Ottke made a sluggish start and was caught by an uppercut from the little-known Dane in the opening round.

But the 35-year-old took control of the bout in the sixth round, stringing together some slick combinations as he finally found his range.

All three judges gave the fight 116-112 to the German, who has won all his 29 fights, six by knockout.

"It was a hard piece of work," said Ottke.

"I really had to run around and throw some punches."

Battle of the Baltic

Swede Paolo Roberto captured the vacant WBC intercontinental welterweight title, edging Argentina's Raul Eduardo Bejarano on points.

The bout, held in the Aland Islands between Sweden and Finland, was billed as "The Battle of the Baltic".

Roberto put the Argentine on the canvas less than 10 seconds into the fight with a powerful left.

Bejarano went down again with only a few seconds remaining of the opening round but regained his composure and nearly stole the fight with a fierce right hand in the 10th round.

"Taking two counts in the first round and coming back and nearly knocking me out in the 10th shows he has a lot of heart," said Roberto.

"He hit me hard - I was shaken but not out."

The fight in Mariehamn was preceded by the first weigh-in for 33 years in Sweden, where the sport has been banned since 1969.

"I hope this is a step toward pro boxing in Sweden," said Roberto.

"It's permitted in every European Union country but not here and that's ridiculous."