According to numerous reports over in Germany, this Saturday could be the last appearance of undefeated Arthur Abraham (29-0, 23KOs) in the middleweight division. Abraham is said to be having a tough time making weight and plans to make a move to super middleweight very soon. He defends his IBF title for the tenth time in Germany against undefeated challenger Mahir Oral (25-1, 10 KOs). The fight will be televised in America on Showtime.
A unification bout between Abraham and WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik is the biggest fight at the weight. Abraham blames Pavlik and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum for the fighting not happening.
“I say Pavlik is backing out. One time he’s injured, the next time he doesn’t want to fight. They always have an excuse and I don’t know why. I’m always ready to box against him,” Abraham said.
Abraham plans to be a much better fighter at 168. He says there is a lot of room for improvement.
“My trainer says I’m only at 60%. If he says it, then that’s how it is. I believe in him. We have another 40% to go and the best is yet to come,” Abraham said.
He says Europeans are starting to dominate the sport because American fighters lose focus when they reach a certain goal, like winning a major title, boxingscene.com reported.
