Arthur Abraham to fight on November 21st in Hannover, Germany

By Boxing News - 09/15/2015 - Comments

abraham5(Photo Credit: Sebastian Heger) By Scott Gilfoid: WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (43-4, 29 KOs) will be making his fifth defense of his WBO 168lb title two months from now on November 21st against an opponent still to be determined at the TUI Arena in Hannover, Germany. This will be a voluntary defense for the 35-year-old Abraham, so that likely means he’ll be facing the weakest possible opponent from near or at the bottom of the WBO’s rankings.

With the WBO’s rankings, which are kind bizarre as far as I’m concerned, it could mean that Abraham picks someone as high as #2 or as low as #14 in the WBO’s rankings. I don’t see Abraham fighting #15 WBO Martin Murray in a voluntary defense because of Murray’s huge size.

Murray is like a big light heavyweight, and the little 5’9” Abraham probably won’t want to be dwarfed by one of his opponents.

Abraham has been fighting a lot of the same guys over and over again for the past three years. For instance, he’s fought Robert Stieglitz four times and Paul Smith twice. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Abraham fight Stieglitz yet another time because the German boxing fans just seem to love this match-up for some reason. I don’t know why.

Abraham has beaten Stieglitz 3 out of the 4 times, and it’s forlorn already. I would never watch any of those fights if I lived in Germany. It’s so boring when you know who’s going to win. I’d like to see Abraham finally face a quality opponent for the first time since beaten left and right in the Super Six tournament, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for that to happen.

Abraham is likely going to pick a soft job for his November 21st fight, and that’s just the way I see it happening. I think Abraham is milking his WBO title with the easiest fights possible, or at least against beatable fighters that his German fans are interested in seeing him fight.

‘’After beating Stieglitz for the third time, I felt like I’d been liberated,’’ Abraham said. ‘’I’ve always had confidence in my punching power. My opponents should beware, and the fans should rejoice as there are plenty more knockout victories to come!’’

I don’t see Abraham being able to hold onto his belt once he faces his #1 WBO contender Gilberto Ramirez. I see the belt being surrendered to Ramirez in that fight with Abraham getting pounded. Ramirez is a much better fighter than Abraham in my view. The only way I can see Abraham beating Ramirez is if he wins a controversial decision in Germany, which unfortunately is always a possibility.

As far as who Abraham will be fighting on November 21st, I see him fighting one of these WBO contenders:

2. Patrick Nielsen
4. Tyron Zeuge
5. Blake Caparello
6. Rohan Murdock
7. Eduard Gutknecht
13. Tim-Robin Lihaug
14. Yuzo Kityota

Eduard Gutknecht is well-known in Germany, and he’s no threat at all to beating Abraham. As such, I see him getting the fight against Abraham. It’s so predictable. I’m sure I’ll be right.

‘’In recent fights, Arthur has looked better than ever,’’ said Abraham’s promoter Kalle Sauerland. ‘’Many people have tried to write him off over the years, but he has consistently delivered, proving himself to be one of the top elite-level fighters in the world. The knockout against Stieglitz showed he has not lost any of his power, and fans can look forward to seeing the ‘Abrahammer’ again on November 21.’’

I don’t think Abraham has gotten better at all since he was getting beaten over and over again in the Super Six tournament. The only thing that’s changed since he left the tournament is he’s facing weaker opposition now in the last four years. I mean, look at who Abraham has been fighting. Abraham has been beating guys like Giovanni De Carolis, Willbeforce Shihepo, Mehdi Bouadla, Piotr Wilczewski, Pablo Oscar Natalio Farias, Robert Stieglitz, Nikola Sjekloca and Paul Smith.

It’s not as if Abraham is facing the cream of the division in the Dirrell brothers. I don’t see any quality at all in the guys that Abraham is fighting. It would be a huge upgrade if Abraham were to fight guys like Martin Murray, George Groves, Callum Smith and Rocky Fielding even. Of course, I don’t see Abraham fighting any of those guys. No way.



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