Britain’s Paul Smith (35-4, 20 KOs) says that WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (41-4, 28 KOs) gave him a handshake when he asked him at the post-fight press conference if he’ll agree to give him an immediate rematch. Smith, 31, interpreted the handshake from Abraham to mean that he’ll get his badly needed rematch with the 34-year-old German based champion.
Last Saturday night, Smith lost a 12 round unanimous decision to Abraham by the scores of 117-111, 117-110 and 119-109. Many people who saw the fight felt that Abraham did enough to get the victory. Some fans felt that it should have been a draw while a smaller minority felt that Smith won the fight. However, because of the scores being so wide, Smith and his promoter Eddie Hearn feel that a rematch is warranted.
Hearn is appealing the decision to the World Boxing Organization to try and have Smith made as the mandatory challenger for Abraham so that he can get an immediate rematch. The WBO said earlier today that they’re reviewing the fight and will make a decision on it.
“I spoke to Arthur in the press conference after the fight and I spoke to the promoter Kalle Sauerland,” Smith said via Skysports.com. “A translator said that Arthur said he’d fight me any time, so I leaned over and I said ‘fight me next. Give me a rematch’ and I put my hand out and he shook my hand. It’s certainly not a contract but it’s a gentleman’s agreement.”
The major question is did Abraham actually understand what was being said to him by Smith when they spoke? My understanding is that Abraham only has limited English speaking skills. For all we know, he might have interpreted Smith’s comments to him to mean something completely different from what Smith actually said.
The other thing is a verbal agreement means nothing. Abraham could have been just playing nice to Smith in order to tactically blow him off while avoiding an unpleasant confrontation. The last thing Abraham needed after beating Smith was to have him sulk or pout after Abraham turned down his request for a rematch.
“If he believes he’ll fight me again, do it next – financially it’ll make sense for him,” Smith said. “He earned a lot of money fighting me and he’ll earn even more this time. There’s demand for a rematch now. I don’t mind going back to Germany as long as the judging is rectified.”
