Super Six World Boxing Classic ~The Super Middleweights~

[jmt225]

Stage One

October 17th, 2009:
Arthur Abraham vs. Jermaine Taylor - Arthur Abraham defeated Jermain Taylor by knockout in 2:54 of round 12.
WBC World Super Middleweight Championship: Carl Froch vs. Andre Dirrell - Froch defeated Dirrell by split decision.

November 21st, 2009:
WBA World Super Middleweight Championship: Mikkell Kessler (champion) vs. Andre Ward - Ward defeated Kessler by technical decision in 1:42 of round 11.

Stage Two

March 25th, 2010:
Arthur Abraham vs. Andre Dirrell - Dirrell defeated Abraham by disqualification in 1:13 of round 11.

April 24th, 2010:
WBC World Super Middleweight Championship: Carl Froch vs. Mikkell Kessler

June 19th, 2010:
WBA World Super Middleweight Championship: Andre Ward (champion) vs. Allan Green

Stage Three

TBA:
Andre Dirrell vs. Andre Ward
Carl Froch vs. Arthur Abraham
Mikkell Kessler vs. Allan Green

.........................................................................​

Okay, so this awesome tournament was developed by Showtime back in October, in order to bring attention to, in my opinion, the best weight-class in Boxing: The Middleweights.

The way it works is simple:

The competition starts with a group stage where each boxer will fight three times. A boxer is awarded three points for a win by knockout or technical knockout, two points for a win on points, one point for a draw and 0 points for a loss.

The top four from the group stage will continue to the semifinals, matching the leader against no. 4 and no. 2 against no. 3. The winners of the semifinals proceed to the final, for the tournament.

The WBC Super Middleweight Championship and WBA Super Middleweight Championship will be on the line for each of the champions' fights. The winner of the Super Six World Boxing Classic will also be unified champion of the super middleweight division.

In the event of a fighter being unable to continue in the contest, a reserve boxer will enter in his place continuing from the previous fighters points.

There you have it. It's easy to keep track of, and above you can see all the dates of the next fights. I'll make sure to update the OP with each passing fight, just in case you end up missing any thing.

Anyway, the tournament started off with an absolute classic between Arthur Abraham and Jermaine Taylor, in which Artur Abraham won in the last round by a BRUTAL knockout. Check out the video below:

[YOUTUBE]c_IvomOSbjM[/YOUTUBE]

That was followed the same night by not a very exciting fight, and one with a very controversial decision. Andre Dirrell has easily established himself as the "heel," if you will, of the tournament because of his whining and fighting style. I too felt like he won his fight against Carl Froch; however at the same time I thought his bitch fit was unwarranted, especially considering his style of fighting, which is running away, holding, and overacting on "illegal" shots. So, while I would have gave him the fight on points personally, I still wasn't disappointed Froch won.

In the third fight, we saw my favorite in the tourney, Andre Ward, completely dominate Mikkell Kessler in a fight that seemed like no one was giving Ward a chance of winning. But, he showed up in perfect shape, and as his training partner Nick Diaz would put it, laid down that ass whoopin' on Kessler. It was beautiful to witness.

And the last fight we saw Arthur Abraham vs. Andre Dirrell a couple of weeks ago, which unfortunately was just a complete embarrassment to the sport, with both man's actions. Dirrell is just such a piece of shit, and while you can call it "smart" I guess, he made sure to walk away in this one with his hand raise. But man... I cannot wait to see the douchebag get his ass kicked.

The next fight will be on next Saturday (April 17th) between Andre Ward and Allan Green. It's Allan Green's first fight in the tournament, replacing Jermain Taylor, who had to withdraw due to injury. I fully expect Andre Ward to successfully defend his title and put on another great performance, continuing to solidify himself as the next great in the Middleweight Division.

 

[The Roid Rage]

Wow, so your like, actually a real Boxing fan huh JMT? I can't even express by bewilderment. I am actually sitting beside myself watching me type this,lol.

I thought the SSWBC was a great idea, and I've enjoyed the fights so far. Jermain Taylor was my sentimental favorite since he did take the middleweight division away from B-Hop in 2 decisions. I also like Froch a bit, but I will admit I was pretty pissed off about that decision he got over Dirrell. I thought Dirrell won the fight easy, frustrating Froch the whole time. That fight looked like the boxer against the puncher if you ask me, and Froch didn't like that Dirrell was too smart to fight his fight, on his turf, in front of his crowd. Froch wanted Dirrell to stand in front of him like a heavy-bag with eyeballs so he could just pound on him, but Dirrell kept moving, kept making him miss, tying him up, and using his speed to outpoint him the whole fight. I thought it was a good showing by Dirrell who also in my view Dethroned "King" Arthur Abraham. Loving or hating him has nothing to do with his ability, and he has a lot of it.

I am with you about Ward though too, I like him a lot in this tournament. I think he has a good shot, and at this point they all do. This is probably the best pairing of fighters I've seen in a long time. All these guys have such different strengths and weaknesses it really makes the whole thing interesting. The different styles are represented as well.

You've got Froch with that tough British style, not the most technical but technical enough, and ready to bang. Then you've got Dirrell and Ward who represent the American style with the emphasis on technical boxing with speed and footwork. You've got Abraham who is just your straight up power puncher. Also you've got Kessler who is more of your traditional upright European boxer. A blend of styles that make for good fights.

Think of this too, Carl Froch is defending his title in every one of these fights, and these guys are the top competition. So much for boxers not taking on the best available opponents. Froch is giving the sport a little bit of it's dignity back in being a fighting champion. I think most of these guys do bring so class to the sport, and also help put the respect and dignity back into the sport a bit.

The one place where I disagree is that I think the welterweight division is obviously the best division in boxing, that's just my thoughts as a fan and everything though. The super middleweight division is obviously making a big impact, and over all I'd say those two divisions are the best. I just think you've got to put the welterweights at the top because seriously, you've got Manny Pacquiao who IS the P4P king, Floyd Mayweather who is the top competitor for that title, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Andre Berto, Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Kermit Cintron, the up and coming Edwin Valero, etc... and let's not get into the list of guys in the past. Just my personal favorite division. I do love seeing the bigger super middleweights duking it out still.

 

[Ferbian]

I think this is an absolutely brilliant idea to really put out the greatest of these 6 people which are most definitely the 6 greats in todays the super middleweight class.

I must admit I haven't been able to properly follow it, because I've.. well quite honestly been very bad at picking up the dates for fights, but I'm planning on following Kessler as he takes on Froch this month.

Personally being a big Mikkel Kessler fan (my favorite, I'm very nationalistic when it comes to boxing, very focused on watching danish wrestlers box, although I'm incredibly saddened that I missed the match he had vs Joe Calzaghe) and I must admit on a biased point I would love to see Mikkel grant Froch's first defeat.

Although I sadly don't see the biggest possibility in this happening, as Froch from my view point appears to be the better man in this tournament, standing out incredibly well, and don't ask me why, just looking at the stats across his career and seeing to the fact that he enters this tournament as champion (now I know Mikkel did that too, but sadly lost to Andre Ward, but I didn't count Mikkel to win this tournament anyway) I think Carl Froch is the odds-on-favorite for this tournament, although they all seem fairly able to pull off a "lethal" fist, especially the one you linked JMT.

So in the end, even though Carl Froch isn't in the lead right now (also taking into consideration that he has only fought once, entering his 2nd fight with Mikkel in this month) I still see Carl going through this rather cleanly, but things can change, it's only a knockout punch away.

 

[jmt225]

I thought it was a good showing by Dirrell who also in my view Dethroned "King" Arthur Abraham. Loving or hating him has nothing to do with his ability, and he has a lot of it.

Oh, don't get me wrong... I know Dirrell has a ton of ability. He's lighting quick, especially for a guy his size. However, I just cannot respect the way he goes about things. I can admit it's smart to find a way to win fights, but someone winning a fight will not make me respect him or her. They have to actually fight that fight, not avoid the fight.

Take Jon Fitch in MMA for example. Great, great record and seems unbeatable against anyone but GSP, but I cannot stand watching him fight, because all he does is take someone down and lay on top of him for 15 minutes, while never trying to improve his position to put the guy away. I respect the fact that Fitch has the ability to win fights like that, but it does not make me like him or want to watch him fight. And it's the exact same way with Andre Dirrell. It's great he knows how to use speed as the only means to win a fight, but I will not be a fan of someone like that, because that's not a true fighter in my mind. Sugar Ray Robinson is a true fighter. He used his speed to once compile a record 128 wins and 1 loss, but at the same time... he still fought his opponents. He didn't run away from fights; no, he looked to put people away. You just can't say the same for Andre Dirrell, and I think that's a shame because I do believe he could be a very exciting fighter if he wanted to be.

The one place where I disagree is that I think the welterweight division is obviously the best division in boxing, that's just my thoughts as a fan and everything though. The super middleweight division is obviously making a big impact, and over all I'd say those two divisions are the best. I just think you've got to put the welterweights at the top because seriously, you've got Manny Pacquiao who IS the P4P king, Floyd Mayweather who is the top competitor for that title, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Andre Berto, Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Kermit Cintron, the up and coming Edwin Valero, etc... and let's not get into the list of guys in the past. Just my personal favorite division. I do love seeing the bigger super middleweights duking it out still.

Oh yeah... currently, there's no argument that the Welterweight Division is the most stacked in boxing. No argument. But I think if you look all throughout history of the sport, the Middleweight Division has remained the most consistent out of every division you could mention. From the days of Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake Lamotta to Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns to the Roy Jones/Bernard Hopkins era to today's Super Six Classic (plus Kelly Pavlik, who I really wish could have been apart of this thing)... to me, it's just the best division there has been and ever will be. Today I admit that the Welterweights have an awesome core of guys (and shit, you forgot a lot of names to be honest, lol), but I think no matter what the Middleweight Division will always remain my favorite.

 

[The Roid Rage]

I think if you look all throughout history of the sport, the Middleweight Division has remained the most consistent out of every division you could mention. From the days of Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake Lamotta to Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns to the Roy Jones/Bernard Hopkins era to today's Super Six Classic

Oh inarguably. Going through the time line you can't deny the middleweight division it's credit one bit. Just the name Robinson seals the deal as most boxing experts consider him the greatest fighter ever, even over Ali who is so commonly hallowed as the G.O.A.T. by the media.

Oh, don't get me wrong... I know Dirrell has a ton of ability. He's lighting quick, especially for a guy his size. However, I just cannot respect the way he goes about things. I can admit it's smart to find a way to win fights, but someone winning a fight will not make me respect him or her. They have to actually fight that fight, not avoid the fight.

I totally get where your coming from there, I often hold the same thing against Floyd Mayweather. The style is not aesthetically pleasing, or as fun to watch as the guys who really go in there to bang. I thought in the case of Dirrell he was really just outsmarting the bigger stronger Froch who wanted to stand and exchange, but Dirrell was not going for it. I was pretty disappointed by Froch in this fight myself because of his somewhat roughhouse tactics. I can't say Dirrell responded in a fashion becoming of a champion either though.

Going further on about fighting the fight, rather than avoiding the fight, I have to get into Mayweather on this one. If anyone I ever saw was as guilty of that as Mayweather I would be shocked. Unless it's a smaller guy he figures he can move around like Marquez, he does anything he can to do as little as possible. The bastard wins fights with defense and almost non existent offense, and it makes me sick. For instance, I thought De La Hoya beat him in their fight. Mayweather started to get at Oscar late in the fight but Oscar had the fight up to the 8th round. 8 out of 12 rounds wins the fight doesn't it? You could have given him the 9th round as well simply because he made the fight. If he'd of left it up to Mayweather nothing would have happened. That is a prime example of what you are talking about I think, and I totally agree on the disapproval.

 

[Ferbian]

I recently started noticing that the Danish television stations are starting to advertise Kessler vs Froch, shame although that they actually had Kessler utter the words "this is the fight of my life" seeing as it's by far not if you ask me, Kessler's fight of his life was the unification match between him and Joe Calzaghe back in 2008 ( at least I believe it was considered an unification match?)

Anyway, I must honestly say I'm pretty hyped on this match, seeing as if you noticed my reply earlier I see Carl Froch doing great in this tournament, again don't know why, because there's just something about it, so well basically it's my favorite boxer (Kessler) vs Froch.

And while I do agree with you guys that all of these competitors does have their own thing to back themselves up, and I do see that everyone of them has a potential to go on and win this thing, and as much as I would like to see Kessler in the winning end of it (top 2 or something) I must probably give this tournament to Froch or Abraham, looking at Froch entering with perhaps the best statistics (other than Kessler, seeing as he's had almost more knockouts than the rest of the competition has had matches, just on the edge with Arthur and Jermaine Taylor, but he doesn't really count anymore cause of his withdrawal) and sadly the only reason why I don't see Mikkel Kessler going in there and winning it all, is because of the fact that he also stands on the side of having the most losses as opposed to the fact that yes he has had more fights and really went undefeated for a longer amount of matches than these guys has had in total, I see the thing that Kessler has lost twice in the past 5 matches as a sign that he might slowly be loosing what he had going in his career prior to 2007.

Edit: but in the end, looking at the statistics I see Froch or Arthur doing this to the end, but as I've said so many times, I'm leaning mostly to Froch, especially with the statistics of no losses, entering as champion, and having a fair percentage of knockouts as opposed to his amount of matches (26 matches 20 knockouts)

 

[INDYjon22]

I actually just watched the Andre Ward/Mikkell Kessler fight last night. I know I am late as fuck with a reaction to that fight but better late then never right? Andre Ward looked awesome. He had an answer for any and everything Kessler threw at him. Ward dominated Kessler from the opening bell until the fight was stopped. Seeing as he is the only fight in the tournament I have seen so far he is my favorite to win. The dude looked like a beast, plain and simple.

 

[Super Hans]

This tourney is a great idea to eventuallt unify the division,the standout performer in the 1st round was Andre Ward,who totally outthought and outboxed Kessler.I think the Froch/Dirrell fight was close and in this situation you always favour the champ,nobody will ever look good against dirrell,so froch done well to eke out a SD.I am looking forward to froch/kess a week on saturday,the trend so far has been that the home fighter has won 4 out of 4 so far and i feel that could change come fight 5 on the 24th.

Also Ward/Green is in june as far as i know,to give Green more prep time JM.

 

[jmt225]

As Caps pointed out, Andre Ward vs. Allan Green is now scheduled for June 19th, rather than this Saturday like originally put in this thread. They thought it would be fair to give Green another good 2 months to prepare.

I see the logic behind it, but it's still disappointing. I was very much looking forward to watching Strikeforce this weekend, and right afterward flipping to Showtime and catching the replay of this fight.

Regardless, highly doubt the two months helps Allan Green. He doesn't stand a chance against Ward, who like I mentioned early is my favorite in the tournament, and if you ask me... he has so far had the best showing out of everyone thus far.

 

[Ferbian]

So tonight it happens, Mikkel Kessler vs Carl Froch.

I ordered the pay per view myself yesterday, Denmark is currently airing a 5 hour count-down to this event, following up with interviews of the people involved, looking back at the event, and interviews with the celebrities showing up.

I have to admit I am HYPED.
Boxing being the only sport that I'm actually patriotic about, the only sport where I whole heartedly support my own country, as opposed to football, where I normally end up supporting some other country cause I know they have a bigger chance.

I think Kessler is in for a tough fight tonight, as I've said all the time, I think Carl Froch could win this one, and while my patriotism wants me to see Kessler knock the living hell out of Froch tonight in (as he said himself, in a cocky manner obviously) 2nd round, obviously I prefer him to fight for at least a few rounds, just for the sake of not wasting the pay per view money, but I really hope he'll pull it off to regain his WBC championship, but I have to admit although Kessler has a home field advantage, and the fact that he has never lost in Denmark, I sadly have to face facts and say I think Froch will be the one to end the chapter for Mikkel Kessler, seeing as he's said "it's over" if he doesn't win tonight, because people will slowly loose faith in him he believes, and I can follow it, he has a lot to prove tonight, and I'm ready to mark out like a little boy like back when other danish greats would be boxing on a regular basic on television.

And just for the sake of showing my hype.. *starts clapping* lets go Kessler *claps* let's go Kessler *claps* etc.. etc..

 

[jmt225]

Very good technical fight last night between Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch.

Mikkel Kessler ended up winning a unanimous decision and I completely agreed with the judges in this case.

While Froch kept it competitive, I felt Kessler still out boxed him the majority of the fight. I thought early on Kessler was completely controlling the fight with that beautiful jab of his. Froch, I believe late in the 3rd or 4th, finally got some fire lit under his ass and became the aggressor. It looked like he was about to take control of the fight, especially when Kessler got knocked down in I believe the 5th Round, but it was ruled a slip and I completely agreed. But, from that point on, for the most part, Kessler got back the upper hand and kept it, hitting beautiful counters and dodging most of Froch's punches. He even managed to bloody Froch's nose, but Froch would get pay back on that, by giving Kessler a cut over his left eyebrow. And in the last few rounds, Froch did whatever he could to open the cut more and make it much worse, but it wasn't enough to win the fight.

Overall, great technical bout. The crowd there also made it that much more entertaining, HEAVILY rooting for their fellow Dane Mikkel Kessler. You should definitely check this one out if you get the chance.

 

[The Roid Rage]

Beautiful Boxing match, Nasty Fight that is how I'd describe this one. My friend JMT here is too modest. This was a fucking banger, exactly the kind of fight you want to see. I didn't have to order it via ppv because I have Showtime here in the U.S. but this is a fight I would have paid to see.

I thought it looked like the momentum swung Kessler's way in the 6th round even though Froch was able to get Kessler in a few tight spots from time to time later on in the fight. Froch was the one I thought who showed an impressive jab considering his style, and Kessler showed to have a trip hammer of a right hand, both with laser like accuracy, showing the true grit only displayed in boxing ring. The 11th and 12th rounds were knock down drag out slugfests' with each man punishing the other. It was amazing that either man left on their feet and the both showed that they were tougher than many had perceived beforehand. I think that's true more so in the case of Carl Froch who had yet to be in a fight with someone who could really do some significant damage to him. Kessler has already had some wars so he was battle tested but the beating Froch systematically put on him through the course of the fight was awful devastating as well.

I have been absolutely entertained through this Super Six World Boxing Classic. As it goes on, these amazing fights keep happening and the fights gain more and more importance, you get more of a feel that this is history in the making. These guys have been putting on top notch fights consistently as I have seen it and it only looks to get better with the different fights they have lined up. Keep on the look out for the next fight in the Super Six to be announced.

 

[Ferbian]

Very good technical fight last night between Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch.

Very good fight, arguably his greatest fight in his career if you ask me, he had that match under control all the time, and seemed to know where he had Carl, although I won't deny that Carl had some blows here and there that was pretty firm.
About the slip you mention, the replay showed it was a clean slip rather than from being hit actually.
Something about the match although from Carl Froch's side, I would say he seemed to underestimate Kessler, seeing as he barely had his guard up at all, some semi decent guards here and there, but usually he seemed to just be playing around with Mikkel, although Mikkel clearly was the superior one, and I think that's what cost Carl the match, seeing as Mikkel was straight forth, taking a lot of good chances even though Carl had the advantage cause his arms are clearly longer.

Mikkel Kessler ended up winning a unanimous decision and I completely agreed with the judges in this case.

Same, no way Carl could've won that match by any other ways than knockout, and it seemed like he knew it, I liked how the guys told Mikkel that he was loosing the match in points, clearly motivated him in the last round, brutal round that had me on my toes just waiting for the knockout blow.

The crowd there also made it that much more entertaining, HEAVILY rooting for their fellow Dane Mikkel Kessler.

That's nationalism right there, I was rooting for him heavily too, watching it through pay per view, and I absolutely loved his entrance from the Danish band Volbeat, the crowd was insane and I think it helped giving Mikkel the motivation he truly needed to do this, seeing as he's never lost in Denmark, it's quite obvious the crowd has a great part in that.

You should definitely check this one out if you get the chance.

I second this, absolutely amazing match, sad when people know the result although, but it's still worth every second of it, if you want to watch an all out battle.

Edit: It's a shame really that there's so long between someone fighting a fight, because I could definitely see the beneficial parts in putting on such tournaments like an annual thing (doesn't have to be the super middleweights all the time, could easily spread it across the weight classes), the benefits would of course be the income that would go to the boxing business, seeing as, how many people watched Mikkel Kessler vs Carl Froch? I'm pretty damn sure it was quite a handful, so it's no doubt putting stuff like this on pay per view would be a great move, to say the least for the promotions.

 

[jmt225]

Just a small reminder, Andre Ward vs. Allan Green airs tonight on Showtime at 10 PM Eastern timing, 9 Central. This plus the Ultimate Fighter Finale, tonight should be a GREAT night of fights.

This will be Allan Green's first fight in the tournament, so you know he's going to try his best to make a huge statement, over, in my opinion, the best fighter in the tournament. Green is mostly a power puncher, so he's definitely going to look to counter Ward and land that big right whenever he can throughout the majority of the fight. I think he'll depend on landing big shots, rather than trying to outwork someone like Andre Ward, who is just a machine in there.

So, yeah... should be a great fight. Has potential to be the best in the tourney so far. Make sure to check it out if you can.

 

[Ferbian]

I agree it could be an absolutely awesome match between the two of them, and Allan definitely needs to make a statement, needs to show that he's also a proper contender in this one.

I won't be watching it tonight although, seeing as it airs at 4 AM in Denmark, we get the replay of Mikkel Kessler vs Carl Froch on free television tonight before Allan vs Andre.

I'm not sure who I would expect to come out of this one the winner, I don't really mind seeing any of them coming out the winner, because I expect this to be a great match no matter the result, I just think Allan needs to win it to make the statement as I've already said, even though Ward would need to win it to retain his belt, at least I believe it's for the belt, as far as I know it's a "potential" victory for it, would figure it means he'd get a future shot at it.

So Ward can't afford to loose tonight if he wants to avoid Allan being a contender for the championship, and if Allan wins, it'd also mean that Andre would come off as the smaller favorite, which is never good for the champion.

Definitely gonna be a good match although, but time will show how it ends.

 

[jmt225]

Wow... what an absolutely beautiful fight from Andre Ward last night.

If there's any doubt in anyone's mind that this guy is not the best fighter in the Super Six World Boxing Classic, then I don't know what to say for you.

Ward completely dominated Allan Green in pretty much all 12 Rounds. I mean, from the third round on (fight got off to a slow start with a feeling process between the two), the whole fight was Ward backing Green into the ropes with gorgeous left hooks, and Ward just keeping him there, pounding away from close range. Green had no way to stop it. And that was basically the entire fight. Ward dazed Green in the 7th I believe it was, but that was the closest we came to a stoppage. But still, stoppage or not, Ward had a TREMENDOUS fight and there's no doubt he has looked the best out of the 7 fighters we've seen fight so far in this tournament. Can't wait to see him kick Andre Dirrell's ass next.

 

[Ferbian]

Agreed JMT, while I have to admit I only watched it partially through the whole thing, it was still clear that Andre was dominating Allan, it was a pretty good fight and Andre was definitely the superior one of them.

It was clear that Andre was scoring a lot of points during the 3rd round when he had Allan against the ropes, and it showed that he could very well dominate this whole thing.

I think Andre Wards will come out the winner between him and Dirrell, but either way I think it will be a great match, I'm looking forward to the next one at least.

There's something I'm a little lost on although, aren't the boxers gonna all meet each other? from the looks of it, Kessler won't be facing Abraham at any point, that was a match I would absolutely love to watch, Kessler my favorite, vs the guy I think could be the best in this tournament.

 

[People's Champ]

Andre Ward was just a beast Saturday night. I think everyone knew that Ward was going to win the fight easily, but Ward even surpassed that. Looking at Green, he just didn't look right. He look skinny and dehydrated, like he fought hard to make weight. I think that affected him in this fight. But it wouldn't have mattered either way as Ward was on top of his game. He is the best in the Super Six and has a lot ahead of him.

Green looked like he fought hard to make weight, as he didn't look good at all. But its obvious that credit goes all to Ward. He is a beast, and I think this performance should continue to get his name out there. The fight Saturday night was all Ward, and I think he's really unstoppable right now. Fantastic fight.

 

[Ferbian]

I feel this thread has gone for a while, and been pretty damn dead. Which is a shame, so seeing as it's stickied, I don't think it is that big a deal that I bump it a bit.

So about a little over a month till Kessler steps into the ring again with Allan Green, shouldn't be too hard for Kessler to handle, considering Green is at the button of the competition, and doesn't have any chance in the world at getting back into the competition, unless he knocks out Kessler, as well as Dirrell looses his fight.

However I'm also convinced it'll be a good fight, I can only hope that Kessler actually comes out victorious through a knockout, because it'll bump him up in the competition nicely to a point where he has qualified for the semi finals, which I know I would love to see.

Also, I love the fact that his fight is in Herning, Denmark. Because Mikkel is undefeated in that arena, in Denmark in general. I'm excited for this, and I will most definitely do my part in getting the Pay Per View, at least I'm convinced it's on Pay Per View, would be ridiculous otherwise.

 

[Gregor_Samsa]

I think the Viking Warrior is safe. He should handle Allen Green easily. I don't know what the hell Green was thinking when he fought Ward. Maybe he just wanted the paycheck.

Ferbian, your guy Kessler will be ripped if he doesn't dominate Green. I think he will though. Either way, he safely gets to the second stage of the tournament.

I'm really curious to see the other two fights. Stylistically they should be two completely different fights. Froch and Abraham should be a brawl. Froch is a slugger with some slick skills. He'll throw punches from odd angles and look to confuse AA then pounce on him if he gets King Arthur in trouble. After the first few rounds when Abraham wakes up, he should move in behind his jab and look to mix it up with CF. This fight will have a knockdown in it, probably more than one.

Ward vs Dirrell on the other hand promises to be a more classic boxing match. Dirrell will use his feet, keep moving and look to score points on Ward by giving him angles, keeping him off balance and winning a decision. Ward will be the hunter. Stalking Dirrell, trying to cut off the ring and neutralizing Dirrell's speed by going to the body early and often.

I feel like Teddy Atlas breaking this shit down.

I'm looking forward to all three fights but this tournament is going on way too long. Some casual boxing fans are forgetting about it.

 

[Ferbian]

I think the Viking Warrior is safe. He should handle Allen Green easily. I don't know what the hell Green was thinking when he fought Ward. Maybe he just wanted the paycheck.

Ferbian, your guy Kessler will be ripped if he doesn't dominate Green. I think he will though. Either way, he safely gets to the second stage of the tournament.

I agree, Kessler needs to dominate, and he shouldn't be too confident around Green. He might have lost his fight against Ward, but he's no lost case when it comes to fighting. So Kessler needs to be on his toes, but I'm still confident that he'll come out the winner. I have to, especially considering he's fighting in Denmark.

The rest of the bouts is most likely gonna be pretty clear, I'm convinced Ward will walk out the winner, as well as Abraham most likely will be victorious.

However Froch vs Abraham will definitely be a tough bout. Both are very talented ones, and definitely the two I had as favorites to win this thing. So to see the two of them go up against each other will be nothing more than a sheer joy. Froch just needs to worry about his guard for once in a while. He took Kessler way too easy in their fight, with the hands barely being up and all that.

Just because Froch has a longer reach doesn't mean that he'll be worth anything if Abraham gets a knockout punch in on him. Abraham is a deadly striker, and he'll most likely be able to use it to his advantage if Froch lets down his guard.

Definitely some interesting fights remaining though. I can only hope that Abraham and Kessler will be facing each other in the semi finals or something, because it will definitely be my favorite fight of this tournament, just by looking at the two names.

 

[Ferbian]

Fuck.

So it was announced today that Mikkel Kessler withdrew from the competition. He had been suffering a severe eye injury from his fight with Carl Froch, and was facing potential brain damage and blindness if he fought against Green. This also means that Kessler is facing 9 months of absence from competition, and therefore is going to vacate his WBC Super Middleweight championship.

I can't help but wonder what it will mean for the tournament, who will replace Kessler, and what they'll do with the WBC Super Middleweight championship. I'm guessing they're either awarding Green with it, or they're replacing Kessler for Green's match to have a fight for the vacated championship.

Also, Kessler is rumored to be booked for his return match to be against the Super Six World Boxing Classic winner. With my money on Froch or Abraham, then I'm definitely expecting an epic fight, and with hope, a victory for Kessler that might have him regaining the championship if it will be a championship bout. Or it will put him in the limelight to challenge for the WBA or WBC Super Middleweight Championship if he is victorious.

 

[Gregor_Samsa]

Just read this news too, Ferb. It's really disappointing. If they're still following the original tournament format, what would be the point of putting someone in Kessler's place? That person would have only one fight and wouldn't have a chance to earn enough points to advance. Kessler is out of the tourney and Green isn't advancing so why not just drop that bout entirely and continue with the final four of Ward, Dirrell, Froch and Abraham? That's still a damn good foursome. But it looks like Dirrell and Ward are having a hard time agreeing on the venue for their match. Ward apparently wants home-ring advantage in every fight. Apparently neither of them have started training for the fight yet.
This is all very frustrating. I guess we should just look forward to Froch vs Abraham. It was probably the better fight of the two anyway.
Showtime is apparently planning another tournament for the bantamweights. I'll be looking forward to that. Those little guys are usually all action.

 

[Ferbian]

That is incorrect Gregor. The way that the tournament is set up now, Kessler was one of the 4 people to advance. Green, as well as the potential replacement could with a knockout against one of them, easily advance compared to someone of the currently advanced people if they lost.

Considering the fact that there's a 3 point score for knocking your opponent out cold. Where as a 2 point score for simply winning. Kessler and Froch both have 2 points, so if Froch looses against Abraham, it would mean that there's an opening for Dirrell (Who will most likely loose to Ward me thinks), Green and as well as the Kessler replacement, to advance if knocking their opponent out. Dirrell would advance no matter what though if he wins his match.

Apparently according to Wikipedia, bad source I know, it's said that the final fight is left to be either off the card, or will take a replacement eventually, which one is still unknown. I can honestly say a lot of my interest dropped alongside with Mikkel Kessler's dropout. Now all I can do it eagerly await his return to kick the Super Six winner's ass, and regain one of his championships hopefully.

 

[Gregor_Samsa]

Yes, you're right. Math and logical thinking was never my strong-suit.

The preferable replacement for most boxing fans would be Lucian Bute. However, Bute has a match scheduled against Jesse Brinkley on October 15th. He could possible take the fight against Green afterward as the length of time between the super six matches has been outrageous anyway. Though he has a potential big money fight at Light Heavy vs Jean Pascal.
Kelly Pavlik I assume is still alive somewhere. He could possibly move up in weight and fill the spot. Actually I don't think Pavlik vs Green would be a bad fight. Their styles fit each other.
Another possibility is Chad Dawson. He has absolutely nothing to do. He just lost to Pascal, people in his hometown won't come out to see him. Maybe he should drop down from light heavy to super middle and fight Green. He would certainly have the power advantage and have a legit shot at knocking Green out, which, like you said, if Froch or Dirrell lose would put him into the next round.
I'm not sure what they're going to do. I just hope we get some good fights.
Ferbian, if your interest is peeked by Boxers from your home country. The great Danish heavyweight Brian Nielsen is planning a comeback. I honestly got nothing else though.