Avetik Abrahamyan ( hy, Ավետիք Աբրահամյան; born 20 February 1980), best known as Arthur Abraham, is an Armenian-German former
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who competed from 2003 to 2018. He held multiple world championships in two
weight classes, including the
IBF middleweight title from 2005 to 2009, and the
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
super-middleweight
Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ...
title twice between 2012 and 2016.
Early life
Avetik Abrahamyan was born in
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and ...
,
Soviet Armenia
The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...
on 20 February 1980 to parents Grigor and Sylvia Abrahamyan. He moved to Germany with his parents and brothers in 1995 at the age of 15. As a teenager, Abraham showed an interest in
cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from tw ...
and eventually became the North
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
n and
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper F ...
n Youth Champion.
However, after watching an exciting
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is con ...
fight, Arthur was inspired to become a boxing star too. In 1999, Arthur and his brothers returned to Armenia for military service. After 2002, all the brothers had finished their military service and returned to Germany in 2003.
Amateur career
Abraham boxed as an
amateur in
Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...
and later in
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
. He was an International
junior welterweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...
German champion in 1997 and a three time Senior
light middleweight
Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA ...
Armenian champion in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
Abraham attempted to compete for Armenia at the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...
, but was unable due to his two years of military service. In 2003, with Arthur and his brother Alexander returned to Germany, hoping to begin a professional boxing career.
His final amateur record was 81-3-6 (48 KO).
In 2003, Arthur and Alexander competed alongside promoter and manager
Wilfried Sauerland and his head coach
Ulli Wegner. Arthur was a sparring partner for
IBF and
WBA super middleweight
Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pound ...
champion
Sven Ottke
Sven Ottke (born 3 June 1967) is a German former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2004. He was a unified super-middleweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 1998 to 2004, and the WBA (Unified) title from 2003 to 200 ...
, whom was in the preparations of a title defense. Wegner was so impressed that he began to train Arthur personally.
Amateur highlights
* 1997 International
light-welterweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...
German champion
* 2000, 2001 and 2002 Senior
light-middleweight Armenian champion
Professional career
Middleweight
Early career
Abraham started his professional career on 16 August 2003. The
Sauerland
The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited.
The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in ...
-promoted Abraham had many early victories.
He defeated Canadian southpaw
Ian Gardner (18–1) for the vacant
WBA Inter-Continental
middleweight title,
Hector Velazco (former
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
champion) and contender Nader Hamdan (36–1).
In July 2005, Abraham defended his WBA Inter-Continental title against the highly regarded Briton
Howard Eastman
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also prob ...
. Eastman had previously only lost to American
William Joppy and former
Undisputed middleweight champion
Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight cla ...
.
IBF middleweight champion
Abraham vs. Ikeke
On 10 December 2005, in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
, Germany, Abraham won the vacant
IBF middleweight title against
Kingsley Ikeke
Kingsley Ikeke (born February 25, 1973) is a US-based Nigerian professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2010. He lost to Anthony Hanshaw on points, KOd Antwun Echols but was KOd by Armenia's Arthur Abraham in the fifth round for the vacant ...
(23-1, 13 KOs) by a 5th round knock-out. The IBF belt had previously been vacated by undisputed champion
Jermain Taylor
Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, ...
after a bout with Abraham was denied in October that year. In the fifth round, Arthur met Ikeke with hard shots to the head. Ikeke began to tumble toward the canvas and Abraham landed some final rights to seal the victory.
Abraham defended his title on 5 March 2006 with a unanimous decision against Australian
Shannan Taylor
Shannan Taylor (born 12 May 1972) is an Australian former professional boxer.
Shannan was trained from his teens in boxing. His training mainly took place at the Bulli PCYC in the boxing room, on the second floor of the building.
In October 20 ...
. Two months later, Abraham won a second title defense against
Kofi Jantuah
Kofi Jantuah (born 16 June 1974) is a Ghanaian professional boxer that fights at middleweight. He was born in Kumasi, Ghana and now lives in Las Vegas.
IBF light middleweight title fight
Kofi fought Kassim Ouma for the IBF light middleweight ...
, also on points.
Abraham vs. Miranda
On 23 September 2006, Abraham won a decision against undefeated contender
Edison Miranda
Edison Miranda (born January 7, 1981) is a Colombian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2021. He challenged once each for the IBF middleweight and super middleweight world titles, and was considered to be one of the most danger ...
despite having his jaw broken in two places in round four. Miranda took advantage of this by fighting dirty. Miranda was docked five points for landing repeated low blows as well as intentionally headbutting Abraham. However, even without the five points deducted, Abraham would have still won the fight (114-109, 115–109, 116-109). Abraham's jaw was operated on the night after the fight. He had 22 screws inserted into two titanium plates. After the Miranda bout, Arthur was praised for his ability to finish the fight despite his injury.
Abraham defeated Canadian
Sébastien Demers
Sébastien Demers (born 24 December 1979) is a Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2013 and challenged for the IBF middleweight title in 2007.
Professional career
Demers is a former Canadian and IBF International mi ...
by KO in the third round after two minutes and fifty-seven seconds. Abraham was clearly physically superior than his opponent. Arthur won his fifth title defense by defeating fellow Armenian
Khoren Gevor by 11th-round knockout from a powerful left hook.
Abraham vs. Elcock, Ayala
On 8 December 2007, Abraham defeated
Wayne Elcock
Wayne Elcock (born 12 February 1974) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2009. He challenged once for the IBF middleweight title in 2007. At regional level, he held the British middleweight title from 2007 to 2009.
...
to make his sixth title defense by technical knockout in the 5th round.
During two of his matches, Abraham was accompanied by live performances of the
Scorpions and is currently accompanied by the track "Ready For The Fight" by
The Young Punx.
On 29 March 2008, Abraham defeated American
Elvin Ayala via 12th-round KO after connecting with a devastating left hook that sent his opponent crashing to the canvas face first. This was Abraham's 7th successful title defence.
Abraham vs. Miranda II

On 21 June 2008, a rematch between Abraham and Miranda took place at a
catchweight of 166 lbs. Abraham's IBF middleweight title was not on the line. In the first minute of the fourth round, a perfectly timed right hand-left hook sent Miranda to the floor. Miranda rose, clearly hurt. Another left hook would drop Miranda along the ropes and Miranda would again rise but his legs were clearly gone and the end was at hand. Abraham landed a final striking right hand for the round's third knockdown as the referee leapt in to halt the action before Miranda could attempt to rise again.
Abraham vs. Marquez
On 8 November 2008, Abraham defeated
Raúl Márquez (41–4–1, 29 KOs), 37, by a 6th round
technical knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
, at the
Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...
's
Jako
Jako AG is a German sportswear company based in the Hollenbach district of Mulfingen, Baden-Württemberg. The company was founded by Rudi Sprügel in 1989 in Stachenhausen. Jako provides kits for teams playing association football, handball, ...
Arena, the 8th defense of his IBF middleweight boxing title.
He retained his IBF title on 14 March 2009 against
Lajuan Simon
Lajuan Simon (born February 25, 1979) is an American professional boxer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that fights as a middleweight.
Simon has twice fought for major world boxing titles. On March 13, 2009, he lost a unanimous decision to Arth ...
, his first fight over 12 rounds since his legendary battle against Edison Miranda. The 10th and final defense of his middleweight title took place in Berlin against
Mahir Oral
Mahir Oral (born 23 May 1980) is a German professional boxer.
Personal life
Mahir Oral was born in Hamburg, West Germany on 23 May 1980.
Boxing career
Oral competed in professional boxing from early 2000 through February 2011. , BoxRec descr ...
. Abraham won this fight by a 10th-round technical knockout. Oral's coach threw in the towel after several knockdowns.
Super-middleweight
Super Six World Boxing Classic
After failing to secure a match-up with
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
and
WBC
WBC may stand for:
Business
*Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS
*Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company
*Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
champion
Kelly Pavlik or
WBA champion
Felix Sturm
Adnan Ćatić (born 31 January 1979), known as Felix Sturm, is a Bosnian-German professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO middleweight title from 2003 to 2004, the WBA middleweight ...
, Abraham announced that he would change his weight class to compete at
super middleweight
Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pound ...
. Abraham participated in the
Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament for the
WBA and
WBC
WBC may stand for:
Business
*Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS
*Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company
*Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
super middleweight titles. Fellow participants were: WBA champion
Mikkel Kessler
Mikkel Kessler (born 1 March 1979) is a Danish former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2013. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the WBA title three times between 2004 and 2013, and the WBC title twic ...
, WBC champion
Carl Froch,
Andre Dirrell,
Andre Ward
Andre Michael Ward (born February 23, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2017. He retired with an undefeated record and held multiple world titles in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Super ...
and
Jermain Taylor
Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, ...
.
= Abraham vs. Taylor
=
In his first match of the tournament, Abraham faced
Jermain Taylor
Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, ...
on 17 October 2009. Arthur was previously supposed to fight Taylor for the undisputed middleweight title, but the fight fell through. Abraham defeated Taylor via a devastating knockout in the 12th round. Taylor was hospitalized with a severe concussion, suffering short-term memory loss, unable to remember details of this bout. Taylor was replaced with veteran
Allan Green
Allan Lamar Green (born September 20, 1979) is an American professional boxer. He is a former NABO super middleweight champion, and has challenged for world titles at both super middleweight and light heavyweight.
Amateur career
Green had a st ...
in the tournament. After being released from the hospital, Taylor released a statement saying that he's doing just fine and wanted to congratulate Abraham on his victory and wish him well in the tournament. Former
heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Boxing Professional
Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...
champion
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is con ...
was in attendance and was impressed by Abraham's intensity and determination.
As of the end of 2009, ''
The Ring'' has ranked Abraham as the 14th best boxer in the world. On 5 March 2010, Abraham was ranked #8 in the world by
Yahoo! Sports
Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. Be ...
.
= Abraham vs. Dirrell
=
On 27 March 2010, Abraham fought American boxer
Andre Dirrell in the second stage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic at the
Joe Louis Arena
Joe Louis Arena was an arena in Downtown Detroit. Completed in 1979 at a cost of US$57 million as a replacement for Olympia Stadium, it sat adjacent to Cobo Center on the bank of the Detroit River and was accessible by the Joe Louis Arena sta ...
in Detroit, Michigan. At the end of round 10, Dirrell was comfortably ahead 97–92, 98–91 and 97–92 on the scorecards. In round 10, Abraham knocked Dirrell down following a straight right, but the referee ruled it a slip. Abraham lost via disqualification due to hitting Dirrell after he slipped in the 11th round. Dirrell slipped after being hit on the chin near the corner. The fight was stopped at 1:13 of the round. After he slipped, Abraham landed a right hand to his chin, knocking him down and out completely. Through a translator, Abraham said, "I was not looking at his feet, I was looking at his eyes. I didn't see if he was down." After the punch, the ring immediately filled up with people including Andre's brother
Anthony
Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...
. Andre was taken to hospital for a
brain scan. Anthony later confirmed that his brother was alright. Abraham suffered his first defeat professionally due to the disqualification.
= Abraham vs. Froch
=

Abraham was next scheduled to fight British boxer
Carl Froch (26-1, 20 KOs), also for the vacant WBC super middleweight title on 27 November 2010. The fight was pushed back from 2 October in Monaco due to Froch suffering a back injury. The fight took place at the
Hartwall Arena
Helsinki Halli (formerly Hartwall Arena) is a large multi-functional indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland. It was opened in April 1997. The arena is convertible for various events. The total seated capacity during ice hockey games is 13,34 ...
in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland. Abraham failed to become a two-weight world champion, losing to Froch in his third fight of the tournament. Abraham was dominated from start to finish, losing by a unanimous decision. The scores given by the judges were 119–109, 120–108 and 120–108, which reflected the one-sided nature of the bout. Abraham was disappointed with his performance, "I wanted to hit him. I tried but I could not do it. Nothing more to say." Froch stated it was his best performance to date.
= Abraham vs. Ward
=
Abraham qualified for the semifinals, having one win out of three fights. But first, Abraham had a pre-fight with
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
n contender
Stjepan Božić
Stjepan Božić (born October 23, 1974 in Brežice, Slovenia) is a Croatian super middleweight boxer.
He won the title of World Boxing Foundation (WBFo) world champion on June 6, 2005 fighting against Australian Nader Hamdan. He successfully defe ...
. Abraham won by technical knockout in the second round due to an injury in Božić's hand.
On 14 May 2011, Abraham fought undefeated American
Andre Ward
Andre Michael Ward (born February 23, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2017. He retired with an undefeated record and held multiple world titles in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Super ...
in the Super Six semi finals for the WBA super middleweight title. The fight took place at the
Home Depot Center
Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignit ...
in
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...
. Abraham entered having lost two of his previous three bouts. Ward started out slow with Abraham, trying to find a way to penetrate his tight defense. After a competitive first few rounds, Ward seized control of the fight, using his ring savvy and instincts to control Abraham. Although Abraham was somewhat passive at times, he gave an earnest effort and frequently threw combinations that were mostly blocked by Ward. Abraham hurt Ward a couple of times in the final round, but it wasn't enough to finish Ward, who had dominated the fight and won a lopsided unanimous decision. The three judges scored the bout 120–108, 118-110 & 118–111. ESPN had it 118–110 in favor of Ward. Abraham didn't believe he had lost the fight with such wide scores. Over 12 rounds, Ward threw 289 jabs. In total he landed 178 of 444 total punches thrown (40%). Ward went on to defeat Froch in the finals and won the
Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament.
Comeback

On 30 October 2011, Abraham originally announced that he intended to return to the middleweight division in 2012 but later decided to remain at super middleweight.
In his first comeback fight on 14 January 2012, Abraham defeated Argentinian Pablo Oscar Natalio Farias via technical knockout in round five and won the vacant
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
European super middleweight championship. After Abraham landed several hard combinations that put Farias down three times in the fifth round, referee Manuel Maritxalar stopped the fight. On 31 March 2012, Abraham defeated former
EBU super middleweight champion
Piotr Wilczewski
Piotr "Skawiński" Wilczewski (born 9 August 1978) is a Polish professional boxer and former EBU super middleweight champion.
Professional career
Wilczewski won his first 22 fights before facing Curtis Stevens on 11 July 2009, who stopped him ...
by a lopsided unanimous decision to retain his WBO European title. Wilczewski was docked a point in the seventh round and was down in the eleventh round, though it was ruled a slip.
WBO super-middleweight champion
Abraham vs. Stieglitz
In April 2012, the WBO announced that they had removed
George Groves as their
mandatory challenger In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight or be forced to vacate their title as champion. A mandatory defence is the opposite of a voluntary defence, where the champi ...
and replaced him with Abraham, meaning the latter would now be in line to challenge
WBO super middleweight champion
Robert Stieglitz
Sergey Shtikhlits (born 20 June 1981), best known as Robert Stieglitz, is a German former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He held the WBO super-middleweight title twice between 2009 and 2014, and the European light-heavyweigh ...
(41-2, 23 KOs). Sauerland Event confirmed the fight would take place on 25 August in Berlin at the
O2 World. Abraham won a twelve-round unanimous decision over Stieglitz to capture the WBO championship in a spectacular battle which made Abraham a two-division champion. Abraham became the second Armenian and the first German to win championships in two different divisions. The judges' scores were 116–112, 116-112 and 115–113. Abraham was named best boxer of Germany in 2012 by ''BoxSport'' magazine. His coach
Ulli Wegner was also named the best coach of the year.
Abraham vs. Bouadla, Stieglitz II
On 9 October 2012
Mehdi Bouadla
Mehdi Bouadla (born 2 February 1982) is a French-Algerian professional boxer. He has challenged once each for a middleweight world title and the European super-middleweight title.
Professional career
Bouadla made his professional debut on 15 Oc ...
(26-4-0, 11 KOs) was confirmed as Abraham's first title defence at super middleweight. The fight took place on 15 December at
Nüremberg Arena,
Nüremberg, Germany. Abraham retained his title against Bouadla on 15 December 2012. He won via technical knockout in the eighth round. A cut beside Bouadla's right eye streamed blood into his eyes, impeding his vision and causing the stoppage of the bout, as he could not see Abraham's punches and as such took brutal punishment. In the post fight, Abraham said, "This is where I started boxing. To be here now, in front of 10,000 people as world champion -- there's no better feeling."
Five days after the Bouadia fight, a rematch with Stieglitz was discussed to take place in the first quarter of 2013. In January, Abraham stated the fight would take place on 3 March. At the time, Stieglitz was entering a legal dispute after allegedly assaulting his father-in-law, which he stated was self-defence. The fight took place in Stieglitz's home of
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label= Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Mag ...
,
Sachsen-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
, Germany in front of 8,000 at the
GETEC Arena. Abraham's eye rapidly swelled shut in the second round and he could soon no longer see. The referee waved him off at the start of the fourth round, resulting in his defeat. CompuBox stats showed that Stieglitz was in full control of the rematch, landing 70 of 203 punches thrown (34%), with Abraham landed 27 of his 107 thrown (25%). Stieglitz out-landed Abraham 63–19 in power punches.
Regaining composure
After losing the World title, Abraham had two more fights in 2013. First he beat
Willbeforce Shihepo
Willbeforce Shihepo (born January 9, 1983) is a Namibian professional boxer.
Career
On 6 December 2013, Shihepo defeated Daniel Wanyonyi in Windhoek for the vacant WBO Africa super middleweight
Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a ...
(20-4, 15 KOs) by 12 round unanimous decision (116-113, 117-111 & 116-112). Abraham claimed the vacant WBO Inter-Continenteal super middleweight title. Two months later, Abraham successfully defended the title against
Giovanni De Carolis (20-4, 10 KOs) by unanimous decision (120-108, 119-109 twice).
WBO super-middleweight champion
Abraham vs. Stieglitz III, Sjekloca
A rubber match with Stieglitz (46-3, 26 KOs) took place on 1 March 2014, with the
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
super middleweight
Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pound ...
title on the line once again at the
GETEC Arena in
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label= Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Mag ...
, Germany. After a purse bid was ordered where the minimum bid was $300,000, Stieglitz promoter Ulf Steinforth of SES bid $3,135,000 on 9 December, easily beating the other bid, which came from Abraham's promoter Sauerland Event at $1,541,414. Stieglitz, being the champion was entitled to $2,351,250 (75%), while Abraham would receive the remaining $783,750 (25%). In a very close fight through 11 rounds, Stieglitz took a knee in the twelfth round, as Abraham's counter-punching took its toll. Stieglitz was the 'come forward' aggressor with jab attacks. Abraham fought with counterattacks that wore Stieglitz down late. Abraham won the fight by split decision (112-113, 114-111 & 115-110). CompuBox stats showed that Abraham landed 140 of 451 punches thrown (31%), Stieglitz landed 106 of his 489 (22%). Abraham was much more active in the final 5 rounds and worked his jab, which was the key to winning the fight.
In April, Abraham planned a quick first defence to be made two months later against Serbian
Nikola Sjekloca
Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος). It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Monteneg ...
(28-1, 8 KOs). The fight took place at
Velodrom
The Velodrom ( velodrome) is an indoor track cycling arena, in the Prenzlauer Berg locality of Berlin, Germany. Holding up to 12,000 people, it was also Berlin's largest concert venue, until the opening of O2 World in 2008.
It is part of a ...
in Berlin, Germany on 3 May 2014. The fight went full 12 rounds as Abraham came out victorious on points on all three judges scorecards (116-112, 116–113, 119-110). Abraham believed he had broken his had in round 7 and boxed sensibly for the remainder of the fight.
Abraham vs. Smith I, II
Promoter Kalle Sauerland announced on 21 July 2014, that Abraham would defend his WBO title against English boxer
Paul Smith Paul Smith or Paul Smith's may refer to:
Music
* Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer
* Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist
* Paul Smith (rock vocalist) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of ...
(35-3, 20 KOs) at
Sparkassen-Arena in Germany on 27 September. Talks for the fight began in May 2014. Prior to the fight, Smith stated he had studied Abraham's loss to Carl Froch. Froch used Smith as a sparring partner before their fight. Abraham defeated Smith to retain his title in a controversial decision. The fight went full 12 rounds as Abraham won on all three judges scorecards by a wide margin (119-109 & 117-111 twice). The scorecards were derided in some quarters for being too wide given the competitiveness of the fight. Many British fans in attendance booed the decision. Smith's promoter
Eddie Hearn
Edward John Hearn (born 8 June 1979) is a British sports promoter who is chairman of Matchroom Sport and Professional Darts Corporation. Hearn is the son of promoter Barry Hearn, the founder of Matchroom Sport.
Education
Hearn was a student ...
dubbed the decision a "disgrace".
The WBO stated they would review the fight and decision, with the possible outcome being a rematch. In October, the WBO rejected Smith's request for an immediate rematch, however confirmed that he would stay in the top 5 in their rankings. Smith still believed that he would get another opportunity through a voluntary defence.
By the end of October, Abraham made the WBO aware that he could fight Smith again in the 2015. In December 2014, a deal was reached for the rematch to take place. The fight would take place on 21 February 2015 at the
O2 World Arena in Berlin. With another win, Abraham was hoping to set up a fight with
Felix Sturm
Adnan Ćatić (born 31 January 1979), known as Felix Sturm, is a Bosnian-German professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO middleweight title from 2003 to 2004, the WBA middleweight ...
. With 9,000 fans in attendance, the fight went the full 12 rounds as Abraham won via points on all three scorecards (116-112, 117-111 twice). Abraham was mostly dominant during the fight when he unloaded a barrage of power punches, and spent some time against the ropes, covering up, to keep himself becoming fatigued. After the fight, Smith praised Abraham, "I felt I left it all in there tonight, I'm not going home with any or many regrets. He shook me once or twice, he was better tonight (than the first fight)." The fight averaged more than 4 million viewers
SAT1 in Germany.
Abraham vs. Stieglitz IV, Murray
Abraham fought
Robert Stieglitz
Sergey Shtikhlits (born 20 June 1981), best known as Robert Stieglitz, is a German former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He held the WBO super-middleweight title twice between 2009 and 2014, and the European light-heavyweigh ...
(47-4-1 27 KOs) for the fourth and final time on 18 July 2015 at the
Gerry Weber Stadium,
Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. The fight was billed as 'Final Showdown'. The WBO ordered the fight on 26 February, giving both camps 90 days to reach a deal. A deal was reached by both camps on 9 April. Although having a 3–1 lead against Stieglitz, Abraham promised to win via KO to cement his place as the number 1 super-middleweight. Prior to the fight, Abraham made plans to continue his boxing career for a further two more years before considering the possibility of retirement. In an interview, he said, "I will not lose. I plan on continuing my career for at least another two years and then retiring along with my coach and my world championship belt. " He also made plans to possibly unify the division. Abraham won via TKO in the sixth round. Stieglitz was knocked down in round 4 once but managed to pick himself back up. Abraham was ahead on three judges scorecards at the time on stoppage (48-46, 50–44, 49-45).
On 7 October 2015,
Matchroom Sport
Matchroom Sport is a sporting event promotions company founded by English entrepreneur Barry Hearn and run by Hearn and his son Eddie Hearn. It first came to attention in the sports of snooker and boxing and is also involved in pool, bowling, golf ...
announced that negotiations were done for Abraham to defend his WBO world title on 21 November against 33 year old British boxer
Martin Murray (32-2-1, 15 KOs) at the
TUI Arena in
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. Murray was still looking for his first world title after being stopped late by world middleweight champion
Gennady Golovkin earlier in the year in what was his third world title challenge. Murray was on a three match winning streak since. The fight went full 12 rounds as Abraham won via split decision (116-111, 115–112, 112-115). Murray lost one point for holding in round eleven, which did not affect the outcome. Abraham praised Murray during the post fight interview, "I trained hard, have shed blood and sweat. I was technically and tactically the better boxer. But I didn't box against a punchbag. He is a world-class fighter, who put in a good fight and you have to acknowledge that."
Abraham vs. Ramírez
It was announced on 18 January 2016 that undefeated #1 WBO
Gilberto Ramírez (33-0, 24 KOs) would be challenging Abraham for the
WBO super middleweight in the co-feature bout on 9 April undercard of the
Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley III
Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley III, was a professional boxing match for the vacant lineal world championship and WBO International welterweight title. It was held on April 9, 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The bout was on H ...
card on HBO pay-per-view. The fight card took place at the
MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. All three judges scored the fight 120-108 for Ramírez, who became the first Mexican fighter to win a super middleweight world title. Ramírez won on the punch count by outworking Abraham in almost very round with a superior jab, a consistent mix of head and body power punches, and superior head and foot movement. Abraham slipped to a (1-3) record in the United States following the defeat. In the post fight interview, Ramírez said, "I took to him a Mexican boxing school. He was a very, very strong puncher, but he couldn't take any movement. I knew halfway through the fight I was going to win the fight. I came here to make history, and I did it."
Later career
Team Sauerland announced that Abraham would fight on 16 July 2016 in his first bout since losing his 168-pound world title on 9 April. Abraham would face 23 year old Tim-Robin Lihaug (15-1, 8 KOs) for the vacant
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
International
super middleweight
Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pound ...
title at the
Max-Schmeling-Halle
Max-Schmeling-Halle is a multi-purpose arena, in Berlin, Germany, named after the famous German boxer Max Schmeling. Apart from Mercedes-Benz Arena and the Velodrom, it's one of Berlin's biggest indoor sports arenas and holds from 8,861 people, up ...
in Berlin. Abraham won the fight with a decisive TKO victory stopping Lihaug in round 8 to claim the title, previously vacated by Gilberto Ramirez.
Early talks in October suggested Abraham and
Martin Murray (33-4-1, 16 KOs) could meet for the second time in Monaco on 12 November 2016. The fight was scheduled take place at the
Salle des Étoiles. The fight was announced as a non-title bout, where the winner would be the mandatory challenger for the WBO super middleweight title, the same title Abraham lost to Gilberto Ramírez in April 2016. Abraham suffered an elbow injury in training which pulled him off the card. It was thought that a rematch would take place at a future date, however Murray would find another opponent for the Monte Carlo card. Russian boxer
Dmitry Chudinov would step in Abraham's place until he withdrew due to a virus, having Nuhu Lawal replace him.
Abraham vs. Krasniqi
The
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
ordered a purse bid to take place on 4 January 2017 in Hungary for an eliminator between Abraham, ranked number two and number three ranked two time light heavyweight challenger
Robin Krasniqi (46-4, 17 KOs) with $300,000 being the minimum bid. On 14 January, an agreement was reached for an eliminator to take place on 22 April. A press conference on 19 February confirmed that the fight would take place at the Messe Erfurt Convention Center in
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits ...
, Germany. Abraham constantly hurt Krasniqi in the second half of the fight on his way to winning a 12-round unanimous decision and once again earned a world title match. The judges at ringside scored the fight 118–110, 115-114 and 117–111 in Abraham's favor. Krasniqi started the fight well using his height advantage. The fight turned around when Abraham caught Krasniqi in round 6 with a right hand. This turned the fight around and put Krasniqi on the back-foot. Abraham spent most of the later rounds cutting off the ring.
Abraham vs. Eubank Jr.
Reports suggested on 1 June 2017 that
Chris Eubank Jr
Christopher Livingstone Eubank Jr (born 18 September 1989) is a British professional boxer. He has held multiple championships in two weight classes, including the WBA interim middleweight title twice between 2015 and 2021; the IBO super- ...
. would make his ring return in July 2017 defending his
IBO super middleweight title against Abraham in London. It is believed that Eubank Jr. was offered in the region of £3 million. The two potential dates discussed were the 15 and 22 July. It would be regarded as Eubank Jr.'s biggest fight since his loss to Saunders in 2014. On 5 June, it was confirmed that the fight would take place at the
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-se ...
on 15 July and televised on
ITV Box Office. The official press announcement was scheduled to take place on 7 June. On 7 July, the
World Boxing Super Series
The World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) is a professional boxing tournament organised by Comosa AG.
Each weight class features eight boxers competing in an annual knockout competition with the champion from each weight class taking the Muhammad Al ...
announced the winner would be taking part in the super-middleweight knockout tournament. At the Draft Gala in Monte Carlo on 8 July, Chris Eubank Sr., who represented both Abraham and Eubank Jr. picked undefeated Turkish contender
Avni Yildrim (16-0, 10 KOs). At the weigh in, Abraham weighed 12st 1lb 5oz, which was 1lb 13oz over the limit. He was given two hours to lose the extra weight. Eubank Jr. weighed inside the limit at 11st 13lb 3oz. It was said that if Abraham couldn't make weight a second time, the fight would still take place in a non-title fight. Abraham made weight on third attempt.
Eubank Jr. won via a unanimous decision with the scorecards 120–108, 120-108 and 118–110. Abraham had little to offer, mostly in defence mode as Eubank Jr. outlanded and outpointed him. Eubank Jr. landed uppercuts throughout the fight, many single and some in combinations, with Abraham only managing to connect a few shots clean, but left little to no damage. Abraham suffered his second defeat in his last four fights.
Abraham vs. Nielsen
On 13 March 2018, Danish newspaper
BT reported that Abraham and Danish boxer
Patrick Nielsen could fight next, although there was no agreement, the bout was being lightly discussed. Nielsen was coming off a loss to British boxer
John Ryder in October 2017. On 19 March, the fight was officially confirmed to take place on 28 April at the Baden Arena in
Offenburg
Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrative capital ...
, Germany. On fight night, Abraham dropped Nielsen on his way to edge out a win via split decision after 12 rounds to win the vacant WBO International title. Two judges scored the bout 116-111 each for Abraham and the remaining judge scored it 114-113 for Nielsen. Abraham pressured Nielsen throughout landing heavy shots. Nielsen used good movement around the ring, catching Abraham with jabs and combinations, however, he lacked the punching power to keep Abraham at a distance.
Life outside of boxing
Abraham appeared in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, Germany for an exhibition match against entertainer
Oliver Pocher on 24 October 2009 in a bouncy, castle-like "ring" and fought with huge, air-cushion-like boxing gloves. On 9 April 2010, Abraham took to the dance show
Let's Dance on
RTL with partner Nina Uszkureit, but left after the first episode of the show in order to concentrate fully on his boxing career.
In the film ''
Max Schmeling
Maximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (, ; 28 September 1905 – 2 February 2005) was a German boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cultural ev ...
'' (2010), he played a supporting role of boxer
Richard Vogt, Schmeling's last opponent. Just as in real life,
Ulli Wegner was in his corner.
German actor and producer
Til Schweiger
Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor, voice actor and filmmaker. He runs his own production company, Barefoot Films, in Berlin.
Early life
Schweiger was born in Freiburg, West Germany, to two teachers. He grew ...
invited Abraham to act in his film ''Crime Scene'' (2013). Til and Abraham had been friends for a long time. Abraham played a pimp that is a leader of a gang that controls the shadow business in the film.
Abraham was among the panel of judges for the "Miss Germany" beauty pageant in 2012 and 2013.
On 9 January 2013, the RA Ministry of Diaspora hosted a presser for Abraham. Minister Hranush Hakobyan praised Abraham as a role model and awarded him the "Poghos Nubar" medal.
Abraham sent a letter of condolence on the death of
Vladimir Yengibaryan
Vladimir Yengibaryan ( hy, Վլադիմիր Ենգիբարյան, 24 April 1932 – 1 February 2013) was a Soviet and Armenian amateur light-welterweight boxer. He was an Olympic champion, three-time European champion and three-time Soviet champ ...
to his family.
Personal life
His family members call him "Avo", short for Avetik. Abraham married his wife Mary, then a
Yerevan State University
Yerevan State University (YSU; hy, Երևանի Պետական Համալսարան, ԵՊՀ, ''Yerevani Petakan Hamalsaran''), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919 ...
student, in 2015. The wedding took place in
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...
and was not publicized; he informed media of his marriage six months later. His younger brother
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
is also a professional boxer, and his older brother Christian owns a furniture shop.
Abraham plans on opening a boxing school in Armenia following his future retirement. He will also have foreign-language classes for students at the boxing school, such as English and German, to help have success internationally.
He received German citizenship in August 2006, while also retaining his Armenian citizenship.
On 21 September 2008, Abraham and fellow boxer
Vic Darchinyan were honored by Armenian President
Serge Sargsyan
Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)[Of ...](_blank)
during a 20th anniversary celebration of the nation's independence. Both men were awarded with medals "For the great services for Armenia" of the first degree.
Professional boxing record
Awards
* Hrant Shahinyan Medal
* 2009 Berlin Sportsman of the Year
* Child Award 2009
ChariSma24 » Talk-GuestsCharisma24.tv , Die Talksendung mit Charisma für personality und charity
. Charisma24.tv (2 September 2009). Retrieved on 2012-01-14.
See also
*List of middleweight boxing champions Championship recognition
1884–1910
Champions were recognized by public acclamation. A champion in that era was a fighter who had a notable win over another fighter and kept winning afterward. Retirements or disputed results could lead to a cha ...
* List of super-middleweight boxing champions
*List of IBF world champions
This is a list of IBF world champions, showing every world champion certificated by the International Boxing Federation (IBF). The IBF is one of the four major governing bodies in professional boxing, and has certified world champions in 17 diffe ...
*List of WBO world champions
This is a list of WBO world champions, showing every world champion certified by the World Boxing Organization (WBO). The WBO is one of the four major governing bodies in professional boxing, and has awarded world championships in 17 different we ...
References
External links
*
Arthur Abraham profile
at Sauerland Promotions
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, Arthur
1980 births
Living people
Armenian male boxers
German people of Armenian descent
World middleweight boxing champions
World super-middleweight boxing champions
International Boxing Federation champions
World Boxing Organization champions
Sportspeople from Yerevan
German male boxers
Armenian emigrants to Germany
Ethnic Armenian sportspeople