Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs), of Germany, and Jermain Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs), of Little Rock, Ark., and their promoters participated in an international media conference call to discuss the first fight in a Super Six World Boxing Classic doubleheader Saturday, Oct. 17, live on SHOWTIME® (8 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).
The Abraham-Taylor 12-rounder will take place at 02 World Arena in Berlin, Germany, and be shown on same day delay.
In a battle of unbeatens in the second Super Six Group Stage 1 match on Oct. 17, WBC super middleweight champion Carl “The Cobra” Froch (25-0, 20 KOs), of Nottingham, England, will defend against 2004 Olympic Games U.S. Medalist Andre “The Matrix’’ Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs), of Flint, Mich. The 12-rounder will emanate from Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, England.
ARTHUR ABRAHAM
“I’m very excited to be in this monumental event. I’ve never been in the ring with someone like Taylor. He’s a good boxer and a very strong boxer. I don’t know what else to say about it. Everything else we will see in the ring on Oct. 17.
“I want to make the really big fight in America. I want to win the title and have a big fight like Sugar Ray Leonard, Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya in the States because I love America and it’s my goal to make a big fight like in Las Vegas or Madison Square Garden in New York. This Super Six Tournament will only help me get that big fight in America.
“The thing I know about Taylor is that he’s beaten Hopkins. I know he’s a good boxer. There’s nothing really else I can say about him. I don’t really think I should praise him anymore here. So we’ll just see what happens on Oct. 17.
“In the past my biggest fight was to make weight but not anymore. I’m just so happy when I go work out that I don’t have worry about that. I’m a happy man being a super middleweight."
“I always think the fight will go the distance. I’m never thinking the knock out. I’m just thinking about going the distance."
“I take every fight seriously. This is no different than any other fight. Losing is not an option for me."
KALLE SAUERLAND
“Everybody in the country of Germany and the city of Berlin is excited about hosting opening night of the Super Six World Boxing Classic. We’re having great ticket sales and we’re going to have a full house at the O2 Arena in Berlin."
“Arthur looks amazing in training and we think the move up in weight is only going to help him and the power will be there for all to see on Oct. 17."
“We have 10,000 tickets sold. We’ll have a full house in Berlin on Oct. 17.”
“Arthur is kind of like a young Mike Tyson. The way he draws you into the ring and can end the fight with both hands if it’s with a hook or an uppercut. He’s knocked down people in many different ways.”
JERMAIN TAYLOR
“I feel like I’m going to win the fight. I’ve done everything there is to do in boxing. I’m not ready to go yet. I feel like there is more to accomplish."
“I feel like I’m the bigger fighter. I’m a lot stronger. As long as I don’t get tired I’m going to win the fight."
“I don’t have a prediction on how long the fight will go. I don’t care how I do it. I just want to win."
“I know Arthur is a big hitter. I know what I’m going to do and I know what needs to be done on Oct. 17."
“I don’t worry about the crowd. The crowd doesn’t get in the ring. It’s just me and the other guy. If you hit the guy the crowd goes, ‘Ooh and ahh’ but it never gets to the point where it matters in the fight."
“I’ve fought the best of the best in boxing. I’ve won some and lost some. I just want to win this tournament. There ain’t nothing else to it. It’s not about the money or anything but that I want to win. I plan to just leave it all in there. That’s all I got. That’s my state of mind right now. No excuses. Just go in there and fight."
“The only reason I lost to Carl Froch was because I got tired. I wasn’t prepared. The best fighter lost because he didn’t train right.”
LOU DiBELLA
“Jermain is I think more focused on this fight than I’ve ever seen him focused on any fight. It’s been all business. He’s lean and mean and already on weight which is a great thing this far out."
“We have a great amount of respect for Arthur Abraham. Anybody that can sustain a broken jaw early in a fight and fight through that and win the fight and retain his title has to get a tremendous amount of respect. But we don’t think that Arthur’s ever been with anybody who’s athletically gifted or big or fast as Jermain. We feel Arthur has the home crowd behind him but we have the better horse, the better fighter in the ring."
“We feel like we’re going to shock some people in Berlin when Jermain Taylor reestablishes himself as the king of 168-pounders."
“By any measure Jermain has had a tremendous career. I tend to think Jermain is really underappreciated. The level of fight that Jermain has fought since his first Hopkins fight there’s no champion or top fighter in boxing who can claim back-to-back-to-back-to-back big kind of fights. Literally everyone he’s fought has had championship pedigree. He will not back down from anyone. Jermain has always had the attitude of whoever you put in front of me I’ll fight them.”
OZELL NELSON
“We know Arthur is a big hitter so we’ve been working on a bunch of different ways to take away some of that power. Jermain’s in excellent shape and had his weight down for the first time in years. It’s not like his last fight where he was losing 20 pounds in a couple of weeks."
“His head is on right. He’s had his fun. It’s time to get down to business. This man loves to eat. He’d eat a Big Mac any day but this kid right here he won’t have a Big Mac.”
For information on all SHOWTIME Sports telecasts, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries from its events and complete information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic, please visit the website at http://www.sports.sho.com
About SUPER SIX WORLD BOXING CLASSIC
The inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic is a ground-breaking, six-fighter tournament from SHOWTIME Sports® featuring the class of the super middleweight (168-pound) division. The field is comprised world renowned fighters with a staggering combined record of 161-4-1 with 117 knockouts: former IBF middleweight champion “King” Arthur Abraham of Germany; U.S. Olympic medalist Andre “The Matrix” Dirrell of Flint, Mich.; WBC super middleweight champion Carl “The Cobra” Froch of England; WBA 168-pound champion Mikkel “Viking Warrior” Kessler of Denmark; former undisputed 160-pound world champion Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor of Little Rock, Ark.; and U.S. Olympic gold medalist Andre “S.O.G.” Ward of Oakland, Calif.
All bouts in the Super Six World Boxing Classic will be contested under the Unified Rules of Boxing. Each boxer fights three bouts against different opponents in the field in the points-based Group Stage of competition (Win – 2 pts with a 1-pt bonus for KO/TKO; Loss – 0 pts; Draw – 1 pt.). After the Group Stage, the four fighters with the highest point totals will advance to the single-elimination Semi-Finals. The winners of the Semi-Final bouts will advance to the Finals and fight for the inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic trophy.
