By Scott Gilfoid: Former IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (31-2, 25 KO’s) says he was “Over-trained” for his bout against Carl Froch (27-1, 20 KO’s) last month in their Super Six stage 3 tournament bout on November 27th in Helsinki, Finland. Fighting for the vacant WBC super middleweight title, Froch easily defeated a tired and beaten looking Abraham by a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision. Abraham, 30, didn’t look right walking into the ring, looking as if he wasn’t prepared mentally for the fight and appearing tad too thin for the fight.

In an article at fightnews.com, Abraham said “I think I was over-trained after tough months of training. The fight was postponed twice, so I was constantly wired in.” Froch injured during one of the postponements and he also delayed by refusing to fight Abraham in Germany. Finally, after ages, the Helinki venue was selected. Abraham wasn’t happy because he had to wait so long to get the fight. Normally, Abraham likes to fight every four months, but he had two wait twice as long to get the fight and ended up missing out on a fight during the long wait.

The time off left Abraham feeling weaker and not the same fighter he normally is. Abraham will now have to forget about the loss and try and stay sharp for his next opponent WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (23-0, 13 KO’s), who Abraham will be possibly be fighting in May. Abraham wants to get a tun-up in February against a still to be named opponent. At 30, it’s unclear what can be gained in a tune-up fight, especially if it’s a weak opponent that will just be mowed down easily. Abraham, if he does plan on fighting in February, needs to fight someone that can give him some rounds and can really test him. He doesn’t need a punching bag. He needs someone that will mimic Ward’s style of fighting as close as possible.