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by Cliff Rold - Win or go home.
There are few spectacles as intriguing as a fight where a formerly upper echelon battler finds himself in a legitimate must-win scenario. Once the most feared fighter in the Middleweight division, Arthur Abraham never got a crack at Jermain Taylor or Kelly Pavlik at 160 lbs. He settled instead for a series of strewn opponents, building his reputation but never getting the chance to truly show where he belonged with the best in the world.
Opportunity presented itself one division higher in the form of the Super Six Super Middleweight tournament. Moving up, Abraham was seen as one of the early favorites and walked through Taylor in the first preliminary contest, winning most of the rounds and finishing with a devastating knockout.
Then the wheels came off.
Abraham was dropped early and well behind against American Andre Dirrell in his second fight. It was a brush with adversity he’d seldom seen. Abraham began a late rally, scoring an uncalled knockdown in the tenth and forcing Dirrell into retreat mode. He didn’t keep his cool and, desperate, landed a foul hook after Dirrell slipped to the floor in the eleventh.
For the first time, Abraham was defeated, and ultimately that night by his own hands. He might have lost on the cards anyways, left pitching for a miracle. He didn’t give himself a chance to find out. Against Carl Froch, he was flaccid and defeated again in the final tournament preliminary. Despite showing signs of life, Andre Ward outclassed him over the stretch in the semi-finals. [Click Here To Read More]
There are few spectacles as intriguing as a fight where a formerly upper echelon battler finds himself in a legitimate must-win scenario. Once the most feared fighter in the Middleweight division, Arthur Abraham never got a crack at Jermain Taylor or Kelly Pavlik at 160 lbs. He settled instead for a series of strewn opponents, building his reputation but never getting the chance to truly show where he belonged with the best in the world.
Opportunity presented itself one division higher in the form of the Super Six Super Middleweight tournament. Moving up, Abraham was seen as one of the early favorites and walked through Taylor in the first preliminary contest, winning most of the rounds and finishing with a devastating knockout.
Then the wheels came off.
Abraham was dropped early and well behind against American Andre Dirrell in his second fight. It was a brush with adversity he’d seldom seen. Abraham began a late rally, scoring an uncalled knockdown in the tenth and forcing Dirrell into retreat mode. He didn’t keep his cool and, desperate, landed a foul hook after Dirrell slipped to the floor in the eleventh.
For the first time, Abraham was defeated, and ultimately that night by his own hands. He might have lost on the cards anyways, left pitching for a miracle. He didn’t give himself a chance to find out. Against Carl Froch, he was flaccid and defeated again in the final tournament preliminary. Despite showing signs of life, Andre Ward outclassed him over the stretch in the semi-finals. [Click Here To Read More]
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