BERLIN (December 15, 2009)— King Arthur Abraham crowned a sensational year by winning the prestigious German Boxer of the Year Award for a record fourth straight time. The 29-year-old, who is leading the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament following his spectacular KO victory over Jermain Taylor, received the most votes from the readers of Germany´s BoxSport Magazine, edging out both Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko yet again. “I am very grateful. This is a big honour and really means a lot to me,” Abraham said. “I want to thank the fans for their confidence and support. And I want to thank my coach Ulli Wegner and everyone at Team Sauerland for helping me to become the boxer I am..”
King Arthur improved to 31-0 (25 KOs) this year following a points victory over Lajuan Simon in March and a 10th-round TKO victory over Mahir Oral in June, which earned him a spot in the Super Six World Boxing Classic. A sell-out crowd of 14,000 fans were in attendance in the o2 World in Berlin when he knocked out former undisputed champion Jermain Taylor with six seconds to go in the last round. The fight drew a phenomenal peak market share of almost 40 percent on German free-to-air giant ARD.
Ulli Wegner will also have reason to celebrate after being voted German Coach of the Year for the seventh time in a row. He not only guided King Arthur to international fame but also made Marco “Captain” Huck the new WBO Cruiserweight Champion and helped the “First Lady” Cecilia Braekhus to win the WBA/WBC Female Welterweight Titles. “We are a great team,” King Arthur said. “2009 was great but 2010 will be even better and I already look forward to returning to America.”
Abraham will take on Andre Dirrell in the second round of the Super Six World Boxing Classic. For information on all SHOWTIME Sports telecasts, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries from its events and complete information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic, please visit the website at http://www.worldboxingclassic.com.