The Tale of 'King' Arthur Abraham and his next quest?

It’s recently been announced that former long time IBF title holder King Arthur Abraham will be returning to the middleweight division after a largely unsuccessful stint at super middleweight.

To say that the 31 year old German is 'shot' would be wide of the mark. His height played a big part of his unsuccessful stint at 168lbs. Abraham stands at 5'9 and he was just too short to compete at elite level.

His style of a high guard, high trunks and powerful bursts is what made him a success in what was a poor middleweight division against B class opposition at the time. Looking back, the proposed match up between Kelly Pavlik, who stands at 6'1 and Arthur Abraham would have been one sided as originally thought. 

Before stepping up in weight Abrham defended his IBF middleweight title ten times including a points win over Edison Miranda with a dislocated jaw from the fourth round onwards.
In the Super Six tournament against Jermaine Taylor, Abraham stopped the former middleweight champion, although Taylor has been known to fade towards the end of contests. Also Taylor had campaigned at middleweight for most of his career.

In the second round Abraham fought Andre Dirrell. While Dirrell was winning the bout towards the end of the fight Abraham rallied back and was getting to the Flint fighter as he didn't know how to deal. In round eleven Dirrell was hit just after he was slipped. Dirrell couldn't continue due do the injury sustained. Personally I was suprised I didn't see Dirrell's name in the Oscars nominations for best male after his performance...

In the third round of the tournament he faced Carl Froch and he fought poorly. Some may say he over trained after the fight was delayed for a number of months.

Froch then stayed on the outside and boxed masterfully. Although Abraham did wobble Froch in the final round, his tactics were completely wrong. After the fight Ulli Wegner, Abraham's coach branded him as a coward. I believe this is a bit unfair and taking away the great performance from the Brit.

Against Ward I would have thought Abraham's trainer Ulli Wegner would have changed the game plan for Abraham to implement. He continued to fight 'tall' against the taller man, which again proved disastrous. Ward is a fantastic boxer but the slow, inch forward style of Abraham didn't work at all and it was like he did not learn anything from the Froch fight.

Abraham would benefit from using more of a bob and weave moment movement similar to Joe Frazier and throw thunderous hooks with his reach being quite short, but I cannot see Ulli Wegner changing his coaching methods as they have been successful for a number of years.

I watched a clip of Showtime’s Fight Camp 360 and while the German would not have allowed cameras in to every detail of his camp, one thing was clear to see Ulli Wegner was horrendously slow on the pads and at 69 years, with his trainers hand speed and reaction timing unlikely to improve.

I believe a good trainer for Abraham would have been Teddy Atlas but unfortunately Atlas and Sauerland relationship is now in tatters regarding comments Atlas made about Kalle Sauerland.

Maybe if Abraham hired a trainer from the UK who can show Abraham a varity of shots and teach him how to manouver himeself into position to land a variety of shots, opposed to the pawing jab and then rushing in.    

The problem for Abraham now is that there is a game plan to defeat him, stay on the outside and box in bursts.

Now the middleweight division is packed with talent and it is how he will deal with young, hungry up and coming fighters and if he has enough left to dethrone established champions such as Daniel Geale or Felix Sturm. He has been told by Sauerland that he will have a couple of tune up fights to say in shape. He needs to fight regularly so that the weight stays off or hire a professional nutritionist. At thirty one the weight may not fall off as easy as it used to.

I would love to see Abraham and former EBU title holder Matthew Macklin in the ring together. It just makes for a great fight on the inside, both warriors that love a tear up. 

I believe Sergio Martinez is to slick and quick and will have too Abraham. Dimity Pirog is slick and his taller and a much larger reach than Abraham so again I believe he is out boxed by Pirog.

What next for 16/07/2011 pugilists?

After a packed night of boxing here are my views on what tonight's pugilists should do next.


After what started as a slow night on SKY Sports John Murray and Kevin Mitchell definitely saved the best until last.


A resurgent Kevin Murray proved his critics wrong stopping previously unbeaten John Murray in what will be seen as a British fight of the year candidate.


Frank Warren is believed to start negotiations with Top Rank's Bob Arum to secure a title shot with WBA regular champion (don't ask) Brandon Rios. Personally I think Rios vs Mitchell would be a great fight. Rios has a similar come-forward style to Murray but Rios is more technically astute and his work looks classier.


I like John Murray he is rarely in a bad fight but it's interesting what step he takes next. 


He is European level so a fight with European champion Gavin Rees down the road would be entertaining. As a comeback fight I would like to see him tackle Andy Murray from Ireland.


Tony Bellew defeated Ovil McKenzie on points by out boxing and keeping a strict game plan. I'll pull no punches there was no excitement compared to . At one point Bellew's corner believed Bellew was putting on a boxing masterclass... They must of been watching a different fight.


The fight on everyone's lips is Nathan Cleverly vs Tony Bellew. It will be a great fight when it happens but I think a fight that could be made in the meantime could be Tony Bellew vs Danny McIntosh. Another problem for Tony is if he wants to win the belt outright or just move straight on to Nathan Cleverly


Well where does Ovil go from here? To be honest I doubt he will get a chance to fight for a major title again.


Unfortunately, Ricky Burn fight against Nicky Cook ended in farcical fashion. After SIX seconds of the 1st round Burns caught Cook with a body shot and then Cook was on the canvas clutching his back. It was Later revealed on SKY Sports he had suffered a prolapsed disc in the base of his back.


It surprised me how Nicky Cook was able to get through a 10/12 week camp with a history of back issues, pass all the medical test's and then enter the ring. Surely the BBBofC should looked at more medical records and questioned why Frank Warren put a boxer who has only fought four times in three years a title shot. Its detrimental to Nicky Cook's health and Warren's promoting credibility.


As for Burn's he needs to be given opposition that provide a test for him. Mzonke Fana would be perfect as Burns wants the Ring Magazine belt, but this will only be when his promoter decides to promote one of his prize assets effectively. Although I can see Goldenboy Promotions pushing the WBO to sanction a title shot for WBO number one rated and up and coming star Adrain Broner.


Frankie Gavin beat Curtis Woodhouse via a split decision. I think the 'winner' out of this is Curtis Woodhouse he lasted twelve rounds withe a former amateur world champion when many expected him to be blown away.


I think Woodhouse next opponent should be someone along the lines of Dean Harrison and then Lenny Daws. It will help Woodhouse gain experience and put some names on his record. 


Gavin needs to drop down a weight, he is to small for the weight and also he lacked 'pop' in the punches. I also think he may need to travel to a few gyms in America to develop his style and maybe travelling away for a training camp may be the way forward for him.


Moving up the M62 to Oldham, Lee Purdy stopped Craig Watson in five rounds in what was a repeat result of when they first clashed on the 16th of April.


Purdy will be gunning for a rematch against Denton Vassell who he lost to in 2010 to combine the British and Commonwealth titles.


As for Craig Watson I believe it would be best if he regrouped and tried to challenge for the Commonwealth title at light middleweight.


Crossing over to Germany Marco Kap'tain Huck knocked former WBA light heavyweight champion Hugo Hernan Garay in ten rounds.


Huck is an entertaining fighter and developed a bit of a cult following when Setanta used to have a TV deal with Sauerland, his promoter. One big option for Huck is IBF champion Steve 'USS' Cunningham, who previously defeated Huck a few years back. Another option is Denis Lebedev of Russia who I believe, was robbed when he faced Huck last year.


Finally we make our way to Mexico where Juan Manuel Marquez KO'ed Likar Ramos in a round, in preparation for a third meeting with Manny Pacquaio. His brother Rafael Marquez stopped Eduardo Becerril in the seventh round and he has targeted a showdown with WBC super bantamweight title holder Toshiaki Nishioka who is regarded as the number one boxer in the division, if he can make the weight. At thirty six the weight may not come off as easy in years gone by.


For me the star of the show was Roman 'El Chocolatito' Gonzalez. Gonzalez from Nicaragua, has a record of 29(24) he is only twenty four in the second lowest weight class. Usually lower weight fighters do not get the attention they deserve but the hard punching Managua native has the style that will excite the crowd and a great nickname.


His opponent Omar Salado was over matched but it was great to see Gonzalez in full flow. Salado went down twice in Round 1. After Salado was knocked down again in Round 7, his corner asked the referee to stop the fight.


While there are not many big names in the light flyweight division there is a lot of talent. I am hoping Giovani Segura doesn't move up in weight as it would be a fascinating fight. Though the WBA are up to their old tricks again and have already nominated a interim champion, when really there was no need to. Hernan Marquez may be next up for Gonzalez, hopefully it will be televised in the USA as Gonzalez is an exciting fighter and he deserves the TV coverage.

Public Weigh in's... The way forward

While people may boxing is not a 'popular' sport anymore it still has a hardcore fan base. I was suprised to find out that a today that fight card that I believe is one of the best in the UK this year is not allowing the public in to view it.

The card includes one Ricky Burns Vs Nicky Cook for the WBO super featherweight world title, Tony Bellew vs Ovil McKenzie, in a rematch between one of 2010's fight of the year for the British and Commonwealth title. John Murray vs Kevin Mitchell in a battle between two of Europes best lightweights and a grudge match between Frankie Gavin and Curtis Woodhouse.

Now am not saying thousands of people would of decended on the weigh in, but it would added spice to the occasion. Tony Bellew is fast becoming a fan favourite in his home city of Liverpool. Also Rocky Fielding is making his Frank Warren debut so there would of been a fairly sizable Liverpool fan group their. John Murray is based in Manchester which is just based up the M62. Kevin Mitchell has a number of fans so am sure they would of travelled up for the weekend.

It adds to the hype of fight week for everyone involved.

I think Frank Warren Promotions could of hyped this more in Liverpool than what they have done... The show is not as big as 'The Return as the Magnificent Seven' but the card has more intriguing matchups that British boxing fans want to see.