Possible Super Middleweight tournament on Showtime

[Rusty]

Featuring Froch, Taylor, Kessler, Abraham, Ward and others.

Not holding my breathe here, but this would be incredible if it ever happened. Surprisingly, there is no mention of Lucian Bute, one the title holders in the division.

I'll believe it when I see it...

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=20831

[Guest]

I can tell you this with some insider info, this is close to really happening.
Bute and Andrade will have their rematch probably in September.
Not sure what happens after they fight but HBO is going to miss out on some awesome fights.
Should be interesting to see what goes down.

[swerb]

This would be awesome. Great division right now. Also, would put some pressure on HBO to make some good fights to compete. HBO has been slacking as of late.

[Rusty]

If this tournament comes off as it has been presented, it will be the best thing to happen for the sport in years.

I will remain skeptical until the final contracts are signed, but big props to Showtime for at least trying to get this on the table.

I still can't believe HBO took Dawson/Tarver II and rejected Taylor/Froch, WTF were they thinking? Looking forward to the Bute/Adrande rematch, hadn't heard that it was on. Thanks for the info FightDr.

[Bayou Tribe]

Just getting around to reading this right now, and interesting is an understatement. For the casual fight fan like myself, a few questions:

1) Is the timetable for the fights presented in that article reasonable? I guess what I'm asking is if this is progressing logistically to where it can happen relatively soon (in the next year)?

2) Who/Which party would be a potential hold-up in this and if someone were to drop what other names could you see getting into this tourny if that would happen?

3) In you guys' minds, what's the most intriguing matchup of this round robin format and who would the smart money be on for the finals, and then, to win the whole thing.


Thanks, I'll hang up and listen.

[Guest]

Here is what I have heard from my inside sources

1) It's very real and the dates are pretty much all set up already

2) Bute and Andrade are on the outside looking in for some reason so they could fill in the spots if needed.

3) Ward vs Dirrell in the finals, all great matchups and of course Andre "S.O.G" Ward would win it.

[Guest]

Here you go boys:

NEW YORK CITY PRESS CONFERENCE

SHOWTIME SPORTS TO MAKE GROUND-BREAKING BOXING ANNOUNCEMENT AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN THIS MONDAY, JULY 13, AT NOON ET

ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS AND PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES WITH ALL THE PRINCIPALS

WHO: IBF Middleweight Champion Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs)
Top-ranked 2004 U.S. Olympic Medalist Andre Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs)
WBC Super Middleweight Champion Carl Froch (25-0, 20 KOs)
WBA 168-pound Champion Mikkel Kessler (41-1, 31 KOs)
Former Undisputed 160-Pound Champion Jermain Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs)
WBC/WBO No. 1-Ranked 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Andre Ward (19-0, 12 KOs)

PLUS, Senior VP and GM, SHOWTIME Sports Ken Hershman
Promoters Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment; Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor
Promotions; Mick Hennessy of Hennessy Sports; Wilfred and Kalle Sauerland of
Sauerland Event; Gary Shaw of Gary Shaw Productions, LLC

WHAT: In the past week, rumors on boxing’s news sites have been swirling: “In a word,
wow.” (boxingwatchers.com); “…an audacious and ambitious plan… fight fans will
be the happy beneficiaries of (SHOWTIME’s) smart game plan.” (ESPN.com);
"There won’t be any losers… the fighters will all get a chance to show their talent to a
wide audience over and over again….” (BoxingNews.com); "It's a brilliant concept in
many ways.'' (MaxBoxing.com); "This is the sort of thing boxing needs…''
(BBC.com)

The six fighters, who have a staggering, combined record of 161-4-1 with 117
knockouts, their respective promoters, and Hershman will all be on hand for this
historic press conference.

WHERE: WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden, New York City

[swerb]

Awesome!

[Rusty]

That is great news.

It's a shame they couldn't just add the Bute-Andrade rematch to the first round of the tournament.

Hard to complain though, I am really looking forward to this.

[Guest]

SHOWTIME Sports® To Present Arthur Abraham,Andre Dirrell, Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler,Jermain Taylor and Andre Ward In Ground-Breaking Super Middleweight Tournament

SUPER SIX WORLD BOXING CLASSIC
– The Super Middleweights –

NEW YORK (July 13, 2009)—SHOWTIME Sports and six of the best super middleweight
boxers in the world converged in New York City on Monday to announce an unprecedented new
boxing tournament to be presented by SHOWTIME in the United States and throughout the world
on various television networks.

The inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic is a round-robin, six-fighter tournament
featuring the class of the Super Middleweight division from home and abroad.

The world renowned fighters have a staggering combined record of 161-4-1 with 117
knockouts. There are four undefeated fighters, two current world champions, two young,
unbeaten, world-ranked contenders and one former undisputed world titleholder.

The field is comprised of International Boxing Federation (IBF) middleweight champion Arthur
Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs), of Germany, who will move up to challenge at 168, U.S. Olympic
medalist and top-ranked contender Andre “The Matrix” Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) of Flint, Mich.,
World Boxing Council (WBC) super middleweight champion Carl “The Cobra’’ Froch (25-0, 20
KOs) of England, World Boxing Association (WBA) 168-pound champion Mikkel “Viking Warrior’’
Kessler (41-1, 31 KOs) of Denmark, former undisputed 160-pound world champion Jermain
“Bad Intentions” Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) of Little Rock, Ark., and U.S. Olympic gold medalist and
No. 1-ranked contender Andre “S.O.G.’’ Ward (19-0, 12 KOs) of Oakland, Calif.

"The stars have truly aligned,” said Ken Hershman, Senior Vice President and General
Manager, SHOWTIME Sports, who was instrumental in pulling the fighters, managers and
promoters together. “It began as an intriguing concept, and through a tremendous amount of
hard work on everyone’s part, we are going to pull off one of the most exciting events in boxing
history.
"The 168-pound division is the most talent rich in boxing right now. And the Super Six
tournament structure will deliver one compelling matchup after another. And to deliver all of this
directly to our subscribers on SHOWTIME is a fight fans dream come true. I can’t wait to get
started.”

In another unprecedented occurrence, five of the world’s top boxing promoters have
collaborated with SHOWTIME Sports to facilitate this epic tournament. Lou DiBella of DiBella
Entertainment, Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor Promotions, Mick Hennessy of Hennessy Sports,
Wilfried and Kalle Sauerland of Sauerland Event, and Gary Shaw of Gary Shaw Productions,
LLC will promote the tournament which begins in October 2009 and runs through spring 2011.

The dangerous and talented six fighters have signed on to fight any, and potentially all, of the
five other contestants in the tournament. All bouts will be scheduled for 12 rounds. Froch’s WBC
title and Kessler’s WBA championship will be on the line at the start of tournament competition.

IIn In the first three Group Stages of the tournament, each fighter faces three different opponents
over the next 12 months in a points-based competition.

Scoring will be as follows:
Win – 2 points (with a 1-point KO/TKO bonus)
Draw – 1 point
Loss – 0 points

Based on the point standings after the third Group Stage, the top four point scorers will
advance to the Semi-Finals with the lowest two being eliminated. (In the event of a tie on points, a
tie-break mechanism is in place)

The Semi-Finals will match the point leader against the fourth place fighter and the second
versus the third. (In the event of a draw in the Semi-Final bouts, a tie-break mechanism is in place)

The winners of the respective Semi-Final bouts will advance to the Final, which will be
contested in early 2011 for the inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic trophy.

Fights will be contested on both American and European continents. Dates and venues will be
announced in the coming weeks. Group Stage 1 matchups are as follows:

GROUP STAGE 1
CARL FROCH vs. ANDRE DIRRELL (for WBC World Championship)
JERMAIN TAYLOR vs. ARTHUR ABRAHAM
MIKKEL KESSLER vs. ANDRE WARD (for WBA World Championship)

Group Stage 2 and 3 matchups will be announced.

For information on all SHOWTIME Sports telecasts, including exclusive behind-the-scenes
video and photo galleries from its events and complete information on the Super Six World Boxing
Classic, please visit the website at http://www.sports.sho.com

[Rusty]

The first round looks awesome.

If Jermain Taylor gets himself into good shape, he will embarrass Abraham, without question. Big props to him for doing exactly what Kelly Pavlik should be doing right now... flying over to Germany and taking care of business.

Love Kelly, but it should be him over there exposing that protected bum, not Taylor.

The Kessler-Ward fight should also be very entertaining.

I still can't believe that this tournament is actually going to happen. Looking forward to it.

[Bayou Tribe]

CARL FROCH vs. ANDRE DIRRELL (for WBC World Championship)
JERMAIN TAYLOR vs. ARTHUR ABRAHAM
MIKKEL KESSLER vs. ANDRE WARD (for WBA World Championship)

I see in the first round the titles are on the line, but have they said anything definite on whether this will be the case throughout the entire tourney? I just find it interesting how the titles could potentially change hands multiple times through this tourney, and more interestingly could jump back to the original title holder if all goes crazy. Just another added point of intrigue.

[swerb]

Kessler/Ward should be great. I think we'll see that rematch in the finals.

Abraham is the wild card. Lightly tested, strange style, and moving up in weight. Hard for me to pick Jermain against anyone the way he has been unable to finish people off, the way he has faded late in fights.

Only seen Dirrell fight once, on Showtime. Very impressive. Froch would appear to lack the pedigree and natural talent of the other five, but showed some real guts (and skill) in coming back to beat Jermain.

Very hard to handicap this. Gun to my head ...

1. Kessler
2. Ward
3. Abraham
4. Dirrell
5. Froch
6. Taylor

Can't wait till this gets started. Big big ups to Showtime for getting this done, keeping the pressure on HBO to keep making great fights.

[Guest]

SOG.

Kessler is taking a tuneup before this starts and Ward might also.
Their first fight is very close to happening in Oakland, Ward's hometown.