AA: Very good article / interview

It's an article in the German newspaper "Der Tagesspiegel" which was published on Sunday:

URL:

http://www.tagesspiegel.de/zeitung/Sonntag-Arthur-Abraham-Sonntag;art2566,2979076

The article is in German language, so I try to translate some of it...
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AA comes in with a bag filled with bananas...

Please, take some. I don't want to eat them alone.

Thank you, very kind, Mr. Abraham. Actually, you're a terrible person.

Why? Because I'm a boxer and KO other boxers? I'm brutal inside the ring, but outside I'm a nice guy. You're probably cheekier than me.

Your fists have an impressive track record: As a professional you've won all 31 fights, 25 of them by KO. Is it talent?

You can't train that, if so, all fighters which train a lot would've the ability to do what I do. The power is inside of me, it is god given. But that isn't all. Punching power alone isn't enough. You must have the right technique.

You're getting hit yourself...

Sure, as a boxer you get hit, but I protect myself. A punch hurts, but it is ok, if you've a good defense. Boxing makes you hard, it's a hard job. To be honest, not the actual fight itself is the hardest, the preparation is. You're living like a robot for weeks. Shall I tell you my schedule for today?

Please...

I got up early, then at 08:00am I was already at the gym. Strength training, then strength-endurance, then coordination, then boxing.
Quick shower and shave, our appointment followed by a TV interview, another appointment with the press. At 04:00pm another training, running three minutes, a minute's pause, four minutes running, one minute break, five minutes ... eight, nine, ten minutes. This is torture for me. Then a sauna and afterwards a massage.

You do not like to run.

That isn't fun. To punch tires with a club is fun, sandbag training is fun, sparring is fun. What I dislike most is a ten-kilometer run which I have to complete in under 40 minutes.

In your last fight in September you hit Jermain Taylor so hard that he was lying like a dead man on the canvas. What were your thoughts?

I just thought, I hope he gets up again. I wanted him to get up badly.

Vitali Klitschko said: "After I sent my opponent down on the canvas I feel sorry for him."

Yes, I feel sorry for my opponents, too. There was only one exception and that was Edison Miranda. He was not a good person. He badmouthed me a lot.

After the first fight with Miranda you became very popular, because of the injury.

Everyone could see that my jaw was broken. It did hurt. But to stop - that's not my attitude. I didn't want to lose! I can not lose! And one thing I must tell you: My head was absolutely there. I had an injury, but my head was there. I've seen everything, I felt everything, my mind was clear. I had everything under control. I was smart, I ran away and took advantage of Miranda's mistakes.

Later you said: "Each of his punches hit me like a bomb".

Sure, the jaw had no more stability. It shook through the entire body, even if the blows were not very hard.

You're crazy, right?

So what? Every professional boxer must be crazy. Swimmers are also crazy or would you train eight hours a day in the water?

When you were 15, you came with your parents and your brother from Armenia to Bamberg, Germany. You returned to Armenia to serve your military service and went back to Germany 2 years later. Your name was Avetik Abrahamyan. Meanwhile, you have German citizenship. The "FAZ" (German newspaper) sees your life as: "From an asylum seeker to a millionaire."

Yes, we had huge problems at the beginning. When I returned to Germany after I had completed my military service in Armenia I didn't have 50 Euros in my pocket.

Were you unhappy?

I was happy, but I wasn't satisfied. On the one hand I was happy, because I was healthy, on the other hand I was not satisfied, because I love to live a luxurious life, so I decided to become a boxing professional. My first sparring was with Sven Ottke, I earned 75 Euros and I was terribly excited. My trainers cost 14 euros and were heavy. I haven't thrown them away, I'm collecting everything for my museum.

Now you live in a villa in Dahlem, drive a Ferrari and wear tailored suits...

But I don't wear any jewelry, look at me, my fingers, my wrists, my neck, no jewelry at all! And why? I am a man and not a christmas tree, I do not drape me with that glitter stuff. Yes, I have earned enough money, I could retire, but I'll tell you a secret: I'm addicted to the sports. It's a drug. I am happy to walk into the hall and 14000 people cheering for me, just for me. You cannot buy such a feeling. I get goosebumps, honestly.

Your self-confidence is huge. Nelson Mandela himself has boxed. He once said: "Boxing teaches you that you can never be too sure".

Yes, 100 percent correct.Just look at the Taylor fight. Six seconds before the end I knocked him out. You cannot afford to lose vigilance for a second or it can be all over.

How would you explain a boxing match to someone who has never seen one?

Oh! I would say in boxing, two brave men measure their strength under clear rules. The strongest wins, and he is always the wiser. The stupid ones only have muscles, but they aren't strong, because the head is everything.

We have heard that you love strawberries, orchids, classical music...we wouldn't expect that from a boxer.

Why not? When I wake up early in the morning, I listen to classical music until I start training, and in the evening too. It really helps to relax. You've got to try it!




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About AA's punching power: He said it was measured at a Olympics campus with a special computer system. His record is 1634 points. According to him, this hasn't been done by any figher in the last 20 years...sounds pretty scarrying.