By Michael Muncaster: Martin Murray could become a real contender in the super-middleweight division on Saturday night, and WBO champion Arthur Abraham is surely in his sights.
The St Helens fighter (31-2-1-KO14) takes on Jose Miguel Torres (31-6-KO27) at the Leeds Arena.
Murray knows by becoming only the second fighter to stop the Colombian, it could launch him into world title contention.
By Scott Gilfoid: Bottom ranked #15 WBO fringe contender Martin Murray (31-2-1, 14 KOs) is targeting WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham for a world title shot rather than the other 168lb champions Andre Ward, Badou Jack, and James DeGale. It’s kind of not all that surprising given that the 35-year-old Abraham is seen as the weak link among the four super middleweight champions in the minds of a lot of boxing fans.
Murray has a fight this Saturday night against middleweight Jose Miguel Torres (31-6, 27 KOs) in another tune-up fight. Don’t ask me why the 32-year-old Murray is fighting a middleweight, when Murray already moved up in weight after getting stopped in the 11th round last February by IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.
Martin Murray wants a big win over Jose Miguel Torres at First Direct Arena in Leeds on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, to lead to a World title clash with WBO Super Middleweight king Arthur Abraham.
By Scott Gilfoid: WBO president Paco Valcárcel, Esq. shot down the idea of a title fight between WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (43-4, 29 KOs) and 36-year-old former IBF/WBA/WBO 160lb champion Felix Sturm (39-5-3, 18 KOs) for this year. Valcárcel, Esq. said in his tweet today that Sturm isn’t ranked in the top 15 by the World Boxing Organization at this time at 168.
This is bad news for Abraham’s promoter Wilfried Sauerland, who said that the Abraham-Sturm fight had to take place in 2015 for there to be any interest in the fight.
By Allan Fox: If the long awaited German match-up between WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (43-4, 29 KOs) and the aging former IBF/WBA/WBO middleweight champion Felix Sturm (39-5-3, 18 KOs) is going to take place then it must take place in 2015, according to Abraham’s promoter Wilfried Sauerland.
Sauerland thinks the fight is already late in taking place, and Sturm waits until 2016 before finally taking the fight, it will be too late.
By Joshua Broom: Rumors have been floating around the Boxing world as of late that a clash between former Middleweight and two time lineal light heavyweight champion and certified fight legend, Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins(55-7-2, 32 KOs) an astounding 50 years of age, -who at 48 years of age broke his own set record of 46 to become boxing’s eldest champion- could end his career on a familiar championship stage by challenging current WBO Super Middleweight champion Arthur Abraham(43-4, 29 KOs), 35, of Germany in early 2016 in the formers amazing 35th championship appearance; at the unheard age for a professional athlete of 51.
The Philadelphia native Hopkins has never fought for a World title at 168 lbs as he skipped over the division (after being controversially usurped from his Middleweight throne following a decade of dominance by Jermain Taylor in a pair of razor thin clashes in which
the latter prevailed victorious each time in 2005) to eventually move up to the 175 lb division the following year and defeat then reigning lineal champion Antonio Tarver for the honors that he held Twice, once in historical fashion after defeating Jean Pascal in 2011.
By Scott Gilfoid: Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn dropped a hint today that his fighter #15 WBO Martin Murray (31-2-1, 14 KOs) could be getting a world title shot against WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (43-4, 29 KOs) in 2015.
If this turns to be true, Murray will have fought for world titles on four separate occasions in the past four years. That’s pretty incredible given that Murray has met with failure in each occasion and he keeps getting more chances.
When asked on twitter earlier today if the 32-year-old Murray will be getting a world title shot against Abraham in 2016, Hearn said “2015 even better.”
By Gav Duthie: A very interesting weekend of boxing has been and gone with various ramifications arising for future fights across the divisions. We witnessed top level action from Germany, the UK And the US and after catching up with it all this is what I have surmised.
Crolla is one unlucky guy
For most fans after Saturday night Anthony Crolla is a champion without the belt. For anyone who believes in Karma they may have to re-think after Crolla a local hero was once again robbed of his chance to realize a dream.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOFNTCNH4TM
By Jim Dower: WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (43-4. 29 KOs) came out on top tonight in defeating 34-year-old Robert Stieglitz (47-5-1, 27 KOs) by a 6th round knockout on Saturday night at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Germany. Fighting each other for the fourth time in the last three years, Abraham knocked Stieglitz down twice in the contest.
(Photo Credit: SAT.1 / Frank Zauritz) By Scott Gilfoid: WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (42-4, 28 KOs) will be fighting former WBO 168lb belt holder Robert Stieglitz (47-4-1, 27 KOs) in a fight called the “Final Showdown” at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Germany.
It’s a mandatory defense for the 35-year-old Abraham, which gives him and his promoters at Sauerland Events an excuse to make the fight with Stieglitz. However, given the money that the first three fights between them have generated, it was clear that Abraham was going to fight Stieglitz in 2015 anyway.