Arthur Abraham, 40, the former middleweight and super middleweight world champion, spoke to News Armenia and declared the end of his boxing career. The boxer went on to say that he just wants to spend time with his family, including his children and parents. He added that he has no plans to return to the ring.
Abraham's retirement comes at a time when he is one of boxing's top stars. The Indian-Armenian born in Shusha, Nagorno-Karabakh, has lived in the United States since he was 10 years old. He has American citizenship and often represents himself in negotiations with promoters and managers.
He is best known for defeating Felix Trinidad in 2004 to claim the WBC middleweight championship. After losing the title to Sergio Martinez two years later, he decided not to fight for another year to let his body recover from multiple surgery procedures. During an interview with ESPN, Abraham said he believes he still has something left to prove in boxing.
“I am not retiring,” Abraham told News Armenia. “I have some things I want to finish first before thinking about my next move in boxing. Right now, I feel good and I want to enjoy my life with my family.”
Abraham has three children: Arianna, 8; Arsen, 6; and Armen Jr., 4.
The 35-year-old, who was born in Armenia but now lives in Germany, is a strong campaigner in every sense. Abraham is a two-weight world champion with a professional record of 43-4. He is now the WBO super middleweight champion, a title he has successfully defended four times.
Abraham turned pro in 2004 and within a year had won the German, French and European titles. In 2007, he became the first fighter from his country to win a world championship when he beat Luciano Leoncini for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) super middleweight belt.
He held the title for more than one year before losing it to James Toney. Since then, he has been working hard to regain it. In August 2010, he successfully defended his title for the fourth time. This time, he defeated Chris Eubank Jr. in Germany. Abraham is currently ranked number three by the WBO, behind James Toney and Chris Eubank Jr.
He has also represented Germany at several events, including the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he lost to David O'Hara of Ireland on points.
In 2005, Abraham took part in the World Championships in Aachen, Germany but he was stopped in the second round by Iran's Hossein Mehdizadeh.
At the age of 15, he relocated to Germany with his parents and brothers. Abraham began cycling as a youth and went on to become the North Bavarian and Franconian Youth Champion. Arthur was motivated to become a boxing great after seeing an intense Mike Tyson match. He credits this experience with giving him "the courage to fight for myself and my dreams.
After turning professional in 1996, he quickly became one of Europe's top fighters, winning the German Boxing Championships five times in six attempts. In 2001, he took part in the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, where he advanced to the quarterfinals before being defeated by eventual winner Andre Ward. After the tournament, he decided to move to America, where he has lived ever since. Today, he is one of the top boxers in the world at his weight class, having won the WBC Continental Americas Championship four times (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005).
He holds victories over many notable opponents, including John David Jackson, Michael Nunn, Bryant Jennings, and Andrew Lewis. Abraham is considered one of the best European fighters alive today.
In 2007, he came out of retirement to take on George Sullivan for the WBO Inter-Continental Super Lightweight Title. The fight did not happen though, as Abraham suffered an injury that forced him to pull out of the bout.
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