Abraham motivated for Murray challenge

(Photo: Sebastian Heger)

Arthur Abraham

Arthur Abraham (43-4, 29 KOs) aims to extend his domination of the 168 lbs division with a victory over Martin Murray (32-2-1, 15 KOs) on Saturday, November 21 at the TUI Arena in Hannover, Germany.

The 35 year-old has rolled back the years with impressive performances against
Nikola Sjekloca, Paul Smith and Robert Stieglitz since reclaiming his WBO World title in March 2014, and as he prepares for a fifth successive defence, ‘King Arthur’ reveals his reasons for selecting the British boxer as a voluntary challenger.

‘’At this stage of my career, I don’t want to fight any easy opponents,’’ says Abraham. ‘’I need fights that will motivate me, and that is why we chose Murray.

‘’He has challenged for World titles before and against Sturm, Martinez and especially Golovkin he has already boxed three World-class opponents. I know this is a dangerous fight and that has given me the motivation I need.’’

If further motivation is needed, it comes from the Champion’s desire to unify the super middleweight division before calling time on his already illustrious career.

‘’When I first started boxing my dream was to become World Champion,’’ said Abraham. ‘’I achieved this in 2005, winning the IBF middleweight title and then defended it ten times before moving up to super middleweight and becoming a two-weight World Champion.

‘’Now, my dream is to unify the division. I believe this would be my greatest achievement in this sport and that is what still drives me on as a boxer.’’

In order to keep this dream alive, Abraham knows he must overcome the ‘tough’ challenger Murray when the super middleweights collide in Hannover.

‘’If I lose this fight, my dream will be shattered,’’ explains the boxer from Berlin. ‘’I cannot not let this happen. It will be a tough fight, but in my current condition, Murray can’t hold a candle to me, and on Saturday night, there will be only one outcome!’’

The WBO World Super Middleweight Championship fight between Arthur Abraham and Martin Murray will be broadcast live on Sat.1 in Germany and Sky Sports in the UK. Tickets are available online via www.tickethall.de and www.eventim.de