Abraham vs. Ikeke
On 10 December 2005,
in Leipzip, Germany, Abraham won he vacant IBF middleweight title
against Kingsley Ikeke (23-1, 13 KOs) by a 5th round knock-out. The
IBF belt had previously been vacated by undisputed champion Jermain
Taylor after a bout with Abraham was denied in October that year.
In the fifth round Arthur met Ikeke with hard shots to the head. Ikeke
began to tumble toward the canvas and Abraham landed some final rights
to seal the victory.
Abraham defended his title on 5 March 2006
with a unanimous decision against Australian Shannan Taylor. Two months
later, Abraham won a second title defense against Kofi Jantuah, also
on points.
On 23 September 2006, Abraham won
a decision against undefeated contender Edison Miranda despite having
his jaw broken in two places in round four. Miranda took advantage
of this by fighting dirty. Miranda was docked five points for landing
repeated low blows as well as intentionally head butting Abraham.
However, even without the five points deducted, Abraham would have
still won the fight (114-109, 115-109, 116-109). Abraham's jaw was
operated on the night after the fight. He had 22 screws inserted into
two titanium plates. After the Miranda bout, Arthur was praised for
his ability to finish the fight despite his injury.
Abraham defeated
Canadian Sebastien Demers by KO in the third round after two minutes
and fifty-seven seconds. Abraham was clearly physically superior than
his opponent. Arthur won his fifth title defense by defeating fellow
Armenian Khoren Gevor by 11th-round knockout from a powerful left
hook.
On 8 December 2007, Abraham defeated
Wayne Elcock to make his sixth title defense by technical knockout
in the fifth round.
During two of his matches, Abraham was accompanied
by live performances of the Scorpions and is currently accompanied
by the track "Ready For The Fight" by The Young Punx.
In his first
match off the tournament, Abraham faced Jermain Taylor on 17 October
2009. Arthur was previously supposed to fight Taylor for the undisputed
middleweight title, but the fight fell through. Abraham defeated Taylor
via a devastating knockout in the 12th round. Taylor was hospitalized
with a severe concussion, suffering short-term memory loss, unable
to remember details of this bout. Taylor was replaced with veteran
Allan Green in the tournament. After being released from the hospital,
Taylor released a statement saying that he's doing just fine and wanted
to congratulate Abraham on his victory and wish him well in the tournament.
Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was in attendance and was impressed
by Abraham's intensity and determination.
As of the end of 2009
The Ring has ranked Abraham as the 14th best boxer in the world. On
5 March 2010, Abraham was ranked #8 in the world by Yahoo! Sports.