Universum bid falls short by just $1638

Boxingtalk has learned that German promoter Sauerland Event has won one of the closest purse bids in boxing history by outbidding rival Universum for a super middleweight bout between Alejandro Berrio and Robert Steiglitz. When the envelopes were opened in the IBF offices in New Jersey, Sauerland's bid of $614,444 was infinitesimally bigger than the $612,806 bid by Universum. The difference between winning and losing was roughly one-quarter of one percentage point. A third German entity named Stenforth, bid $412,000. The bout between Steiglitz, a German-based Russian, and the Colombian Berrio will fill the IBF title that was stripped from world champion Joe Calzaghe. The contest will be a rematch, as Steiglitz defeated Berrio in 2005 but Berrio came back to stop Yusuf Mack to return to the title picture. (1:22 pm)