Arthur Abraham vs. Paul Smith, Sept. 27th

The bout between Abraham and Smith was announced yesterday and will take place at the Sparkassen-Arena in Kiel, Germany, on Sept. 27. Sauerland Event promoter, Kalle Sauerland, made the annoucement and offered the following words:

''We are delighted to announce this world championship fight between 'King' Arthur Abraham and Paul Smith. There is a lot on the line for both men and I am sure this will make for a great spectacle on Sept. 27," Sauerland said. "Smith has been waiting a long time for this opportunity and I fully expect him to do everything he possibly can to cause an upset. However, he is facing a dangerous Abraham, a hungry, in-form Abraham, who is looking to cement his position alongside the very best at the top of the super middleweight division."

After winning back his WBO title from Robert Stieglitz in March, Abraham made his first successful title defense by beating Nikola Sjekloca two months later in a unanimous decision victory in May. Abraham is now looking forward to repeating some of his good fortune in Kiel.

'This will be my fourth ring appearance in Kiel. I have won here three times before, two of them by knockout," Abraham said. "My fight on Sept. 27 will be the first time I've defended my WBO super middleweight belt here and there is no way I am going to lose. I will retain my world championship and continue my winning streak at the Sparkassen-Arena.''

This will be Paul Smith's (35-3, 20 KOs) first title shot and he hopes to make the most of it. He previously had a stint on "The Contender" reality series but the most notable opponents on his resume are James DeGeale and George Groves, both of whom knocked him out. Smith is, however, coming off a four-fight win streak, but against extremely low-level opposition that's not exactly awe-inspiring. I mean one of his recent opponents, Jamie Ambler, has an incredible record of 10-52-2. 'Nuff said.

Paul Smith is still excited for the opportunity anyways:

'I am thrilled that the fight with Arthur Abraham has been confirmed,'' Smith said. ''Arthur is a great champion, a real gentleman and a brilliant ambassador for the sport. I do believe that our styles will make for a great fight, but I just think that I am getting him at the right time. I know I can beat him and have seen things in him that I can capitalize on. I am sure it will be a spectacular show and I'm proud to be fighting for a world title over in Germany.''

Well what else did you expect him to say?!