AA: Very good article / interview

Finn73 · Dec 22, 2009

Chillman said: ↑

I translated a bit more of the interview...

You were a cyclist in your teens.

I was Franconian and Bavarian champion of my age group but I felt I did not have the talent that was necessary for world class. Besides, being alone riding a bicycle for 120 or 180 kilometres each day is not nice. So I took up boxing in a small club called ETSV 1930 Bamberg, it was right behind a bar. After two years I was German champion, I had put 'em all away. That happens very rarely.

(...)

You want 50 million on your bank account ...

... because I didn't even have 50 back then, you understand? Hence the number 50 million. That is my goal.

So, how far are you away from it?

A little, but not too far. I'll make it. (smiles)

(...)

George Foreman was deemed as unbeatable before he lost to Muhammad Ali in Kinshasa. Foreman once told us he fell into a two year depression afterwards: "I had gotten emasculated, I couldn't touch women anymore."

I don't think about losing. I don't let those thoughts inside my head. I can understand Foreman though, maybe it would be even worse for me. But I think I could not bear two years without a woman.

(...)

Does it anger you when you hit hard but your opponent does not go down?

It used to drive me mad in the past. I would hit him like crazy. Today I say to myself, "have patience, Arthur, don't rush things."

The article mentions that AA's right fist supposedly carries a punch of 380 kg (>837 lbs)
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I wonder if this really can be true, because it's not THAT good...or other fighters publish wrong numbers...

booradley · Dec 22, 2009

Serenata said: ↑

I am shocked about the new and improved boo :shock:
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Hey -- I promised Landshark and Finn73 that if AA comes through his first three tournament fights without a loss, I'd jump on the Abraham Express and ride it as far as it goes:hey

I may very well end up keeping that promise. Dirrel makes to many mistakes to last 12 long rounds with AA. Froch is so easy to hit you'd have to practice missing to connect under 50%. SOooooo, :think

Serenata · Dec 23, 2009

So Abraham isn´t as ordinary as you thought for a long time? Or is it just too early for you to sign that?

Farmboxer · Dec 23, 2009

Abraham has surprised me several times in the past.

booradley · Dec 23, 2009

Serenata said: ↑

So Abraham isn´t as ordinary as you thought for a long time? Or is it just too early for you to sign that?
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Jermain Taylor is shot to ****. Kessler looked really raggedy. It wasn't just Ward's style, or questionable tactics. Kessler looked like 42 fights, age, and injuries are catching up with him. I think that puts AA in a good position to win, or at least make it to the final. I'm secrectly rooting for him, but I have ulterior motives:yep

Serenata · Dec 23, 2009

Make Abraham win the tournament and then fight Kelly I guess

booradley · Dec 23, 2009

Serenata said: ↑

Make Abraham win the tournament and then fight Kelly I guess
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Imagine if AA did win, and in the mean time KP beat Bute, how HUGE would that fight be??? Considering all the history, and the status both would have going in . . . . WOW!

Landshark · Dec 23, 2009

booradley said: ↑

Imagine if AA did win, and in the mean time KP beat Bute, how HUGE would that fight be??? Considering all the history, and the status both would have going in . . . . WOW!
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It will be like old times Boo lol!:happy

chliJs · Dec 23, 2009

reminds me of this documentary movie about abraham and his training camp.. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213049/

i haven't seen it yet and i'm not sure whether it's worth the buy at amazon (10). someone here saw it?

Fullhouse · Dec 23, 2009

chliJs said: ↑

reminds me of this documentary movie about abraham and his training camp.. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213049/

i haven't seen it yet and i'm not sure whether it's worth the buy at amazon (10&#8364. someone here saw it?
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I saw it and it´s definitly a very good documentary report of Wegner´s and Abraham´s work. Sometimes it airs at the german tv-channel RBB. That´s where I saw it twice. Here´s the trailer btw:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6KpJ784qh8&feature=related[/ame]

Finn73 said: ↑

I wonder if this really can be true, because it's not THAT good...or other fighters publish wrong numbers...
Click to expand...

The punching-power of AA (380kg) is also shown in the documentary report above. Wegner says that AA hits harder than some of his heavyweights.

BigBone · Feb 12, 2010

Finn73 said: ↑

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...
_________

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!

________

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.
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BigBone said: ↑

Bertolt Brecht liked boxing, but he wrote: "Competitive sport begins where healthy sport ends."

AA: He was right. It's unavoidable. Golfers suffer from the back, tennis players from the shoulder, soccer players from the knees. With that said, I am doing quite well. Look at my hands and ankles, spotless like a piano player.

Right. Only two titanium plates and 22 screws in your jaw...

AA: It doesn't bother me. So I was in the locker room after the fight, and they said: "Lie down here to me". I did as someone came there with a syringe. I asked "What are you doing"? "Nothing, nothing, nothing." And then I slowly fell asleep, but in the ambulance I heard my fans shouting "Arthur! Arthur! Arthur!" I woke up in the hospital the next day. "What happened?" I was wondering. "They operated on you", they answered. Everyone was sad, my manager, my coach, my dad, all very sad. They were down more than I was, so I encouraged them: "Hey guys, whats up with you? Be happy! It'd only be bad if I had my jaw broken AND lost to this ******. I'm the Champion!" :happy
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I think this interview deserves a

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AA: Very good article / interview

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