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.
Weigh-In Results from Germany:
Kubrat Pulev 111,5 kg / 245,8 lbs
George Arias 101,8 kg / 224,4 lbs
Vincent Feigenbutz 75,2 kg / 165,8 lbs
Giovanni De Carolis 76,1 kg / 167,8 lbs
Vincent Feigenbutz (20-1, 19 KOs) is promising a spectacular performance on Saturday night as the twenty year-old power puncher prepares to defend his interim WBA World Super Middleweight title against Italy’s Giovanni De Carolis (23-5, 11 KOs) at the dm-Arena in Karlshrue, Germany.
Arthur Abraham (42-4, 28 KOs) and Robert Stieglitz (47-4-1, 27 KOs) both made weight today ahead of their fourth WBO World Super Middleweight Championship contest tomorrow night at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Germany.
WBO World Super Middleweight Championship:
Arthur Abraham: 76 kg
Robert Stieglitz: 75.9 kg
The star-studded show in Halle also features 17 year-old German knockout specialist Vincent Feigenbutz (19-1, 18 KOs) who faces Mauricio Reynoso (15-1-1, 11 KOs) for the Interim WBA World Super Middleweight title, and the return of London 2012 Olympic Bronze medalist Anthony Ogogo (7-0, 4 KOs) against Ruslan Schelev (11-3, 6 KOs).
Photo Credit: Sebastian Heger – Mission Impossible’ or ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’, these are the two opposing views shared at today’s final press conference ahead of Saturday night’s WBA World Light Heavyweight Championship fight between Juergen Braehmer (45-2, 33 KOs) and Robin Krasniqi (43-3, 16 KOs) at the StadtHalle in Rostock, Germany.
Kicking-off proceedings at the Fischland Hotel, promoter Kalle Sauerland expressed his excitement at the all-German duel. ‘’On Saturday night we have the champion versus the number one ranked challenger,’’ said Sauerland. ‘’This is what boxing is all about – the best fighting the best!’’
Full list of weights below:
WBO World Super Middleweight Championship:
Arthur Abraham: 76.1 kg
Paul Smith: 75.1 kg
Heavyweight – 10 Rounds:
David Price: 114.8 kg
Irineu Beato Costa Junior: 119.5 kg
Erik Skoglund (22-0, 11 KOs) took another step towards a world title challenge with a unanimous points victory over Jamaican veteran Glen Johnson (54-20-2, 37 KOs) on Saturday night at the Albertslund MusikTeatret in Copenhagen.
The rising Swedish star proved too much for the former IBF World Light Heavyweight Champion, and after ten rounds of action the judges scored the fight 98-92, 97-93 and 97-93.
‘I was pleased with my performance,’’ said Skoglund. ‘It might sound cocky to say, but I felt I was the better boxer on the night. I was one step ahead of him in everything I did. I’ve proved I’m ready for a world level opposition. I want to challenge for a world title in 2015!’’
Cecilia Brækhus (27-0, 7 KOs) retained her WBC, WBA, WBO & IBF Female World Welterweight titles with a unanimous points victory over IBF mandatory challenger Jennifer Reztke (15-1-2, 9 KOs) at the Falconer Hall, at the Radisson Blu in Copenhagen.
Brækhus once again proved why she is the pound-for-pound number one with a dominant display against her German opponent. ‘The First Lady’ started strongly and looked likely to stop Retzke before injuring her foot in the third-round. Despite the injury, Brækhus fought on to claim a clear victory, with the judges scoring the fight 100-90, 100-90 & 98-92.
‘’It was a tough fight,’’ said Abraham. ‘’Paul Smith was by no means an easy opponent and he made me work hard for the win. I was pleased with my performance. I feel that I have proved to myself, to my coach Ulli Wegner and to my fans that I still have what it takes. I’m not in decline and I look forward to more successful defences of my WBO title.’’
Boxing history was made in Copenhagen, Denmark last night. Norwegian star Cecilia Brækhus (26-0, 7 KOs) became the first female boxer to unify a division by holding all four major titles simultaneously. The WBC, WBA & WBO Champion scored a unanimous decision victory over IBF Champion Ivana Habazin (13-2, 5 KOs) to become the undisputed welterweight queen.
Cheered on by her loyal army of travelling Norwegian fans, Brækhus once again proved why she is the pound-for-pound female number one with a classy performance against the tenacious Habazin. All three judges scored the fight 100-90 in favour of ‘The First Lady’.
‘’I’ve been dreaming of this moment for a long time,’’ said Brækhus. ‘’To become the first female boxer to unify a division is a huge achievement and something that I am extremely proud of. I would like to thank all the fans that travelled to Copenhagen to support me and Ivana for the part she played in this historic fight.’’
Tomorrow night in Halle, Germany WBO World Cruiserweight Champion Marco Huck (37-2-1, 26 KOs) will attempt to equal Johnny Nelson’s record for the most title defences in the cruiserweight division when he faces Mirko Larghetti (21-0, 13 KOs) at the Gerry Weber Stadium.
As Huck threatens to match Nelson’s record of thirteen successful defences, ‘’The Entertainer’’ has exclusively revealed that he would consider a sensational return to the ring to face the ”plastic” champion and reclaim his WBO title.
‘’There are only a handful of world champions who can truly be considered the best in the world and in my opinion Marco Huck is not one of them,’’ said Nelson. ‘’No disrespect to the kid but to get people to sit up, pay attention and consider him the best, he needs to fight outside of Germany, away from his home comforts.