ARTHUR ABRAHAM: I WOULD BE LYING IF I DIDN’T SAY I WANT TO WIN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.06.2009 14:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The first press conference ahead of the IBF World
Title fight between King Arthur Abraham (29-0, 23 KOs) and Mahir
Oral (25-1-2, 10 KOs) in the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin was held
today, almost four weeks before the middleweight showdown. The
two title rivals met on Tuesday to give their first statements
regarding the June 27 fight. Whoever expected insults to fly from
the 29-year-old IBF champion and his challenger from Hamburg was
left disappointed. Instead, both gave a rather laid-back, relaxed
impression.

"It was a great pleasure for me to hear that I was going to fight
Arthur," opened Mahir Oral. "We know each other from our early days
as sparring partners, although now we have both matured. Arthur has
become King and I have developed a lot too." Although Oral can well
remember Abraham’s brutal knock-out triumph over Khoren Gevor in Berlin
in August 2007, that does not scare him in the slightest. "Of course
you have respect as a boxer. Khoren was giving a good impression
of himself to begin of that fight. The knock-out in the 11th round
looked spectacular, but had that not happened, we would be looking
back on that fight in a different way," added the 29-year-old.

Ahmet Oner, the challenger’s manager, is delighted with how the World
Title fight came about. "First of all I have to say that this has not
unsettled Mahir at all. Many others in the middleweight division are
avoiding Arthur because they don’t think they have any chance against
him, but I told Mahir that he has nothing to lose. Should he actually
be beaten, then it will be against the strongest ever World Champion
in his weight division. And that is Arthur Abraham. So we have nothing
to lose," he said. "Mahir is a fighter and although Arthur Abraham
is the favorite, we still think we have a chance. We will all know
the answer on June 27."

For King Arthur, the fight in the German capital is a real home
fight. "I have very good memories of the Max-Schmeling-Halle,
particularly the fight with Khoren Gevor," he said. "That was a tough
one back then," added the IBF title holder who lives and trains in
Berlin. He is not going to take the fight with Mahir Oral lightly
either. "In 2003 and 2004, we sparred a lot together in Cologne,"
he said. "We got on well with each other. We are both sportsmen
and are training hard. We both do our own job – he does his and I
do mine – but of course I would be lying if I didn’t say I want to
win. Afterwards, things will revert to how they were before," added
the IBF World Champion.

"Mahir is a great lad. We will let what happens in the ring decide
who is the best," added Abraham’s trainer Ulli Wegner. "I believe
that it is going to be a great fight; one which will excite the
spectators. Boxing fans have had to witness a few bad fights recently
and that is why we want to put on a particularly good show. Obviously,
we want to defend our title, but the important thing is we deliver
the fans a decent, exciting event on 27 June," he said, fightnews.com
reports.