Arthur Abraham May Drop Back Down To Middleweight; After Scheduled Fight Vs. Andre Ward

By James Slater – Back when it was first announced that Arthur Abraham was to move up in weight so as to participate in the forthcoming “Super Six” tournament, people wondered whether or not “King” Arthur was big enough to be successful at 168-pounds. Such concerns looked to have been unnecessary when the Armenian looked strong and powerful in taking out Jermain Taylor in his tournament/168-pound debut, (Taylor had also moved up from 160) but things are a whole lot different now..

Abraham has now lost two in a row, meaning he has chalked up just the one super-middleweight victory, and the 30-year-old is of the belief that his size disadvantage was the real reason.

In speaking to German newspaper BILD, Abraham said he is seriously considering dropping back down to middleweight. The now 30-2(25) Arthur said that whatever happens, he will still go through with his scheduled semi-final bout against current “Super Six” leader and favourite Andre Ward, in the interest of being “a fair sportsman.”

“Today I can say I am not a super-middleweight,” Abraham told BILD. “ The others are bigger than me. I am always the smallest.”

And it must be said how recent Abraham conqueror Carl Froch always was somewhat mystified over all the praise the 168-pound version of Abraham had received. Froch was of the belief that the former middleweight standout had not yet proven he could cut it with the big super-middles such as himself. And we all know that Froch was right; at least he was right when he said he’d beat Abraham. But DID Abraham lose to Andre Dirrell and Froch because he was simply too small for them, and can the former champ regain his old form if he does drop back down to 160?

Dirrell’s win over Abraham, fans will surely agree, came about not because he was bigger and stronger than Abraham (though he was the taller man at 6’2” to 5’10”), but because he was faster, cleverer and just pain better. Froch too, though also bigger and taller, out-thought Abraham, he didn’t out-muscle him. And let’s not forget, Abraham beat the immensely strong Edison Miranda by way of 4th-round TKO back in June of 2008, and that win took place at just a couple of pounds below the super-middle limit. No, Abraham cannot, in my opinion, blame his two losses on his size.

But can Abraham become ruler again if and when he does go back down in weight? A fight between he and world champ Sergio Martinez would sure be interesting, and even if fans are not willing to give Abraham a great chance of ever winning that fight, he would be given a good to great chance of beating belt holders such as Felix Sturm and Sebastian Sylvester. So maybe the back-to-back losses Abraham has suffered do not mean his career is on a major downer – just that his 168-pound career is all but over.

Then again, what if Abraham were to shock the odds and actually beat Ward in that semi-final? Would Arthur still abandon the 168-pound division!?