The World Boxing Super Series is proud to announce that the winner of the IBO World Championship between Chris Eubank Jnr. and Arthur Abraham will enter the competition for the inaugural Ali Trophy. The two stars collide at Wembley Arena in London on July 15, with the final spot in the revolutionary bracket-style elimination tournament up for grabs. The winner will enter a star-studded super-middleweight competition that already features WBA Super Champion George Groves, Callum Smith, who will fight for the WBC Diamond Championship, former world champion Juergen Braehmer as well as undefeated challengers Erik Skoglund, Jamie Cox, Avni Yildirim and Rob Brant.
“I look forward to testing myself against the best fighters out there,” said Eubank (24-1, 19 KOs). “The Muhammad Ali Trophy is a great idea and I am thrilled to participate. It would be great to fight George Groves and to take his title away from him but let´s see what the draw in Monaco brings. I am taking one step at a time and right now all my focus is on the fight with Arthur Abraham. With just one win between me and the World Boxing Super Series, I am extremely motivated.”
Abraham (46-5, 30 KOs) has also firmly set his sights on the Muhammad Ali Trophy. “All my focus is on the difficult and spectacular fight next week at Wembley,” he said. I have to and I will defeat Eubank in a big fight. Then things will take off with the World Boxing Super Series, which really is amazing. There are so many great fights in such a short period of time, like blow-by-blow. The boxing fans will really love it. I have been dreaming of having a tournament with the world´s best boxers. I will become the world´s best super-middleweight. This really is the Champions League of Boxing and I am really looking forward to it.”
Roberto Dalmiglio, Comosa´s Head of Management Board, believes that the winner of the hotly-anticipated clash will be a worthy addition to the Muhammad Ali Trophy. “This is great news for the World Boxing Super Series,” he said. “The tournament either gets a multiple world champion who has been a top super-middleweight for many years or an up-and-coming youngster who has the potential to dominate the division for years to come. The fans will get their worth either way. May the best man win. With nine undefeated fighters, seven belts, five world champions and three former champions the Muhammad Ali Trophy has delivered on the promise to pit the best against the best.”
Said Kalle Sauerland, Comosa´s Chief Boxing Officer: “Eubank versus Abraham is a big fight that just got bigger. With the winner going into the tournament, the stakes could not be any higher.”
On Saturday, all participants of the World Boxing Super Series will come face-to-face in Monaco to determine the quarter-final match-ups in a Live Draft Gala, which will be broadcasted in multiple territories and also be streamed live on www.WorldBoxingSuperSeries.com. During the live TV show, the top four seeds will select their opponents from the unseeded boxers. The seeding, which will be set by the Comosa Board, will be announced later today.
As the IBO Champion, Eubank Jnr. has been granted the right to represent this pairing in Monaco. “With just one week between the Draft Gala and their fight, Chris Eubank Jnr. could not come down personally but will be represented by his father Chris Eubank Senior, who would be ready select an opponent for the winner of the Abraham-Eubank fight if they make it into the top four seeds,” Dalmiglio added.
In the World Boxing Super Series, 16 elite fighters – eight super-middleweights and eight cruiserweights – will battle it out in a bracket-style elimination tournament. In both divisions, there will be four quarter-finals (September / October 2017), two semi-finals (early 2018) and one final (May 2018), making for a total of 14 high-class fights.
