Arthur Abraham (43-4, 29 KOs) insists he has left no stone unturned in preparation for his WBO World Super Middleweight Championship contest with Martin Murray (32-2-1, 15 KOs) on Saturday night at the TUI Arena in Hannover, Germany.
Speaking at today’s final pre-fight press conference, ‘King Arthur’ detailed his ‘brutal’ training camp and declared himself ready to beat the British challenger.
‘’This has been one of the toughest camps of my career,’’ said Abraham. ‘’My coach Ulli Wegner and his assistant Georg Bramowski have pushed me to my limits. It’s been brutal at times, but it will all be worthwhile when my hand is raised on Saturday night. Martin is a good boxer and I expect him to give me a hard fight, but there is no way he is taking my title!’’
Murray, who is contesting his first title at 168 lbs following three valiant attempts at middleweight, shares the Champion’s confidence and has vowed not to leave Germany without Abraham’s WBO belt.
‘’We’ve been studying Arthur carefully and I believe I’ve got him beat,’’ said the 33 year-old from St Helens. ‘’He is a great fighter, but he’s not changed his style in years, and in my opinion, he’s not evolved. It’s going to be a tough fight but I know it’s well within me to win. I won’t be leaving Germany without the title!’’
‘’This is a real 50-50 fight,’’ said promoter Kalle Sauerland. ‘’And I think it will be Arthur’s toughest test for many years. However, he has never shied away from a challenge, and against Murray, I expect Arthur to prove why he is the number one fighter in the super middleweight division.’’
Another man under no illusion of the danger Murray poses is Abraham’s long-time coach and mentor Ulli Wegner, who will be celebrating his 100th World title fight on Saturday night. ‘’For Arthur and I, a unification bout is the common goal,’’ said the 73 year-old. ‘’But first he must get past Murray, which will be no easy task!’’
The WBO World Super Middleweight Championship fight between Arthur Abraham and Martin Murray will be broadcast live on Sat.1 in Germany and Sky Sports in the UK. Tickets are available online via www.tickethall.de and www.eventim.de.
Abraham motivated for Murray challenge – Arthur Abraham (43-4, 29 KOs) aims to extend his domination of the 168 lbs division with a victory over Martin Murray (32-2-1, 15 KOs) on Saturday, November 21 at the TUI Arena in Hannover, Germany. The 35 year-old has rolled back the years with impressive performances against Nikola Sjekloca, Paul Smith and Robert Stieglitz since reclaiming his WBO World title in March 2014, and as he prepares for a fifth successive defence, ‘King Arthur’ reveals his reasons for selecting the British boxer as a voluntary challenger.
‘’At this stage of my career, I don’t want to fight any easy opponents,’’ says Abraham. ‘’I need fights that will motivate me, and that is why we chose Murray.
‘’He has challenged for World titles before and against Sturm, Martinez and especially Golovkin he has already boxed three World-class opponents. I know this is a dangerous fight and that has given me the motivation I need.’’
If further motivation is needed, it comes from the Champion’s desire to unify the super middleweight division before calling time on his already illustrious career.
‘’When I first started boxing my dream was to become World Champion,’’ said Abraham. ‘’I achieved this in 2005, winning the IBF middleweight title and then defended it ten times before moving up to super middleweight and becoming a two-weight World Champion.
‘’Now, my dream is to unify the division. I believe this would be my greatest achievement in this sport and that is what still drives me on as a boxer.’’
In order to keep this dream alive, Abraham knows he must overcome the ‘tough’ challenger Murray when the super middleweights collide in Hannover.
‘’If I lose this fight, my dream will be shattered,’’ explains the boxer from Berlin. ‘’I cannot not let this happen. It will be a tough fight, but in my current condition, Murray can’t hold a candle to me, and on Saturday night, there will be only one outcome!’’
The WBO World Super Middleweight Championship fight between Arthur Abraham and Martin Murray will be broadcast live on Sat.1 in Germany and Sky Sports in the UK. Tickets are available online via www.tickethall.de and www.eventim.de.
Abraham battles Murray on Nov. 21 on AWE
San Diego, CA – November, 16 2015 -THIS SATURDAY!! It will be a championship doubleheader on AWE- A Wealth of Entertainment as the Arthur Abraham – Martin Murray WBO Super Middleweight title bout from Hanover, Germany has been added to the already announced broadcast featuring the rematch between WBA Lightweight champion Darleys Perez and Anthony Crolla from Manchester, England.
“I am pleased to be able to bring this fight to the American boxing fans,” said Charles Herring, President of AWE
Abraham has been a champion in Middleweight and Super Middleweight divisions for the better part of the last ten years, has a record of 43-4 with 29 knockouts.
He won the IBF Middleweight title with a 5th round stoppage over Kingsley Ikeke on December 10, 2005 and defended the title 10 times which included 7 knockouts. He then entered the Super 6 Super Middleweight tournament and knocked out former undisputed Middleweight champion Jermain Taylor in 12 rounds.
Abraham became a two-division world champion when he won a 12-round unanimous decision over Robert Stieglitz on August 25, 2012. After one successful defense, he lost the title to Stieglitz, but won it back three fights later via 12-round split decision. Abraham has defended the belt successfully three times which includes a 6th round stoppage over Stieglitz in their 4th bout on July 18.
Murray of St. Helens, England has a record of 32-2-1. He won his first 26 bouts which was highlighted by winning the Prizefighter tournament in 2008 and defeating two undefeated fighters in the process. Murray also wins over Kevin Concepcion (14-1), Sergey Khomitsky (22-5-1), Shalva Jomardashvili (26-1, Carlos Nascimento (25-2), John Anderson Carvalho (21-4-1), Nick Blackwell (8-0). He had a draw with former world champion Felix Sturm (36-2-1).
Murray won the WBA Interim Middleweight title with a 6th round stoppage over Jorge Navarro. That win facilitated Murray into a fight with WBC Middlweight champion Sergio Martinez.
The bout, which took place on April 27, 2012 in front of over 50,000 in Argentina saw Murray knock down Martinez in round eight. In round eleven, It looked like Murray dropped Martinez again but it was ruled a slip and Martinez was able to win a razor thin decision.
Murray once again challenged for the Middleweight title and was stopped in 11 rounds to WBA & Interim WBC champion Gennady Golovkin on February 21, 2015 in Monte Carlo.
Since that bout, Murray moved up to Super Middleweight and won three fights in a row, including his last outing when he stopped Jose Miguel Torres (31-6) in six rounds in five rounds on September 5th in Leeds, England.
The start time will be 3 PM ET / 12 Noon PT.
Boxing fans can enjoy this amazing card on AWE available on AT&T U-Verse, ch 147 and 1147 in HD, Verizon FiOS TV, ch 169 and 669 in HD, and numerous regional cable providers across the nation. Please check www.awetv.com for boxing updates.
MURRAY: THE TIMING IS RIGHT TO BREAK WORLD TITLE JINX
Martin Murray says that he’ll end his wait to become World champion when he challenges Arthur Abraham for the WBO World Super-Middleweight title at the TUI Arena in Hannover, Germany on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.
Murray takes on Abraham in his fourth World title clash having controversially drawn against Felix Sturm in Mannheim in 2011, a loss to Sergio Martinez in Argentina in 2013 after flooring the hometown favourite and a brave challenge to Gennady Golovkin in February for World titles.
Crucially for Murray, those fights were down at Middleweight, but now he is up at 168lbs for his latest crack at the top prize, and the 33 year old believes everything will finally fall into place on Saturday night.
“Abraham is a great champion and I’m expecting a tough fight but I just feel that the timing is right for me,’’ said Murray. “I think my first World title fight against Sturm may have come a little bit too early. I jumped straight from domestic to World level, so even though there was an argument to say I won that fight, I think it came to soon for me.
“Against Martinez, I knew I could win but going into the fight there were still some doubts. Whereas this time, I know I have it within me to win. I’ve got the ring experience, I’ve got the knowhow, and I really feel, despite being in Germany, I’m going to get a fair crack of the whip.
“We’ve been studying Arthur carefully and I believe I’ve got him beat. He is a great fighter, but he’s not changed his style in years, and in my opinion, he’s not evolved. It’s going to be a tough fight but I know it is well within me to win. I won’t be leaving Germany without the title.”
Abraham defends his title for the third time this year and the second time against an Englishman having defeated Paul Smith on points in their rematch in February, and the champion has put in the hard graft to ensure he holds onto the title to target a unification bout in 2016.
“This has been one of the toughest camps of my career,” said Abraham. “My coach Ulli Wegner and his assistant Georg Bramowski have pushed me to my limits. It’s been brutal at times, but it will all be worthwhile when my hand is raised on Saturday night. Martin is a good boxer and I expect him to give me a hard fight, but there is no way he is taking my title.”
Murray’s challenge against Abraham is part of a World title double-header on Sky Sports, as Anthony Crolla welcomes Darleys Perez back to Manchester for their rematch for the Colombian’s WBA World Lightweight title.
