Elcock (right) gets tagged by a barrage of punches from Abraham

The 33-year-old from Birmingham was stopped towards the end of round five after being caught by a powerful combination from his German opponent.

Abraham suffered a cut above his right eye after an accidental clash of heads.

But he recovered to shatter Elcock's world title dream just when it looked as though the Brit was getting on top.

"It was a bad day at the office," said Elcock, who earned a shot at Abraham after upsetting Howard Eastman in September.

I've still only had 21 fights and I'll learn from this Wayne Elcock

"It just didn't work for me tonight. I couldn't get the shots off and it's very disappointing."

But the Briton, who also had to take a standing eight count after being caught by a right in round two, vowed to make amends after suffering the third defeat of his career.

"I'm looking forward to bouncing back in style," he said. "I've still only had 21 fights and I'll learn from this."

Abraham, a German of Armenian descent who lives in Berlin, was pleased with yet another title defence.

"I feel very happy," he said. "It wasn't easy. I am relieved.

606: DEBATE Give your reaction here

"I tried to look for his mistakes in the first rounds. I kept observing and then made my move. That's my style."

On the undercard, Danny Williams was denied the IBF intercontinental heavyweight title when his fight with Oleg Platov ended in a no contest.

The Ukrainian picked up a nasty cut over the left eye in the second round following an accidental clash of heads and the bout was eventually stopped towards the end of round four.