Arthur Abraham (25-0, 20 KO’s) will defend his IBF middleweight championship on Saturday against Elvin Ayala (18-2-1, 8 KO’s) in Germany. The pressure is on “King” Arthur who is not only risking his title, but also a potential lucrative fight in the USA if he fails to impress. The Armenian born German recently lost two major opportunities to cash in when popular Irish prospects John Duddy and Andy Lee were injured and disappointed in their latest fights.

The mega fight that Abraham so desperately wants is Kelly Pavlik. Pavlik, (like Abraham) is facing a mandatory opponent before taking on a big Pay Per View fight this summer. If Abraham does not annilihate Ayala, he will be relegated back to take on top European fighters and will lose his chance at a big name opponent like “Winky” Wright.

Ayala on paper does not seem to pose as much of a threat. The American has two losses to “Contender” participant David Banks. Banks was recently thrashed by Edison Miranda who Abraham has beaten. I expect Arthur to win this fight in a mid round stoppage . If the champ comes in fully focused we could see an early and brutal KO.