By Jake Donovan
Undefeated middleweight Arthur Abraham made the eighth successful defense of his alphabet title with a sixth round stoppage of Raul Marquez, Saturday in Bamburg, Germany.
The bout was originally slated for October 4, but was called off the morning of the fight after Abraham suffered flu-like symptoms, forcing a five-week postponement. The extra time clearly benefitted the transplanted Armenian, whose overall aggression proved to be too much for the 37-year old Marquez.
There were no knockdowns in the bout, but Marquez was taking a lot of punishment in the all-too brief affair. The 1992 US Olympian had his share of moments, enjoying his best round of the fight in the second and also had success early in the fourth before drawing a warning for a low blow.
The time out seemed to take the air out of Marquez’ attack while rejuvenating Abraham, who went on the offensive for the remainder of the bout before Marquez was forced to retire on his stool prior to the start of the seventh round.
With the win, Abraham advances to 28-0 (23KO), and now looks to a possible unification match with fellow Germany-based titlist Felix Sturm. Promotional differences and financial demands continue to be a hurdle, though early reports suggest that there stands a greater chance of a head-on collision than the prospect of either securing a fight with lineal middleweight king Kelly Pavlik.
Marquez drops to 41-4-1 (29KO) in what is likely his last ever shot at a title of any kind. All four of his careers have come by stoppage. The unexpected title shot came about after his upset win over previously unbeaten Giovanni Lorenzo this past June, on a show that also saw Abraham score an emphatic fourth round knockout in a non-title rematch with arch rival Edison Miranda.
Full report to follow...
