Arthur Abraham

At 44 years old, Arthur Abraham has this physical status:

Arthur Abraham, born 20 February 1980, is an Armenian-German professional boxer.

He has competed in two weight classes, including five times in middleweight history, and the WBO super-middleweight title twice between 2012 and 2016.

Early life

Avetik Abrahamyan was born in Yerevan, Soviet Armenia, on February 20, 1980, to parents Grigor and Sylvia Abrahamyan. At the age of 15, he and his parents and brothers immigrated to Germany in 1995. Abraham expressed an interest in cycling as a youth and eventually became the North Bavarian and Franconian Youth Champion. Arthur was inspired to become a boxing celebrity after watching an exciting Mike Tyson fight. Arthur and his brothers returned to Armenia for military service in 1999. All the brothers served in the military service and returned to Germany in 2003.

Life outside of boxing

On the 24th of October 2009, Abraham and his companion Oliver Pocher were in Cologne, Germany, for an exhibition match against entertainer Oliver Pocher, and he fought with heavy, air-cushion-like boxing gloves. On April 9, 2010, Abraham appeared on RTL's Let's Dance with partner Nina Uszkureit, but he was forced to refocus entirely on his boxing career.

Richard Vogt, Schmeling's last competitor, appeared in the film Max Schmeling (2010). Ulli Wegner was in his corner, as in real life.

Til Schweiger, a German actor and producer, has invited Abraham to appear in his film Crime Scene (2013). Til and Abraham had been friends for a long time. Abraham was played by a pimp who is the head of a clandestine organisation that controls the shadow business in the film.

In 2012 and 2013, Abraham was one of the panel of judges for the "Miss Germany" beauty pageant.

A presser for Abraham was hosted at the RA Ministry of Diaspora on January 9, 2013. Abraham was lauded as a role model and was given the "Poghos Nubar" award by Minister Hranush Hakobyan.

To his family, Abraham wrote a letter of condolence for Vladimir Yengibaryan's death.

Personal life

His family members affectionately refer to him as "Avo," short for Avetik. In 2015, Abraham married Mary, then a Yerevan State University undergraduate. The wedding took place in Armenia and was not announced; six months later, he told the world of his marriage. Alexander's younger brother Alexander is also a licensed boxer, and his older brother Christian owns a furniture store.

Following his retirement, Abraham's dream of opening a boxing school in Armenia. To help the school have success internationally, he will also have foreign-language classes for students, such as English and German.

He obtained German citizenship in August 2006, while still retaining his Armenian citizenship.

During a 20th anniversary of the country's independence, Armenian President Serge Sargsyan honoured Abraham and fellow boxer Vic Darchinyan on September 21, 2008. Both men were given medals for their "great services for Armenia" of the first degree.

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Amateur career

In Bamberg and later in Nuremberg, Abraham boxed as an amateur. In 1997, he was a world junior welterweight German champion and a three-time Senior light middleweight champion in Armenia, 2001 and 2002. Abraham attempted to compete for Armenia in the 2000 Summer Olympics but was unable due to his two years of military service. Arthur and his brother Alexander returned to Germany in 2003 with the intention of embarking on a career in boxing. He was 81-3-6 (48 KO), his highest amateur record.

Arthur and Alexander competed with promoter and boss Wilfried Sauerland and his head coach Ulli Wegner in 2003. Arthur was a sparring partner for IBF and WBA super middleweight champion Sven Ottke, who was in the process of a title defense. Wegner was so impressed that he started to tutor Arthur personally.

Professional career

Abraham began his work in August 2003. Abraham was promoted to many victories early in his career. He defeated Canadian southpaw Ian Gardner (18–1) for the vacant WBA Intercontinental middleweight championship, Hector Velazco (former WBO champion) and challenger Nader Hamdan (36–1).

Abraham defended his WBA InterContinental title against the highly respected Briton Howard Eastman in July 2005. Before losing to American William Joppy and former Undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins, Eastman had only lost to him.

Abraham defeated Kingsley Ikeke (52-1, 13 KOs) in the vacant IBF middleweight championship on December 10, 2005, beating them 5-1, 5 KOs) in Leipzig, Germany. Since being refused a fight with Abraham in October this year, Jermain Taylor had previously vacated the IBF belt. Arthur met Ikeke with hard shots to the head in the fifth round. The canvas began to fall, and Abraham won the right to seal the deal.

Abraham defended his position in a unanimous decision against Australian Shannan Taylor on March 5, 2006. Abraham defeated Kofi Jantuah on points in his second title defense two months later.

Abraham won a decision over undefeated challenger Edison Miranda on September 23, 2006, despite having his jaw broken in two places in round four. Miranda profited from this by playing dirty. Miranda was fined five points for landing repeated low blows as well as intentionally headbutting Abraham. However, even with five points deducted, Abraham would have still won the war (114-109, 116-109). After the war, Abraham's jaw was operated on the night. He had 22 screws embedded in two titanium plates. Arthur was praised for his ability to recover after the Miranda match despite his injury.

In the third round, Abraham defeated Canadian Sébastien Demers by KO in the third round. Abraham was obviously more physically fit than his opponent. Arthur won his fifth title by defeating fellow Armenian Khoren Gevor by an 11th-round knockout from a strong left hook.

Abraham defeated Wayne Elcock in the 5th round of the championship defense on December 8, 2007, a technical knockout.

Abraham was accompanied by live performances of the Scorpions during two of his matches and is now accompanied by the Young Punx's track "Ready For The Fight."

Abraham defeated American Elvin Ayala via KO on March 29, 2008, after connecting with a spectacular left hook that sent his opponent crashing to the canvas face first. This was Abraham's 7th successful title defense.

On June 21, 2008, a rematch between Abraham and Miranda took place at a catchweight of 166 pounds. Abraham's IBF middleweight title was not on the line. Miranda was evicted to the ground in the first minute of the fourth round thanks to a perfectly timed right hand-left hook. Miranda erupted, clearly distraught. Miranda will be lowered along the ropes and Miranda will regained control, but his legs were clearly broken and the tale was about to come. Abraham was left with a definite right hand for the third round's knockdown when the referee stepped in to halt the game before Miranda had a chance to recover.

Abraham defeated Ral Márquez (41–4–1, 37), 37, by a 6th round technical foulout at the Bamberg's Jako Arena, his 8th defense of his IBF middleweight boxing title.

On March 14, 2009, he retained his IBF title against Lajuan Simon, his first fight over 12 rounds since his legendary battle against Edison Miranda. Against Mahir Oral, Berlin held the 10th and final defense of his middleweight title. Abraham was defeated in the first round by a technical knockout. After several knockdowns, Oral's coach threw in the towel.

Abraham announced that he would drop his weight class to compete at super middleweight after struggling to find a match with WBO and WBC champion Kelly Pavlik or WBA champion Felix Sturm. Abraham competed in the WBA and WBC super middleweight championships. The following were among the WBA's participants, Mikkel Kessler, Andre Dirrell, Andre Ward, and Jermain Taylor.

Abraham faced Jermain Taylor on October 17 in his first match of the tournament. Arthur had been due to face Taylor for the undisputed middleweight title, but the match was called off. In the 12th round, Abraham defeated Taylor by a dramatic knockout. Taylor was hospitalized with a serious concussion and short-term memory loss, but he was unable to recall specifics of his illness. In the tournament, Taylor was swapped for veteran Allan Green. Taylor released a statement after being pulled out of the hospital. He said he's doing just fine and wanted to congratulate Abraham on his victory and wish him well in the tournament. Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight champion, was on hand and was captivated by Abraham's tenacity and tenacity.

The Ring has ranked Abraham as the 14th best boxer in the world as of 2009. According to Yahoo, Abraham was ranked #8 in the world on March 5th. Sports are a sport.

In the second stage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic in Detroit, Michigan, Abraham defeated American boxer Andre Dirrell. On the scorecards, Dirrell was comfortably ahead 97–92, 98–91, and 97–92. Abraham was knocked down in round 10, but the referee declared it a slip. Abraham failed in the 11th round due to disqualification hitting Dirrell. After being struck on the chin near the corner, Dirrell stumbled. At 1:13 of the round, the match was called off. Abraham landed a right hand to his chin, knocking him down and out entirely. "I wasn't looking at his feet," Abraham said through a translator. "I didn't know if he was down." The ring immediately packed up with people, including Andre's brother Anthony. Andre was admitted to the hospital for a brain scan. Anthony later confirmed that his brother was fine. Abraham suffered his first setback professionally due to disqualification.

Abraham was due to face British boxer Carl Froch (26-1, 20 KOs), as well as for the vacant WBC super middleweight title on November 27, 2010. Due to Froch's back injury, the fight was postponed from 2 October in Monaco. The brawl took place at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland. Abraham failed to qualify as a two-weight world champion in his third match of the tournament. Abraham was dominated from start to finish, losing by a unanimous decision. The judges' scores were 119–109, 120–108, and 120–108, which represented the one-sided nature of the contest. Abraham was dissatisfied with his appearance, and he wanted to punish him." I tried to do it but I couldn't do it. There's nothing more to say here than this one. It was his best show to date, according to Froch.

Abraham qualified for the semifinals, with one winning out of three opponents. But first, Abraham faced Croatian rival Stjepan Boi in a pre-fight. Due to an injury in Bos hand, Abraham was defeated by a technical knockout in the second round.

Abraham defeated Andre Ward, an American, in the Super Six semi finals for the WBA super middleweight championship on May 14, 2011. The brawl took place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Abraham came into the fight having lost two of his previous three bouts. Ward started out slow with Abraham, trying to find a way to crack his tight defense. Ward took over the game after a competitive first few rounds by using his ring expertise and intuition to guide Abraham. Although Abraham was generally quiet at times, he made an earnest effort and often threw combinations that were almost impossible by Ward. In the final round, Abraham stabbed Ward a few times, but it wasn't enough to finish Ward, who had dominated the fight and won a lopsided unanimous decision. The three judges rated the contest 120–108, 118-110, and 118–111. Ward won 118–110 in favor of him. Abraham didn't believe he had lost the battle by such high scores. Ward threw 289 jabs in over 12 rounds. He received 178 of 444 total punches (40%). Ward went on to defeat Froch in the semifinals and win the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament.

Abraham originally stated that he meant to return to the middleweight division in 2012 but then decided to stay at super middleweight.

Abraham defeated Argentinian Pablo Natalio Farias in round five by a technical thrashing in his first comeback fight on January 14th and claimed the vacant WBO European super middleweight championship. Referee Manuel Maritxalar stopped the game after Abraham landed many difficult combinations that brought Farias down three times in the fifth round. Abraham beat former EBU super middleweight champion Piotr Wilczewski by a landslide unanimous decision to keep his WBO European crown. Wilczewski was disqualified a point in the seventh round and was disqualified in the eleventh round, although the court denied a draw.

The WBO declared in April 2012 that they had banned George Groves as their mandatory challenger and swapped him with Abraham, putting the two fighters in contention to face WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (41-2, 23 KOs). The O2 World's First Battle of Sauerland has been announced that the fight will take place in Berlin on August 25th. Abraham defeated Stieglitz unanimously to win the WBO championship in a thrilling contest that made Abraham a two-division champion. Abraham was both the second Armenian and the first German to win championships in two separate divisions. The judges' scores were 116–112, 116-112 and 115–113. By BoxSport magazine, Abraham was voted best boxer of Germany in 2012. Ulli Wegner, his mentor, was also voted the year's best coach.

Abraham's first title defense at super middleweight was announced on October 9, 2012, Mehdi Bouadla (26-4-0, 11 KOs). The confrontation took place on December 15 at Nüremberg, Germany, on December 15th. Abraham won the battle against Bouadla on December 15, 2012. In the eighth round, he defeated him by a technical knockout. A cut across Bouadla's right eye streamed blood into his eyes, obstructing his vision and causing the bout's suspension because he didn't get Abraham's punches and as such deserved harsh punishment. "This is where I started boxing," Abraham said in the newspaper fight. There's no better feeling than being here now, in front of 10,000 people as the world champion.

In the first quarter of 2013, five days after the Bouadia war, a rematch with Stieglitz was scheduled to take place. Abraham said in January that the combat would take place on March 3rd. Stieglitz was embroiled in a court dispute after allegedly assaulting his father-in-law, a charge that he denied was self-defense. In front of 8,000 at the GETEC Arena in Stieglitz, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, the combat took place. In the second round, Abraham's eye swelled and he would soon not see. He was waved off at the start of the fourth round, resulting in his defeat. According to CompuBox results, Stieglitz was in total command of the match, with 46 of 203 punches thrown (34%), with Abraham landing 27 of his 107 was awarded (25%). In power punches, Stieglitz defeated Abraham 63-19.

Abraham had two more fights in 2013 after losing the World Championship. He won by 12 round unanimous decision (116-113, 116-112). Abraham claimed the vacant WBO InterContinental super middleweight title. Abraham won by unanimous decision (2120-108 twice) two months later against Giovanni De Carolis (20-4, 10 KOs) two months ago.

On March 1, 2014, a rubber match with Stieglitz (46-3, 26 KOs) took place, putting the WBO super middleweight title on the line once more at the GETEC Arena in Magdeburg, Germany. After a purse bid was confirmed, where the minimum bid was $300,000, Ulf Steinforth of SES raised $3,135,000 on December 9, beating the other bid, which came from Abraham's promoter Sauerland Event at $1,541,414. Stieglitz, who was the champion, was entitled to $2,351,250 (75%), but Abraham would get the remainder $783,750 (25%). In a tight contest fought through 11 rounds, Stieglitz took a knee in the twelfth round, as Abraham's counter-punching took its toll. Stieglitz was the 'come forward' attacker with jab attacks. Abraham counterattacked a counterattack that brought Stieglitz's stamina to a halt late. Abraham gained the contest by a split decision (112-113, 114-110, 115-110). According to CompuBox results, Abraham delivered 140 of 451 punches (31%), while Stieglitz landed 106 of his 489 (22%). In the final five rounds, Abraham was much more upbeat and used his jab, which was the key to winning the contest.

Abraham planned a quick first defense against Serbian Nikola Sjekloca (28-1, 8 KOs) in April. On May 3, 2014, a brawl took place in Berlin, Germany. Abraham came out victorious on points on all three judges' scorecards (116-112, 119-110). Abraham said he had lost in round 7 and was boxed sensibly for the remainder of the fight.

At Sparkassen-Arena in Germany on September 21, promoter Kalle Sauerland revealed on July 21, 2014, that Abraham will defend his WBO title against English boxer Paul Smith (335-3, 20 KOs). In May 2014, talks for the war began. Smith said he had researched Abraham's death to Carl Froch ahead of the fight. Before their fight, Froch used Smith as a sparring partner. In a contentious decision, Abraham defeated Smith to keep his position. Abraham won on all three judges' scorecards by a wide margin (119-109 & 117-111 twice). In a few quarters, the scorecards were mocked for being too wide in relation to the competitiveness of the contest. Many British supporters who were in attendance booed the decision. Eddie Hearn, Smith's promoter, dubbed the decision a "disgrace."

The WBO said they would investigate the situation and make a decision, with the possibility of a rematch. Smith's appeal for an immediate rematch was turned down by the WBO in October, but the organization did announce that he will remain in the top 5 in the rankings. Smith also predicted that by a voluntary defence he would have a new chance.

Abraham made the WBO aware that he may face Smith again in the 2015 campaign by the end of October. A bargain was struck for the rematch in December 2014. The O2 World Arena in Berlin will host the match on February 21, 2015. Abraham was hoping to set up a match with Felix Sturm with another win. With 9,000 fans in attendance, the match lasted the full 12 rounds as Abraham gained points on both three scorecards (116-112, 117-111 twice). When Abraham unloaded a barrage of power punches during the war, he was mostly dominant, and he spent some time against the ropes, covering up, to keep himself from being ill. Smith praised Abraham after the war, saying, "I felt I left it all in there tonight," Smith said. I'm not going home with any or many regrets. He shook me once or twice tonight, and I'm sure he was better tonight (than the first fight). In Germany, the show attracted more than 4 million viewers.

Abraham defeated Robert Stieglitz (47-4-1 27 KOs) for the fourth and final time on Sunday at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, on July 18th. The show was described as 'Final Showdown.' On February 26, the WBO ordered the war, giving both sides 90 days to reach a compromise. Both camps had reached an agreement on April 9th. Despite being up 3-1 against Stieglitz, Abraham promised to win via KO to solidify his position as the top-rated super-middleweight. Abraham made plans to continue his boxing career for another two years before considering the possibility of retirement. In a talk, he said, "I will not lose." "I intend to continue my work for at least two years, and then retire along with my mentor and my world championship belt." He also suggested that the division be unified. In the sixth round, Abraham won via TKO. In round 4, the Stieglitz was knocked down, but he was able to recover. At the time of the stoppage (48-46, 50–44, 49-45), Abraham was ahead on three judges' scorecards (48-48, 49-45).

Matchroom Sport announced on October 7th that talks were concluded for Abraham to defend his WBO world championship against 33-year-old British boxer Martin Murray (32-2-1, 15 KOs) at the TUI Arena in Hanover. Murray was still searching for his first world title after being halted by world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin earlier this year in what was his third world championship challenge. Murray was on a three-match winning streak before. Abraham was able to win by split decision (116-111, 112, 112-115). Murray lost one point for being seated in round eleven, but it did not have an effect on the outcome. During a post-fight interview, Abraham praised Murray, saying, "I trained hard, have shed blood and sweat." I was both aesthetically and tactically the best boxer. I didn't box against a punchbag, but I didn't box against it. He is a world-class fighter who has put in a good fight but you have to acknowledge it."

On January 18, 2016, it was announced that undefeated #1 WBO Gilberto Ramrez (33-0, 24 KOs) would challenge Abraham for the WBO super middleweight title in the Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley III card on HBO pay-per-view. The MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, hosted the fight card. Ramrez became the first Mexican fighter to win a super middleweight world championship, according to all three judges. Ramrez won on the punch count by outworking Abraham in a challenging round with a strong jab, a consistent combination of head and body power punches, and superior head and foot mobility. Following the loss, Abraham's record in the United States fell to a (1-3) record. "I took to him a Mexican boxing academy," Ramrez said in a post-fight interview. He was a good puncher, but he couldn't move at all. I knew halfway through the fight that I was going to win the game. "I came here to make history, and I did it."

Abraham will fight again in his first bout since losing his 168-pound world championship on April 9th, according to Team Sauerland. At the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin, Abraham will face Tim-Robin Lihaug (15-1, 8 KOs) for the vacant WBO International super middleweight title. Abraham claimed the title after being vacated by Gilberto Ramirez in round 8.

Abraham and Martin Murray (33-4-1, 16 KOs) might meet in Monaco for the second time on November 12, 2016, according to early talks in October. The Les Étoiles' combat was supposed to take place. The match was declared as a non-title match, in which the champion will face Gilberto Ramrez in April 2016. Abraham was forced to withdraw from competition due to an elbow injury in preparation. Murray was expected that a rematch would take place at a future date, but Murray will face another contender for the Monte Carlo card. Dmitry Chudinov, a Russian boxer, will step in Abraham's place until he died as a result of a virus, and Nuhu Lawal will replace him.

The World Boxing Organisation has ordered a purse fight in Hungary on January 4th, 2017 for an eliminator between Abraham, number two and third ranked two time light heavyweight challenger Robin Krasni (46-4, 17 KOs), in which the minimum bid was $300,000 was the minimum bid. An deal for an eliminator was signed on January 14th, but it did not take place on April 22nd. The confrontation will take place at the Messe Erfurt Convention Center in Erfurt, Germany, according to a press conference on February 19th. In the second half of the contest, Abraham consistently defeated Krasniqi, a world championship match for the second time. Abraham's favour was voted by the judges at 118–110, 115-114, and 117–111 in Abraham's favor. Krasniqi began the fight well, utilizing his height advantage. With a right hand, the game was turned around when Abraham caught Krasniqi in round 6 with a right hand. Krasniqi was on the backfoot as a result of this turning the fight around and placing him on the back-foot. Abraham spent the majority of the rounds in cutting off the ring.

According to reports, Chris Eubank Jr. would return to his ring in July 2017 defending his IBO super middleweight title against Abraham in London. Eubank Jr. is said to have been offered in the region of £3 million. The 15th and the 22nd of July were both possible dates. Eubank Jr.'s biggest battle since losing to Saunders in 2014 will be considered as Eubank Jr.'s biggest fight. The fight would take place at the Wembley Arena on July 15th and televised on ITV Box Office, and it would be shown on June 5th. The official press release was set to take place on June 7th. The winner of the super-middleweight knockout tournament will be announced on July 7th. Chris Eubank Sr., who represented both Abraham and Eubank Jr., selected undefeated Turkish competitor Avni Yildrim (16-0, 10 KOs) at the Draft Gala in Monte Carlo on July 8th. Abraham weighed 12st 1lb 5oz at the weigh in, over 1lb 13oz over the limit. He had two hours to lose the extra pounds. Eubank Jr. weighed in at 11st 13lb 3oz, which was within the recommended weight. If Abraham did not make weight for a second time, it was said that the contest would still take place in a non-title match. On the third attempt, Abraham lost weight.

Eubank Jr. was voted into office by a unanimous vote with scorecards 120–108, 120-108, and 118–110. Since Eubank Jr. was outlanded and outpointed Abraham, he had little to offer, mainly in defense mode. Several single and some in groups, Eubank Jr., landed uppercuts throughout the fight, with Abraham only able to connect a few shots clean but left little to no harm. Abraham suffered his second defeat in his last four fights.

Abraham and Danish boxer Patrick Nielsen may meet next, according to Danish newspaper BT, although there was no agreement, the fight was being lightly discussed. In October 2017, Nielsen was coming off a humiliating loss to British boxer John Ryder. The fight was officially confirmed to take place on the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany, on March 19th. Abraham defeated Nielsen on his way to win the vacant WBO International title after 12 rounds. Abraham's ranking was 116-111 each, while Nielsen's was 114-113. Throughout the landing of heavy shots, Abraham was pressed by Nielsen. Nielsen had good luck around the rings, catching Abraham with jabs and combinations, but he didn't have the strength to hold Abraham at bay.

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Awards

• Hrant Shahinyan Medal
• 2009 Berlin Sportsman of the Year
• Child Award 2009