Having regained his WBO Super Middleweight crown from Robert Stieglitz, ‘’King’’ Arthur Abraham (39-4, 28 KOs) will make his first title defense against Nikola Sjekloca (26-1, 8 KOs) on May 3rd at the Velodrom in Berlin, Germany.
The only time most fight fans have seen Sjekloca was in a losing effort to Sakio Bika. Bika mostly dominated that bout with ease, and since then, Sjekloca has only fought once, against a fighter with a losing record. So I’m not quite sure how he’s finagled himself into title shot position here, but the writing was on the wall that Abraham would be looking for a softer touch kind of opponent.
‘’Finally, I have the WBO belt back around my waist and I don’t plan on giving it up anytime soon,’’ said Abraham, who following a short break is back in training . ‘’I gave so much blood, sweat and tears for my last fight – and it made me a world champion again. I will need to do the same to prepare for Sjekloca on May 3rd.’’
Coach Ulli Wegner: ‘’Sjekloca, has a good jab and tries to be very active. In his fight against Sakio Bika he also showed that he can take a punch, so Arthur cannot rely only on his power.
‘’If Arthur is able to put in another performance like he did against Stieglitz, he will prove that he is one of the best super middleweights in the world. He has clearly shown me that he is still ready to progress as a boxer.’’
The announcement of the world championship fight will come as good news for boxing fans in Berlin. Particularly, as it follows the postponement and cancellation of recent shows in the German capital due to illness and injury suffered by world cruiserweight champions Yoan Pablo Hernandez and Marco Huck.
‘’Following these recent developments, it was important for us to stage this world championship fight in Berlin,’’ said Chris Meyer, Managing Director of Sauerland Event. ‘’As the saying goes: the third time’s a charm.’’
