Exclusive Boxing Interview: Arthur Abraham

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Born Avetik Abrahamyan, 25 year old German Orthodox middleweight Arthur Abraham has stormed into the middlweight division and is furiously blowing away all the competition each and everytime that he steps up. To label Arthur as a prospect would be insulting, so let’s just say that he’s one of the better new

generation of undefeated middleweights. Yanks and Brits alike, are unfamiliar with Abraham due to the fact that most of his fights have taken place in Germany, but that should not be viewed as a detraction due to the fact that he’s taken every challenge that comes banging on his backyard door. In doing a little research, you will find that Arthur Abraham is just the type of fighter that could be knocking on our doors as the next middleweight champion of the world. He’s just that good.

Abraham took some time out from his busy schedule to speak with us her! e at Saddoboxing.com. Read below as Arthur touches on his up coming opponent, his amatuer career and a few other odds and ends as he readies himself for Kingsley Ikeke and his shot at the IBF title.

SB: Alright, Arthur, before we get into the present and future…let’s talk a bit about the past to open up this interview. You have a pretty nice amateur record; 90 fights, 81 victories, 6 draws and only 3 defeats. Can you give us a bit of background about your past and your trainer, Ulli Wegner? How long have you worked with Ulli and why is the relationship so succesful?

AA: “I’ve been with Wegner since 2003. At that time, I was Sven Ottke’s primary sparring partner and got myself a firm contract with Sauerland Promotions. We call Wegner “The General” because he is very strict and applies his experience so intelligently. I’m a much better fighter because of meeting and working with him.”

SB: The middleweight landscape has shifted dramatically this year and is about to explode with Hopkins and Taylor pulling the strings on their much hyped rematch this past we! ekend. Winky Wright pretty much walked through Trinidad and into Sam Soliman for a December 10th IBF Middleweight Title Eliminator showdown and on the very same night you are fighting Kingsley Ikeke for the Vacant IBF Middleweight Title belt that Taylor walked away from. If you defeat Ikeke, whom would you rather face the winner of Taylor – Hopkins or the winner of Soliman – Wright…or is one fight more important to you than the other and why?

AA: “All very good fighters that you bring um, but I just focus on and box who is put before me. That is more important. When I am a world champion,then I’ll box against everyone. My longtime dream has been to fight against Hopkins. But, Taylor has beat him twice now and thus there is only Taylor for me in the future.”

SB: Is there any added pressure on you for this fight now that you’ll be carrying the show on December 10 due to the fact that WBC super middleweight champion Markus Beyer had to pull out with a leg injury?

AA: “Yes. But otherwise I’m in the shadow of a world champion like Markus Beyer, who is a good friend of mine. Now I have the large pressure that comes with headlining a major fight card, but after the fight I will have the notoriety that comes with such a high profile contest. Markus had to fight for a long time in the shadowof Sven Ottke and I am trying to come into my own as a fighter as Markus has done.”

SB: Will you be mandated to fight the winner of Soliman – Wright? If you were and you had to choose between the belt or an exposure fight such as a defense against the winner of Hopkins vs Taylor what would you do? Would you pass on the belt for the money fight and exposure or wo! uld you keep your title and follow the governing body rules and defend it against your mandatory?

AA: “I come from Armenia, where there isn’t even enough food to go around for the population. No one thought that I was capable of getting even to where I am today but my goal is to become a world champion and I know that it will be very, very hard to do so. I will fight everyone that I have to fight to make that happen and I don’t want any easy fights. Jermain Taylor is my number one target right now but I don’t belive that he wants to fight me.”

SB: Things seem to be heating up so fast for you. You’ve not only risen through the rankings, youve jumped through them. I’ve been posting on our site (saddoboxing.com) about you and Felix Sturm for quite sometime now and it is great to see you rising so fast. The problem is…it’s hard to get exposure on you from so far away…have you ever thought about leaving Germany&nb! sp;and coming to the states to fight?

AA: “America is the Mecca of boxing, as proven in Germany by the careers of Max Schmeling and the Klitschkos. My homeland is Germany and when I dream at night it is in German. My brother lives here and we want to get my parents here from Armenia. But, for my career I would like to orient myself also to America. My manager has had his fighters fight many times in America so I know that he can get fights for me there as well.”

SB: As a fighter, your output is ridiculous…you are one of the more busy champions in the game right now. You battered Ian Gardner over the Vacant WBA Inter-Continental middleweight title for 12 rounds dropping him three times on February 12th, 2005. You then defended your WBA title against Hector Javier Velazco dropping him twice and stopping him in the 5th round on April 23rd, 2005. You then fought your most high profile win against Howard Eastman on July 16th, 2005 taking him the full 12 rounds & totally outwor! king him in your third defense of your title and on October 1st, 2005 you pulled one more defense by knocking out Luis Daniel Parada in 5 rounds. So here it is only two months later and you are fighting again…but this time…you’re fighting for one of the biggies. This time youre fighting for the IBF title strap. How do you do it? Youre either the luckiest man in the world…or youre fast proving to be the most durable. What motivates Arthur Abraham?

AA: “My country is so poor that people die from being poor.Due to my success, my family members can go to school in Armenia. We now have a house and something in the country. Kingsley Ikeke comes from a similar poor background as I do and is also hungry for success but when we climb into the ring together I will win.”

SB: I mean, you also fought nine times in 2004 & five or six times in 2003 when you debuted as a pro…that’s nuts. One wonders if this is d! ue to the fact that you’ve either been so dominate that you go from on e fight to the next or either it’s because you have’nt suffered too many injuries…but it’s still an amazing accomplishment fighting so many times in a year, most fighters just don’t do this anymore. Will you be the exception to the rule? Will you keep up this work rate? Once you become champion…notice I said once you become champion and not if…do you plan on defending your titles so frequently?

AA: “I am still young. Markus Beyer is 30 years old and he has started to develop injuries. I’ve fought a lot lately but only a few of my opponents were as strong as Eastman. Thus the risks of fighting so often is reduced but the danger of injury and the excitement are there. One makes most errors under pressure sio I must be careful.”

SB: Up until this date, you have been dominate…pretty much to the point of outclassing everyone that you have stepped into the square circle with. You have 16 knockouts in 18 wins and! no losses. The two men that you did’nt knockout were Howard Eastman and Ian Gardner…what was so different about those two menthat kept you from stopping them? I have always had the highest respect for Eastman and was just blown away that you outworked him…it was honestly unexpected. Gardner was down three times but kept giving up…so we can point to either a strong chin or a lot of heart…but give me your assestment on those two fights and what happened if you will.

AA: “As I had said before, Eastman was world class. But Ian Gardner did not want to figh but it was good for me and fun for the public. He was not in Eastman’s league, but I wish both fighters much luck in their futures.”

SB: Eastman, ofcourse, says that he did not lose to you. He pulled pretty much the same game after losing to Hopkins…more or less that the judges gave the win and the other man did not earn it. Eastman seems to be be! coming either an underacheiver of sorts or a sore loser. Seeing that h e feels he did not lose the fight…would you ever extend the man a rematch on London soil? Eastman was quoted as saying “This is like daylight robbery. It is ridiculous and a shame to professional fighting. The officials at ringside were watching a different fight.” I totally disagree with that statement…but do you have a desire to face him again or do you think that that’d be a step backwards?

AA: “We fight very differently. Eastman tries to wear opponent’s down through his good conditioning but doesn’t hit very hard. My style goes over for the force of impact, therefore I need to really train for strength. I attacked his body very hard and he began to avoid me after I caught him with a short, very hard hook. For me it was a very clear victory and I could break him in the ring. Howard knows that but he has a different style and wants to remain in the business.”

SB: I’ve interviewed quite a few middleweig! hts lately and when I have mentioned your name the tone of the interview changes. I would’nt say that anyone gets dodgy but they do seem to get a bit anxious. It appears that Arthur Abraham is becoming a feared man in the middleweight division, is there anyone out there that Arthur Abraham fears? Anyone that you have no interests in matching in the ring? Is there a man out there that Arthur Abraham wants no part of?

AA: “I have a lot of respect for my opponents and no one needs to be afraid of me. We are sportsmen. The business often distorts our personalities and places us wrongly from how we really are as people. Therefore I do not read reports of what my opponents say. I see their fights on video and that is enough for me. In the ring we become acquainted and many times we develop a friendship. My manager, Wilfried Sauerland says ‘In boxing over 12 rounds together, fighters become acquainted with themselves better than off! ice people in their life. I believe that.”

SB: On the fli p side of the coin…who is the one fighter or fighters out there that you really really want to tackle? Anyone in the world, who would it be?

AA: Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins!

SB: Let’s talk about Kingsley Ikeke. Ikeke is pretty dangerous. He’s got 23 wins with 13 knockouts & only 1 loss. That’s not a bad record. He’s fought some hard hitters & he’s a tricky awkward man in the ring. As attributes…he’s got a long hard stiff jab, he’s quick & he’s got power. Have you studied any tape on the man & do you see any worries there or better yet anything that you feel you can capitalize on as a weakness?

AAr: “I’ll take his strength from him with hard body shots. and hooks against the head. I boxed every fighter in Berlin his height and they were all cruiserweights. I’m ready.”

SB: Now Arthur, wer’e getting close to the end now & I know you have to step up into the ring thi! s weekend…here’s another one of those on the spottish things that I do…I want to toss some names out to you & get some of your candid thoughts on these fighters as possible future opponents.

AAr: “In the order: Bernard Hopkins, Jermain Taylor, Sam Soliman, Winky Wright and Felix Sturm.”

SB: Thanks Arthur. So in the closing question…on a different note, I want to ask you what has been one of your most favorite fights of the last 2 or 3 years to watch? This has to be a fight that did’nt involve you. Ha ha ha.

AA:” According to my opinion: Oscar against Felix Sturm, Dennis Bakthov against Sinan Samil Sam and all of Miguel Cotto’s fights!