Matthew Macklin will get a rematch

Matthew Macklin will get a second chance to wrest the WBA world middleweight title away from Germany's Felix Sturm after his first attempt ended in heroic failure.

Macklin lost a split decision after 12 rounds with two judges favouring Sturm by 116-112 and the other seeing it 115-113 to the challenger.

Birmingham's Macklin may have saw his first attempt at a world title go against him but Sturm revealed that a rematch has already been agreed.

He said: "We will definitely have a second fight, we have already agreed it."

It was Sturm's sharper work in the second half of the contest that swung the fight his way, after a blazing start by the challenger which had given him a real chance of pulling off a major upset.

The champion is unbeaten in five years and was making his 10th defence in his second reign with the WBA middleweight title, in his home city.

But if the odds were stacked against Macklin, who had himself not tasted defeat since 2006, he shrugged them off in an explosive start in which he slung hooks to Sturm's body and made him cover up.

Far from blowing himself out, Macklin appeared to grow stronger as the early rounds progressed with Sturm relying on single, accurate shots to repel his opponent's continuous advances.

But Sturm finally got to grips with the fight as it moved deeper into the second half, gaining control behind a stiff jab which had scarcely been in evidence in the opening stages.

Sturm enjoyed a big 10th round when a crashing uppercut followed by a right cross had Macklin temporarily in trouble, but the challenger continued to fight back in pursuit of his dream.

Sturm caught the eye again in the last, finishing the contest with a furious assault which left Macklin almost out on his feet.

Although both men claimed victory at the end, the verdict went with Sturm.

Macklin insisted: "I should be champion. I believe I was the better fighter, but it is not Felix's fault, he wasn't a judge."

But Sturm said: "It wasn't a wrong decision, but it was close.

"It was not my most outstanding performance, but I had a few clear shots and Matt worked hard.

"In my view, the decision was absolutely correct."