Abraham-Marquez Boxing Press Conference

ByBoxing Press


© Sauerland Event

IBF middleweight champion “King” Arthur Abraham, 27-0 (22), and mandatory challenger Raul “El Diamente” Marquez, 41-3 (29), voiced their respect for each other at today´s press conference in Bamberg, Germany.

“I am happy to be here in Germany to fight Abraham,” the 37-year-old Marquez said. “He is a great champion and I do have a lot of respect for him. But I came here to win. I don´t think there will be a KO.I have prepared myself for 12 rounds. I am ready to exploit Abraham´s weaknesses.”

“King Arthur” will be out to please his home fans – Bamberg is the city where he started boxing – for a second time in 17 months. Back in May 2007, in his first fight after breaking his jaw against Edison Miranda, the 28-year-old knocked out Sebastian Demers in the third round. But “King Arthur” knows that Marquez will be a much tougher opponent. “He is fast, mobile and clever,” Abraham assessed. “In other words: He is a really good boxer. That will be a tough challenge for me. In my last mandatory title defense I stopped Khoren Gevor but Marquez is much stronger than him.”

Abraham’s head trainer, Ulli Wegner, also is full of praise for the former world champion. “I’ve know Marquez for a long, long time,” he remarked. “I saw him at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. During the times of the GDR, he once fought against one of our guys. Ten years ago he was world champion and he has gotten stronger and more experienced since then. Many people were surprised to see him beat Lorenzo in the eliminator, but not me. Arthur will be in for a hard battle but I expect him to succeed.”

In the 12-round co-feature, Enad Licina (14-1, 8 KOs) will clash with former NABO champion Otis “Triple OG” Griffin (19-3, 7 KOs), winner of the “The Next Great Champion” television reality show, for the IBF Intercontinental cruiserweight title.

Saturday’s Abraham-Marquez headlined card 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 at 3 PM/ET – 12 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, TVN, DirecTV, DISH Network, Viewer’s Choice Canada, and Bell ExpressVue, for a suggested retail price of only $24.95. A replay will be shown that same night starting at 9 PM/ET. Al Bernstein and Nick Charles will call the action.

For more information about the Abraham-Marquez PPV go to www.integratedsportsnet.com or www.warriorsboxing.com