Abraham (right) earned his 17th win in as many fights

Eastman's first bout since losing to Bernard Hopkins was a scrappy brawling affair, with plenty of late blows and questionable holding.

But he failed to land enough blows to impress, being outscored 116-112 115-113 119-110.

Afterwards, Eastman said he was robbed and was "ashamed" of the officials.

The fight began slowly but at the end of the fourth rounds, two heavy head shots had Eastman reeling, but he recovered in the fifth.

I came to Germany as an amateur and I was robbed and I have been robbed again tonight Howard Eastman

Eastman unleashed three big left hooks in the seventh round but he was then pinned back on the ropes by a heavy right, which Arthur followed up with several rights to the chin.

The Armenian controlled the 10th round and Eastman needed all the experience he has accumulated in 41 fights to help him get through another sustained attack.

Abraham eased off towards the end, confident that he had the points victory, but despite his dominance, Eastman was clearly upset by the outcome.

"I don�t know what fight you were watching but I did not feel I lost the fight," he said.

"I am ashamed of the officials. I came to Germany as an amateur and I was robbed and I have been robbed again tonight. What is wrong with you guys?"