Arthur Abraham to defend WBO title vs. Mehdi Bouadla

PanARMENIAN.Net - WBO super middleweight champion and former Super-Six participant Arthur Abraham, 32, will make the first defense of his belt on Dec 15 in Nuremberg, Germany, against Frenchman Mehdi Bouadla, 30, according to fightnews.com.

Abraham (35-3, 27 KOs) won the title by unanimous decision from Robert Stieglitz on August 25. The German once held the IBF belt at 160 pounds, relinquishing that title to enter the Super-Six tournament. After winning his first bout against former undisputed middleweight champ Jermain Taylor, Abraham suffered three defeats against Andre Dirrell, Carl Froch and Andre Ward. Earlier this year, he won two tune-up bouts before challenging and beating Stieglitz for the WBO crown.

Bouadla (26-4, 11 KOs) is best known for a sixth round knockout loss at the hands of former world champion Mikkel Kessler. He is also the first fighter who went the distance with current WBA middleweight belt holder Gennady Golovkin, losing an eight-round decision in 2007. Since his defeat to Kessler, Bouadla won four straight and captured the WBA International title at 160 pounds.