By Mark Vester
Last month in Hollywood, Florida, former junior middleweight champion Raul Marquez shocked a lot of critics by outhustling and outfighting the much younger Giovanni Lorenzo to earn a mandatory shot at IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham. He got a good look at his future foe as Abraham fought in the headliner that night, stopping Edison Miranda in four-rounds.
Marquez tells BoxingScene.com's Michael Campbell that Abraham is a solid fighter who can punch, but the style of the German champion will play into his hands.
"Arthur Abraham is a champion. He's a solid guy. He's strong. I like his style, it's better suited for my style. He doesn't move around a lot, the guy doesn't hold. He is a puncher. He can bang. But you know what? I can take a good punch, lets see how good of a punch he can take, not only to the chin, but to the body," Marquez said.
"I got the new left-hand stance that makes it even harder for him to connect with the big shots. I know I'm not going to be the favorite here again. I know that I'm going to be a huge underdog, but I'm going to be mentally and physically ready. I'll be in the best shape of my life like I was for Lorenzo and even more if I can."
No date or venue has been set for the fight. Marquez tells BoxingScene that a venue based in Germany is the likely scenario, with an October date. He knows that's it going to be tough to beat Abraham in Germany, but he feels mentally ready.
"It's most likely in Germany. We are looking at mid-October to late October on Showtime. I will be ready. My mentallity right now is to shock the world. It's hard to win in Germany. You know how they say that you have to knock him out to get a draw., but everything is possible. He's a guy just like me. The guy is beatable. I see a lot of flaws in him and my thing is to go shock the world," Marquez said.
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