Arthur Abraham (35-3, 27 KOs) is looking forward to the first defense of his WBO Super-Middleweight title. The 32-year-old, who dethroned the previous Champion Robert Stieglitz in Berlin in August, returns to the ring at the
ARENA NUERNBERGER VERSICHERUNG on December 15 where he will meet challenger Mehdi Bouadla (26-4, 11 KOs) from France.
During the first official press conference on Tuesday, Abraham was seemingly relaxed. “It is a great feeling to be a world champion again. The title has not changed me as a person; I am still the same Arthur Abraham as I was before. But being in possession of the belt is important to me, I sleep a lot better.”
After winning the IBF Middleweight World Championship back in 2005 and ten successful defenses of the belt, it took a while before Abraham got back to the top of the game. “It is very special for me to defend the WBO title in Nuremberg. I spent a lot of my youth in Franconia and it is where I learnt how to box. Back in the day, I used to put on the gloves for 1.FC Nuremberg”, said Abraham.
Having to defend a world title, adds to Abraham’s motivation. “That means that I have to work even harder than before. It was not that important for me to win a championship in another division. The main thing was to be a
world champion again.”
However, his opponent of the night, Mehdi Bouadla, has other plans. The man from France outlined how he believes the fight will end on December 15. “I will do everything I can to make sure that I will become the new world champion. I studied some of Arthur’s fights – including his latest against Stieglitz. I know how to beat him,” said Bouadla, who is ranked under the Top-15 by the WBO.
But in order to do so, the challenger will have to make sure that he gets to Nuremberg on time, which was not the case today. Due to foggy weather in Paris, the 30-year-old´s flight was delayed and hence he was late for the press conference. “That isn’t the typical German punctuality,” joked Arthur Abraham.
