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Challenger Raul “El Diamente” Marquez vowed once again at today’s press conference in Germany to shock the boxing world when he fights unbeaten International Boxing Federation middleweight champion “King” Arthur Abraham on Saturday at Jako Arena in Bamberg, Germany.
Abraham-Marquez, originally scheduled October 4, was postponed due to Abraham’s sudden illness on the day of the fight.
“I’m confident and feel better than I did the last time,” Marquez said. “I’m going to shock the boxing world on Saturday. His trainer (Ulli Wegner) said that they have a lot of respect for me and that Abraham was sick.
“They’re looking forward to a tough fight against a veteran with a lot of experience. As a fighter, I respect Abraham but, sick or not, I still would have gone along with the fight. We’re good sportsmen and after the fight we’ll be friends.”
Abraham, 27-0 (22), rated No. 2 by The Ring and ESPN, captured the IBF middleweight title nearly three years ago by way of a fifth-round knockout of Kingsley Ikeke. Seven successful title defenses have followed against Miranda, Shannon Taylor, Kofi Jantuah, Sebastian Demers, Khoren Gevor, Wayne Elcock and Elvin Ayala.
The 37-year-old Marquez, 41-3-1 (29), rated No. 2 by the IBF as well as No. 8 by The Ring and No. 9 by ESPN, earned his title shot against Abraham by defeating previously unbeaten No. 1 contender Giovanni Lorenzo n their June 21 IBF title eliminator. Marquez, fighting out of Houston, was a 1992 U.S. Olympian who was the IBF junior middleweight title-holder in 1997.
The 10-round co-feature on the PPV show from Germany finds former NABO champion and “The Next Great Champ” reality television winner, Otis “Triple OG” Griffin, 19-3-2 (7), of Sacramento, fighting Yugoslavian-born Enad Licina, 14-1 (8), now living in Germany, for the vacant IBF Intercontinental cruiserweight belt.
Abraham-Marquez is promoted by Wilfried Sauerland, presented by Sauerland Event and its Managing Director, Christian Meyer, in association with Seminole Warriors Boxing.
The broadcast is being distributed in the United States and Canada by Integrated Sports for live viewing in English and Spanish at 3 PM/ET – 12 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, TVN, DISH Network, Viewer’s Choice Canada, and Bell ExpressVue, for a suggested retail price of only $24.95.
iN Demand will show a replay the following day (Sunday, Nov. 9) at 2 PM/ET. Al Bernstein and Nick Charles will call the action.
For more information about the Abraham-Marguez PPV go to www.integratedsportsnet.com or www.warriorsboxing.com
