King Arthur´s June 27 fight against Mahir Oral will be broadcast by U.S. premium television network SHOWTIME. “That is a big honour for Arthur,” Kalle Sauerland said. “It does not happen very often that fights from Germany are on U.S. television. It tells you something about Arthur´s class. This is only the third time in more than 20 years that SHOWTIME Sports has televised world championship boxing from Germany, and it is the very first non-heavyweight bout. Abraham, the undefeated IBF Middleweight Champion (29-0, 23 KOs), is currently shaping up on Usedom, a small island in the Baltic Sea. He was thrilled to hear the news. “I am excited that the fans in the US will be able to watch my fight,” he said. “For me personally it is a confirmation that my way of fighting and my style are well-received by the U.S. fans. That means a lot to me..”
King Arthur celebrated a successful U.S. debut last June when he clinched a spectacular fourth-round KO victory over long-time foe Edison Miranda on SHOWTIME. Ever since then, promoters and managers have been working to set up a fight against super-champion Kelly Pavlik. But Abraham is taking one step at a time. “All my focus is on Mahir Oral now,” he said. “I hope to fight in the U.S. again soon. It is my goal to please my fans on both sides of the ocean.”
ARTHUR ABRAHAM’S UNDEFEATED RECORD AND IBF MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE ON THE LINE AGAINST MAHIR ORAL
Saturday, June 27, 2009, 9 p.m. ET/PT (tape delay)
Special Saturday Primetime Edition of ShoBox: The New Generation From Berlin, Germany
NEW YORK (June 17, 2009) — International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion “King’’ Arthur Abraham puts his undefeated record and middleweight title on the line against world-ranked Mahir (pronounced Meyer) “Lion” Oral in a special Saturday primetime edition of ShoBox: The New Generation, on June 27, 2009, on SHOWTIME® at 9 p.m. ET/PT (same day, tape delay).
The site of the scheduled 12-round world championship fight is Abraham’s hometown of Berlin, Germany, and will take place at the Max-Schmeling Halle.
In his only fight in the United States, just over a year ago, Abraham made his debut on SHOWTIME with a fourth-round TKO over Edison Miranda in Hollywood, Fla. It was a rematch of their previous bout on Sept. 23, 2006, in Wetzlar, Germany, in which Abraham won a controversial 12-round unanimous decision to give Miranda his first loss in 26 fights. It was Abraham’s third IBF title defense.
Abraham, 29, enters the June 27 fight—his ninth IBF title defense—with a 29-0 record (23 KOs) while Oral is 25-1-2 (10 KOs). Sauerland Events will promote the fight.
In his last start on March 14, the aggressive-minded, hard-hitting Abraham successfully defended his crown with a 12-round decision against Lajuan Simon in Kiel, Germany.
A former sparring partner of the defending champion, Oral is a German boxer of Turkish descent who has won his last 18 fights. The 6-foot-1, 29-year-old fights out of Hamburg, Germany, and, like Abraham, has fought the majority of his fights in Germany.
Unbeaten since March 2004, he is a skilled, well-conditioned, quick-handed boxer with nice moves who throws a variety of combinations. In his last outing, he recorded an eighth-round TKO over Alexander Sipos on Nov. 18, 2008, in Cuxhaven, Germany.
Said Oral’s manager Ahmet Öner: “Many others in the middleweight division are avoiding Arthur because they don’t think they have any chance against him, but I told Mahir that he has nothing to lose. Should he actually be beaten, then it will be against the strongest ever world champion in his weight division. And that is Arthur Abraham. So we have nothing to lose.
Oral has captured several minor belts, but this is his first opportunity at a world title. He has campaigned at or around 160 pounds since turning pro on March 4, 2000. His only losses came between March 2003 and March 2004 when he followed back-to-back draws with the only defeat in his career.
For information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive video, photos and news links on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and Strikeforce mixed martial arts telecasts, along with access to the SHOWTIME Sports Facebook® and Twitter® pages, please go to http://Sports.Sho.com.