By Ruslan Chikov
Former middleweight champion Arthur Abraham is preparing his fight with fellow ex-champion Carl Froch. They meet in the third stage of the Super Six Boxing Classic on November 27 in Helsinki, Finland. Abraham took some time to speak with Alexander Pavlov about several subjects in the sport of boxing.
Your prediction for the fight between Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell?
- I think that Ward will win.
Who do you think is the strongest opponent of the tournament Super Six?
- Here there are the only good boxers. There are no weaklings. But after the final Super Six fight, we will see who is the best among us.
Thoughts on a rematch with Dirrell?
- I think that day will come after the Super Six, or even in the tournament, if Dirrell beats Ward.
Would you like to go down again to middle weight and fight the WBA belt holder Felix Sturm?
- I really want to do it, but first I need to win the Super Six.
Do you consider that the manager of the Klitschko brothers, Berndt Boente, tolerates even the slightest possibility of risk for themselves? Instead of Alexander Povetkin, Nikolai Valuev, or David Haye, we get old men.
- I think that [Wladimir] Klitschko is ready to fight with these opponents. Wladimir would also like to box against Povetkin. But he did not come to a press conference, and his coach said that Sasha is not ready yet. Klitschko also wants Haye, but he requires a lot of money. Povetkin is my very good friend. I love him and respect very much, but if you want to win - you need to go into the ring.
And what do you think about Klitschko's "slave contracts," which people are saying a lot lately?
- As world champions, they naturally make contracts profitable for themselves and not for the competition. And that's fine. I would do it too.First you need to become a world champion, and then you can dictate the terms.
Who is your favorite boxer?
- Mike Tyson during his best years.
Which of the post-Soviet boxing school fighters do you consider as the best professional?
- Klitschko, Povetkin, as well as several others - are all very good. The Soviet school was the best in the world. And even my trainer Ulli Wegner said that they had german boxers learn from Russians. I think that in amateur boxing, no one had so many champions. And now the Russian school is number one.
