By Scott Gilfoid: WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (39-4, 28 KO’s) will be making his first defense of his WBO title on May 3rd against the light hitting #9 WBO Nikola Sjekloca (26-1, 8 KO’s) at the Velodrom in Berlin, Germany. Abraham, 34, recaptured the World Boxing Organization 168 lb. title earlier this month in beating champion Robert Stieglitz by a 12 round split decision on March 1st in their third and hopefully their final fight together. Abraham just barely won the decision.
Sjekloca, 35, is a disappointing opponent for some fans because they were hoping that Abraham would start taking on tougher opponents for his optional title defenses instead of facing weak, hand-picked opponents with little chance at beating him.
If history is any guide, Abraham will take another soft optional title defense after the title defense against Sjekloca, and then look to face Robert Stieglitz for a fourth title. That’s if the WBO doesn’t force Abraham to fight #2 WBO James DeGale or #1 WBO Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. first. It’s likely that Abraham will get permission to bypass his mandatory title defense to take another fight against Stieglitz next year. I just wonder how many times these guys can fight before it becomes forlorn.
Abraham’s trainer Uli Wegner said “If Arthur is able to put in another performance like he did against Stieglitz, he will prove that he is one of the best super middleweights in the world. He has clearly shown me he is still ready to progress as a boxer. Sjekloca has a good jab and tried to be very active. In his fight against Sakio Bika, he also showed that he can take a punch, so Arthur cannot rely on his power.”
Oh brother, Wegner is really going overboard with lathering on the compliments of Abraham. I mean, the guy beat a mediocre world champion in Robert Stieglitz, who many boxing fans saw as a paper champion for many years. Stieglitz fought exactly zero good opponents during his time as the WBO 168 pound champion, and he’s been wrapped up in rematch after rematch with Abraham since 2012.
I see Abraham as a decent bottom 10 contender, who just happens to have beaten what I feel was the weakest of the super middleweight champions in Stieglitz. If you put Abraham in with a decent super middleweight, he’ll get whipped just like he did in the Super Six tournament.
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