‘King’ Arthur Ready to Conquer America By Thomas Gerbasi (June 18, 2008) Photo © Tom Casino/SHOWTIME Send this page to friend Give us your feedback The blood was seemingly everywhere, turning Arthur Abraham’s light blue trunks crimson. Every time he moved or was hit, more spewed from his mouth, the product of a jaw broken in two places, the first crack coming in the fourth round. To continue was a decision far and above the call of duty when it comes to sport. This was simply a fight – against Edison Miranda, against pain, against common sense. “My coach (Ulli Wegner) and me have a motto,” explained Abraham to MaxBoxing through translator Heiko Mallwitz. “‘Dead or alive, but never on the knees.’ I’m a guy who never gives up, and it was a question on honor for me. I never thought about giving up in the fight; it was never a decision for me because I wanted to win, and I will never give up.” Abraham fought on for eight more rounds at the Rittal Arena in Wetzlar, Germany, spitting and swallowing copious amounts of blood en route to winning a comfortable 12 round unanimous decision over Miranda. And though the post-fight talk centered on some questionable officiating from referee Randy Neumann, who deducted five points from Miranda, there was no questions about the courageous performance of the IBF middleweight champion, who chooses not to look back at his trial by fire, but at the future, which for now means a Saturday rematch with Miranda at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida (Showtime 9pm ET / PT). “I’ve nearly forgotten the first fight with Miranda,” he said. “I fought four times after that and you have to look into the future and show what you can do, so I’ve forgotten the old stories.” The 28-year old may feel that way now, but there will be no forgetting that fall night in 2006, because to many fans, that was the night that Abraham became real to them. No longer was the Armenian-born but Germany-based fighter just another faceless alphabet titlist from Europe. He had gone deep into the well against a highly-regarded puncher, and still showed the skill and stones to get the job done against the most imposing of odds. Now people outside of Germany wanted to see what Abraham was about, and though some fighters would never recover from a twice broken jaw and a week in the hospital, if anything, ‘King’ Arthur has become even more aggressive since the Miranda bout, knocking out his last four title challengers after going the distance in his first three title defenses. “In the Miranda fight I became much harder than before,” he admits. “With that fight I showed myself and I showed the world that I was a tough guy, and it was a good experience for me.” Abraham’s unbeaten (26-0, 21 KOs) record and growing reputation even saw his name thrown in the mix earlier this year for a possible unification bout against Kelly Pavlik, but that fight never materialized. Instead, Abraham and his promoter, Sauerland Event, opted for a rematch with Miranda, Colombia’s free-swinging trash talker. To add more intrigue to the bout, Abraham agreed to a catchweight of 166 pounds and opted to fly to America to make his US debut in Miranda’s adopted backyard of Florida. To most, it’s a risky deal all around for Abraham, who didn’t need to take the rematch, but he’s not bothered by it at all. “The US is the number one market in boxing and all the legends have boxed here, so it’s always been my wish to fight in America,” said Abraham. “Now with Miranda, it’s my first step to show the American fans how good I am.” Is this a permanent move to super middleweight though? “This is a special situation with Miranda and after this fight I will go back to the middleweights, make a defense in Germany, and then my big aim is to fight Kelly Pavlik,” he said. “After that I will go up to super middleweight for good.” Abraham hopes that a deal can be struck with Pavlik for a bout at the end of 2008 or in the early part of 2009. It’s the biggest fight for both men at this point, with Joe Calzaghe now expected to pass up Pavlik in search of Roy Jones Jr, and with Abraham’s long hoped for dream match against Oscar De La Hoya just that – a dream. But for more than boxing purists to get excited about a Abraham vs Pavlik bout, the Yerevan native must be impressive on Saturday – that means putting all the entertaining trash talk aside and picking apart his foe in a dominant fashion on national US television. No problem, says the ‘King’. “I expect Miranda to be the same way he was the first fight,” said Abraham. “He’s not a nice guy and not a fair fighter. He’s a guy with a big mouth but nothing behind it, and I will show him this on Saturday.” As for the even more important task of building a US fan base willing to follow him and pay to watch him fight this country’s big names, Arthur Abraham is confident that after the final bell on Saturday, stateside fight fans will be firmly in his corner. “I’m here to conquer America,” he said. “Of course my aim is to beat Miranda, that’s the most important thing, but if I do this and show a good fight, I’m sure the American fans will like me.” Now available, Thomas Gerbasi’s latest boxing compilation: Fightin’ to Writin’ – More Ring Ramblings. For more information, click here http://www.amazon.com/Fightin-Writin-More-Ring-Ramblings/dp/0595486665/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF 8&s=books&qid=1202272469&sr=8-12 Discuss this Topic - Go to the forums E-Mail Thomas Gerbasi at tgerbasi@mindspring.com or visit www.myspace.com/gerbasi