rankings with a ninth-round TKO victory over Michael Sprott (36-18, 17 KOs).

Credit: Tom Hill Photos

Davis, rated No. 9 by the World Boxing Council ("WBC") and No. 10 by the World Boxing Association ("WBA"), won a lackluster fight by unanimous 10-round decision (100-90, 100-90, 99-91) in a near shutout performance.

"I'm happy I won the fight but not with my performance," Davis said. "I was most definitely frustrated.   I came to fight. He did a lot of holding and running. I didn't want to rush in recklessly to force the action and get caught by a shot. It is what it is. I tried to be aggressive and, most importantly I got a victory.

"I think it was a style clash between fighters with some similarities - two counter-punchers, although he never really tried to counter. I watched old tapes of him again and I don't know what caused him to fight like that. It certainly wasn't the same case when he (LSDEC10) fought Kelly Pavlik."

The son of 1976 Olympic gold medalist and Most Outstanding Boxer, Howard Davis, Jr., 30-year-old Dyah never had a single amateur bout.

"He never saw that style before," Davis' advisor Elvis Crespo (EDB Sports) noted. "Dyah likes fighting opponents that come toward him so he can counter. Styles make fights, but these two boxers were almost the same, which caused an ugly fight. Dyah didn't back off but he needed to let his hands go more. When he did, his opponent felt it. Dyah got frustrated. It ended up an easy fight for him because he didn't get hit. We're speaking with his promoter, Lou DiBella, about what's next."

Davis' head trainer, two-time world champion John David Jackson, made the point that a win's a win. "He got a good win, maybe not the kind we wanted, hoping for a knockout," Jackson remarked. "His opponent wasn't cooperative. By nature, Dyah's not aggressive, and we worked on him being more aggressive for this fight. He's much better off with his opponent coming forward so he can counter. It takes two to tango; Dyah tried to fight but his opponent didn't. He won going away; I had him winning, 9-1. It just didn't make for a good TV fight

"Dyah hit Lopez early with a good shot and the kid didn't want any part of it after that. The kid started retreating. Sometimes you have a game plan but during the fight, after getting hit by a good shot or two, the game plan goes out the window.   Anytime he got hit with a good left hook, he went back into his shell, making it difficult for Dyah to do what he wanted."

In the opening bout of ShoBox: The New Generation, Omar Figueroa Jr. scored a knockout at the end of six to win the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Intercontinental Youth Lightweight title when Michael Perez told the doctor that he couldn’t continue before the start of the seventh.

Heading into the evening – after being on the losing side of many tight distance fights – Beltran declared, “The judges are my enemies.” Coming out of this evening’s fight, it’s doubtful that his position has changed.

Ramos (21-0, 9 KOs), of Santa Ana, Calif. and Beltran (25-6, 17 KOs), of North Hollywood, Calif. engaged in a crowd-pleasing, 10-round rumble that exemplified aggression and fortitude. The fight included swings in momentum where both fighters landed solid power shots – and demonstrated equally solid chins. But as the scores were announced, Beltran listened with disgust as Fritz Werner awarded the bout to Ramos 96-94 while James Jen Kin and Daniel Sandoval scored the contest 97-93 to make the decision unanimous.

“I was a little nervous about the decision because I knew it was a tough fight,” said Ramos. “[Beltran] was a tough fighter with a great record but I proved that I could hang in there and take punches.”

Nevertheless, the victory was an important step and promising glimpse into Ramos’ future. The 23-year-old showed his mettle and maintained his composure against the rugged Beltran. Ramos sustained a cut above his right eye after a clash of heads in the third session. The younger Ramos fought through adversity, even seeming to fight with more fervor and urgency following the cut.

Said Ramos: “He got me with a few head butts, but the blood didn’t really bother me.”

The two men engaged in many exchanges full of hooks and headshots with Beltran staying busier but Ramos punching more accurately. The SHO Stats compiled by CompuBox listed Beltran as landing 156 of 522 punches to Ramos’ 190 of 418.

As SHOWTIME boxing analyst Steve Farhood said of the fight, “If I had to pick one word: intensity.”

In the night’s opening bout, the first punches thrown on SHOWTIME in 2012 arrived quickly as Perez (15-1-1, 9 KOs), of Newark, N.J. and Figueroa (14-0-1, 11 KOs), of Weslaco, Texas came out swinging at a quick pace. What seemed to be a competitive action fight for the first two rounds turned into a dominant performance for Figueroa as Perez struggled to deal with his constant pressure.

“It was my legs,” said Perez. “I had no power since round two. I’m disappointed.”

Figueroa moved forward throughout the bout, landing combinations and winging power shots to the body. In the end, body blows proved to be the difference as Figueroa outlanded Perez 78 to 48. Before the bell in round six, Figueroa sent a worn Perez back to his corner after connecting with a shot to the midsection that doubled over the Garden State native.  Perez stayed on his feet but never made it back out of his corner.

“I was a little disappointed. I hit him with all my best shots but he didn’t go down,” said Figueroa. “But I was confident. I never thought I was going to lose. I’ve been asking for tough opponents. I wanted to fight the best and I proved I can deal with this and much more.

“[Perez] was a tough opponent but that’s what I’ve been asking for.”

Taylor (29-4-1, 18 KOs), of Little Rock, Ark., registered an eighth-round knockout over game but outclassed Jessie Nicklow (22-3-3, 8 KOs), of Baltimore, Md., in the main event at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa.

Dirrell (20-1, 14 KOs), of Flint, Mich., scored two knockdowns en route a second-round knockout over Darryl Cunningham (24-3, 10 KOs), of Detroit, in the co-feature.

Taylor was making his first start in 26 months; Dirrell his first in 21.

In the opening bout of the telecast, former Cuban amateur standout Luis “El Leon” Garcia (12-0, 9 KOs) of Cork, Ireland, won his United States debut and dealt southpaw Alexander “The Great” Johnson (12-1, 5 KOs, 1 NC) of Oxon Hill, Md., his first defeat on a lopsided eight-round decision.

Taylor & Dirrell Comeback Photos

Taylor, a former undisputed world middleweight champion, did not drop the much smaller Nicklow and he had a point deducted for a late hit after the bell sounded in the sixth.

But Taylor, making his first start since Oct. 17, 2009, was in total command and well ahead on points (69-63 on all three scorecards after seven completed rounds) when the referee stopped the match 36 seconds into the eighth. Nicklow was adamant that he could have continued but the outcome had long been decided and he had taken a beating.

“I felt a little rusty but as the rounds went by I got more comfortable,’’ Taylor said. “I wanted to try and go in there and have some fun. We’ll see where I go from here. There is no timetable. But I’m not going to walk from it. I’ll fight anybody.’’

Regarding the late hit, Taylor said, “I got a little frustrated with him leading with his head so much, but it is something that will never happen again. I apologize to all my fans. It was very unprofessional of me.’’

Dirrell floored Cunningham two times in the second round before the bout was stopped at 2:05. Dirrell’s first knockdown came from a long left hand, the second from a short right hook.

“I am just so happy to be back,’’ said Dirrell after this first fight since March 27, 2010. “I wanted it to go further, but I felt really good. My hands felt lighter, my feet felt fast. I’d say I fought at about 99.5 percent, which was more than I could ask for.

“Time will tell what I do next, but I’m going to continue to work hard. There is such a small window. I’m 28 years old. I’m just going to continue to push forward.

“But I can finally see the big picture again.’’

Garcia, who recently turned 24, is a boxer you may want to keep an eye on in 2012. Performing with poise, he thoroughly dismantled Johnson, winning every round, even though he, like Taylor and Dirrell, was coming off a lengthy layoff.

“This was my first fight in over 13 months and I was a little rusty but I am happy to get the win and looking forward to fighting again very soon in the states,’’ said Garcia after triumphing by the scores of 80-71 and 80-72 twice. “I promise that I’ll give the fans a much better show next time.’’

Warriors Boxing President Leon Margules wishes to congratulate former Swedish Olympian turned red-hot super middleweight prospect Badou Jack "The Ripper" (9-0, 8 KO's) for his devastating TKO 1 over Adam "Atom Bomb" Collins of Ohio last Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

Credit: Warriors Boxing

Fighting in front of a huge crowd of dignitaries, Jack began the carnage by dropping Collins with a digging body shot before moving upstairs with power to score two more knockdowns before referee Robert Byrd had seen enough at 2:28.

"Badou was sensational tonight," said Warriors Boxing President, Leon Margules. "He's moved his operations to North America because he's deadly serious about becoming a world champion. Tonight the fans got to see the kind of power he has at his disposal. First he smashed Collins to the ribs and then when he had him afraid of the body shots, he brought it upstairs and put him away."

Margules says he's impressed by the improvement the hard-working Jack has shown since moving to Las Vegas.

"You can see him getting rid of his amateur style and really sitting down on his shots. It's a beautiful thing to watch a young fighter turn into a championship contender fight-by-fight."

Jack is scheduled back in the ring in February in Las Vegas.

Making the second defense of his WBC Youth Intercontinental featherweight title at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino on Friday night, Fortuna dropped Roman in round one and then held off a late rally to win by unanimous decision (97-90, 96-91 and 96-92).

Credit: Sampson Boxing

"He's ready for an important television date now," said Lewkowicz of the 22-year-old southpaw. "Javier is exciting and quick and powerful and he's always in a great fight. I think with this victory over a tough opponent that has fought for a world title, he has graduated to the world-class level."

In beating Roman, the IBF #12-rated Fortuna won his fifth fight of 2011 and snapped Roman's four-fight winning streak.

"It was a very impressive showing against a determined veteran and Javier did a great job," Lewkowicz continued. "He started very strong and didn't fall apart when the other guy tried to come on. I think he has star qualities and he's ready to jump into the mix at featherweight now."

One of boxing's hardest punchers and most exciting warriors, Edison "Pantera" Miranda (35-6, 30 KOs), fresh off a sensational TKO win over WBO #7 light heavyweight Kariz Kariuki on Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, is already back in the gym looking and forward to his next bout.

"I felt really good in there. Probably the best I have felt in years," said the energized Miranda. "I trained hard and was in great shape. Kariz hit me a few times, but I was able to walk right through them. I knew I could hurt him with the left and as soon as I saw the opportunity I took advantage of it."

Miranda dropped Kariuki in round five with a devastating counter hook. Kariuki was able to get up, but never recovered. Shortly after, the fight was stopped by referee Allan Huggins.

With the victory, the Colombian slugger is sure to move up in the WBO rankings. The current WBO Champion, Nathan Cleverly, is currently without an opponent for his Feb 25 homecoming fight in Wales.

"Sure, I would love to fight him in his backyard. I have never turned down a challenge. I have a huge fan base in England and all over Europe. I'm back in the gym and it would be no problem for me to get ready for a title fight in February. It would give me great pleasure to fight in front of all those great fans and give them a night they will never forget."

Ever the showman, Miranda also added: "Cleverly will feel stupid when I'm done with him."

Until word of his next fight, the 31-year-old Miranda will stay in the gym and continue working hard. "I am ready for anyone."

You can watch Miranda in action and see his devastating KO win in its entirety right here:

Fighting in front of a huge crowd of boxing dignitaries, undefeated power puncher John Jackson (12-0, 11 KOs) scored a TKO 6 over formerly undefeated Keandre Leatherwood (9-1, 6 KOs) to win the vacant WBC Youth World light middleweight title and Samuel Rogers (11-0, 6 KOs) scored a TKO 10 over formerly undefeated Jamar Freeman (9-1-2, 5 KOs) in a fight for the vacant WBC FECARBOX light middleweight title.

Credit: Sampson Boxing

"Both guys fought undefeated opponents in very competitive fights and now they both have significant professional titles. Along with John's older brother Julius, they are the fighting pride of the Virgin Islands and I'm very happy for them," said Lewkowicz.

22-year-old Jackson, the son of former three-time world champion Julian Jackson, is a "chip off the old Hawk." Like his father, he has enormous punching power that can turn a fight in his favor at any second. "He has the style fans like the best. His fights are always spectacular because sooner or later he catches up to his opponents and when they fall, they fall hard."

John's older brother, Julius Jackson (12-0, 8 KO's), is an undefeated super middleweight prospect.

29-year-old Rogers stands over six-feet tall and has the solid fundamentals and sneaky punching power to also become a force in the division. "Samuel can do it all. He can hunt you down with his aggression and he can also fight as a counter puncher who wears his opponents out by frustrating their efforts to reach him."

Lewkowicz says it won't be long before all three fighters begin regularly appearing on the premium networks.

"The people of the Virgin Islands are rallying behind these future world champions and for good reason," added Lewkowicz. "They all have the power and skills to bring big-time boxing back to their homeland."

With the Super Six Tournament over and done with, boxing fans are left with a bit of a void. The tournament had reliably produced intriguing and top-tier match-ups in the division for more than two years. So what's next in the super middleweight division, and for Andre Ward and Carl Froch? What did their fight and the tournament all mean? Here are the key takeaways from the Ward vs. Froch Super Six Championship match.

Credit: Tom Casino / Showtime

1. The Versatility of Andre Ward: Andre Ward has proven himself to be one of the most versatile fighters in the game. If he needs to break out superior, crisp boxing ability, he can draw upon his stellar, gold medal winning amateur career. When he needs to mix it up, he'll step inside, take you out of your rhythm, tighten up his shots and rough you up. Whatever Ward needs to do to win a fight, he'll do. He has the power to keep opponents honest, the chin to prevent them from taking away his own offense and aggression, and the heart to battle through adversity. After the win over Froch, Ward has been bumped up to number 4 in our pound for pound rankings.
2. Super Six a Success: The Super Six World Boxing Classic hit plenty of snags on its way towards completion. Fighters repeatedly dropped out. There were controversial endings. It took too long to complete, and promoters could barely work out the deals to get it all done. But at the end of the day it was a huge success for Showtime, the fighters and promoters involved, and the entire sport. 12 fights, 7 fighters, 3 stages, 2 years and 1 champion later, it was a winning proposition. It was a rarity in boxing: a reliable property with worthy matches and name fighters. In fact, it's the type of event that network television could get behind. Paging CBS, were you watching Showtime's tournament?
3. Where Does this Leave Carl Froch?: Froch has had perhaps the toughest 7-fight stretch of any currently active boxer. Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Andre Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Glen Johnson and Andre Ward. Going 5-2 with those opponents is impressive. However, Ward outclassed him, Kessler outfought him, Taylor had him beat until he got caught in the 12th, and many would argue that Dirrell should have gotten the nod over him as well. So where does Froch stand among the top of the super middleweight division? Is he an elite fighter or a damn good fighter that will never quite breach that upper echelon? We'll have to wait and see for the answer to that one.
4. Is Ward vs. Bute Next?: When Lucian Bute signed a multi-fight deal with Showtime, it was obvious that the intent was to match him up with the champion of the Super Six Tournament. So is that what we'll get next? Ward vs. Bute will match two undefeated, top pound for pound boxers and the number 1 and 2 fighters at 168 lbs. However, Ward might relish an easier title defense, and Bute has to prove he's willing to get in there with the best. It's one of the must-make fights of 2012, so let's all hope it gets done as soon as possible.
5. Will Andre Ward Graduate from Super Six to Superstar?: One of the ideals of the Super Six tournament wasn't merely to produce intriguing and competitive fights at the top of the division, but to also produce several stars and big-name properties. Ward was clearly the class of the tournament, so will he graduate from Super Six to Superstar? Boxing fans only have so much more time to enjoy Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, and if anybody is the heir apparent, it's Andre Ward. But does he have what it takes to capture the public's imagination and crossover to the mainstream? Will he be a pay-per-view attraction? It's another question that needs time to be answered, but as an undefeated American with a wholesome image, an Olympic gold medal, legit championship credentials and more, if he's not boxing's next superstar, something went wrong.

Obviously the major fight affecting our latest installment of our top 10 and 20 pound for pound is the Ward vs. Froch fight. However, there has been a lot of other recent action that will cause our rankings to fluctuate. Amir Khan lost a close fight to Lamont Peterson. Miguel Cotto avenged his loss to Antonio Margarito. Abner Mares got a controversy free win over Joseph Agbeko. Giovani Segura got stopped by Brian Viloria.... and more!

So, lots of big name fighters including guys already in our rankings, and fighters on the cusp of making the list for the first time, have been in action as of late, and we've taken all of that into account with the latest rankings.

So take a look and be sure to let us know what you think, and be sure to view the latest 168 lbs rankings as well following the Ward vs. Froch Super Six results.