On Saturday night ‘King’ Arthur Abraham (40-4, 28 KOs) defends his WBO title against British challenger Paul Smith (35-3, 20 KOs) in Kiel, Germany.
At today’s final press conference Abraham revealed his future is bound to that of his legendary coach Ulli Wegner and made clear his plan to prove his worth by stopping Smith at the Sparkassen-Arena.
“When Mr Wegner decides to call time on his career, I will follow him,” said Abraham.
“I wouldn’t want to train with anyone else. On Saturday it is my job to show him that there is still much more we can achieve together. I will do this by beating Smith in style.”
“Arthur has the ability to beat anyone in his weight class,” said Abraham’s 72 year-old coach Wegner.
“He just needs to live up to his potential. The most important thing for him to do is follow my instructions. If he listens to what I tell him the fight won’t go the distance, he will knock Paul Smith out!”
Smith will be counting on the support of his 2,000 traveling fans when he attempts to cause an upset by dethroning ‘King Arthur’ on his home turf.
“This is my first and last chance to become World Champion,” said Smith.
“I will not let this opportunity slip through my hands. I have had the best training camp ever and my coach Joe Gallagher has devised the perfect game plan. Now it is up to me. I’m going to grab this opportunity and the title with both hands!”
“Arthur is a tough nut to crack,” said Smith’s coach Gallagher.
“But Paul has reached new levels in training and I believe he has the power to force an early stoppage. There are going to be fireworks from the first bell to the last. This could well be a contender for fight of the year.”
