Super Six in Danger?
Sep052010
Super Six in Danger?
by Andrew Schweitzer
Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Series is perhaps the best thing the network has come up with not just in ways of drawing in new boxing fans but also to compete against rival network HBO. That and it's given us what I think is an even better behind the scenes show than 24/7 in Fight Camp 360.
And the fights were pretty interesting too with some surprises popping up every now and then. Andre Ward put on a clinic against the favoured Mikkel Kessler; Andre Dirrell bounced back from a decision loss to Carl Froch to fight a great tactical fight with Arthur Abraham and then win by DQ; Jermain Taylor dropped out after being knocked out by Abraham and then replaced by Allan Green.
It seemed to be going good. As I mentioned earlier, Dirrell bounced back against Abraham and Kessler regained a title against Carl Froch. The only one to remain unbeaten in Andre Ward, who made Allan Green his own personal punching bag for 12 rounds.
All seemed to be going well until last week when Mikkel Kessler announced last week that he had to withdraw from the tournament due to an eye injury. Hard to believe that a man who was considered the front-runner in this competition would pull himself out but I along with many other boxing fans would rather see him do this than keep going while at the same time risking his sight and career.
There are some options as to what happens next and who will fight Allan Green, as Kessler was scheduled to face him next. One name that immediately springs to mind is Lucian Bute, the man who should have been in this tournament from the start instead of Jermain Taylor. Plus, who wouldn't love to see a Super Six fight in Quebec after the great reception Pascal/Dawson got last month?
But then of course, they may not be able to get Bute...and if that happens then I think they should get rid of Allan Green. I know that sounds a bit extreme but the man didn't do one thing in his fight with Ward that made me say, "Wow". For a guy with a constant scowl on his face, I was expecting more of a fight. He reminded me of Sonny Liston with his face but after the Ward fight, his face resembled Sonny Corleone after the tollbooth scene in The Godfather.
So the Super Six might become the Fantastic Four (Yeah, that's terrible), life goes on, tournament rolls on to it's natural conclusion...or does it?
One fight that I've been looking forward to with interest is the match-up between Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell. They're friends, known each other a long time having fought in the amateurs together, and both won medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics (Ward won gold; Dirrell won bronze). And it may seem that their friendship may be more important than any title.
Rumours keep popping up that they aren't going to fight each other, contracts haven't been signed yet etc etc. Even more damning is the fact that as of this writing, a venue hasn't been decided upon yet for where the fight should take place. Apparently Ward wants it in Oakland again and Dirrell's people want it in Detroit at Joe Louis arena. Let's hope they decide soon because they are scheduled to fight on the 25th of this month.
If Ward and Dirrell don't fight each other, than the whole tournament is in jeopardy and one of the most promising events in the last ten years of this sport could become one of it's biggest flops.
Andrew Schweitzer is a contributing writer for boxing4free.com. When not writing or discussing the sweet science, Andrew is either at the gym or work. Currently, Andrew can be found around downtown Calgary holding a sign that says, "Will Blog for $".
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