By Sebastian Swiecznik: The IBF Middleweight Title bout between champion Arthur Abraham and mandatory challenger Raul Marquez is off. Abraham got the flu and his condition is far away from making the fight possible. It looks like that the bout will be rescheduled on November 8th..
-Here are the weights from Bamberg:
IBF Middleweight Title: King Arthur Abraham – 72,5 kg, Raul Marquez – 72,5 kg
IBF Intercontinental Cruiserweight Title: Enad Licina – 89,2 kg, Otis Griffin – 84,6 kg.
Distributed in the United States and Canada by Integrated Sports 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.
IBF middleweight champion King Arthur Abraham (27-0, 22 KOs) and mandatory challenger Raul Marquez (41-3, 29 KOs) voiced their respect for each other at today´s press conference in Bamberg.< “I am happy to be here in Germany to fight Abraham”, the 37-year-old American stated. “He is a great champion and I do have a lot of respect for him. But I came here to win.” Marquez does not expect the fight to end early. “I don´t think there will be a KO,” he added. “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 to box – 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 Sebastien 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 defence I stopped Khoren Gevor but Marquez is much stronger than him.”
Ulli Wegner also is full of praise for the 37-year-old ex-champion. “I know Marquez for a long, long time,” he said. “I saw him at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. During the times of the GDR, he once fought against on of our guys. Ten years ago he was world champion, and he has gotten stronger and more experienced since. 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 co-featured main event, Enad Licina (14-1, 8 KOs) will clash with Otis Griffin (19-3, 7 KOs) for the IBF intercontinental cruiserweight title. “He is a strong opponent but I have prepared very well,” said Licina, who was joined by coach Manfred Wolke at today´s press conference. “Sparring could not have been better. I am keen to win the first title of my professional career.”
Otis Griffin vs Enad Licina on undercard
HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 29, 2008) – Former NABO champion Otis “Triple OG” Griffin has traveled halfway around the world, from his California home to Germany for Saturday’s (October 4) fight against Enad Licina, in order to prove that “The Next Great Champ” winner is much more than a reality television fighter.
Nothing has come easy for Alabama-native Griffin (19-3-2, 7 KOs), who battles Licina (14-1, 8 KOs) for the vacant IBF Intercontinental cruiserweight title in the 12-round co-feature on a special pay-per-view card, headlined by unbeaten International Boxing Federation middleweight champion “King” Arthur Abraham defending his belt against former world champion Raul “El Diamente” Marquez, live from Bamberg, Germany.
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 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.
Griffin, fighting out of Sacramento, lost his pro debut to Jimmy Mince by four-round split decision in the preliminary round of the 2004 Oscar De La Hoya-sponsored reality television series on Fox, “The Next Great Champ.” When one of the fighters suddenly quit the show, Griffin was brought back and he took full advantage of his second chance, defeating Mohamad Elmahmoud (DEC4), Mince (DEC4 in semifinals) in a rematch and David Pareja (DEC6) in the championship final. The winner was supposed to fight in a sanctioned WBO title fight, but it never materialized and Griffin eventually built-up his pro record to 16-1-2, setting the stage in 2007 for an NABO light heavyweight championship bout against unbeaten Mike Nevitt (14-0), who Otis stopped in the seventh round.
Yugoslavian cruiserweight Licina (14-1, 8 KOs), rated No. 13 by the European Boxing Union and European Boxing Association, now fights out of Germany, where he’ll take on Griffin in Saturday’s co-feature.
Abraham (27-0, 22 KOs), rated No. 2 by The Ring and ESPN, captured the IBF middleweight title early three years ago by way of a fifth-round knockout of Kingsley Ikeke (23-1). Seven successful title defenses have followed against Edison Miranda, Shannon Taylor, Kofi Jantuah, Sebastian Demers, Khoren Gevor, Wayne Elcock and Elvin Ayala.
The 1992 U.S. Olympian Marquez (41-3-1, 29 KOs), rated No. 2 by the IBF as well as No. 8 by The Ring and ESPN, earned his title shot against Abraham by defeating previously undefeated No. 1 contender Giovanni Lorenzo (26-0) in their June 21st IBF title eliminator.