By Victor Salazar

New York - On Thursday, Comosa AG announced the launch of the "World Boxing Super Series" - a revolutionary bracket-style elimination tournament featuring the world`s best boxers and a total of $50 million in prize money. The winner will receive the GREATEST prize in boxing – the Muhammad Ali Trophy.

Kalle Sauerland will serve as Comosa’s Chief Boxing Officer with Richard Schaefer being the Chairman of the Americas.

The tournament will kick off in September 2017. It will be taking place on an annual basis. The inaugural season of the World Boxing Super Series will feature two weight classes, 16 fighters and a total of 14 main events. In each weight class, eight boxers will battle it out in a bracket-style elimination tournament, with four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and one final.

Had the idea come to fruition last year, Schaefer - who also has started his own promotional company with Ringstar Sports - would have loved to have staged a welterweight tournament. But he feels they top fighters at 147 area already in a de facto tournament and feels he should focus on other divisions.

“One of the classes i thought about was the welterweight division and had this came about last year, I feel we would have been able to attract the names,” Schaefer to BoxingScene.com.

“In a way the welterweights are in the middle of their own tournament, the best fighting the best. I don't think the welterweights right now make sense but there are other weight classes that make sense whether it's the cruiserweights, super middleweights or super welterweights where there is a lot of talent but maybe the fighters haven’t been exposed to the right markets. So it's a great opportunity to showcase weight classes."

Fighters that will be included will be boxers that are in the top 15 of the sanctioning bodies (WBC, WBO, WBA, IBO and IBF), current world champions, former world champions, and rising stars.

Schaefer says there is an open invitation to all promoters to participate in the tournament.

“I have no problem working with other promoters and again if you are a promoter and you fighter is invited, you as the promoter are getting paid,” stated Schaefer. “The fighters gets paid, and you as the promoter do not have to come up with the money and you don’t have any risk because whether the fighter loses or wins the tournament, he goes back to you as the promoter. There's no futures or nothing, no strings attached.”

Schaefer feels the onus is on the promoter should his fighter want to enter the tournament. But the lines are open, even to some of his old rivals like Bob Arum of Top Rank and former business partner Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions.

“I have no problem working with anyone whether it be Bob Arum or Oscar De La Hoya. Whether I approach them or vice versa. I am at the point where I signed 5 Olympians, so at this point I’m really not a threat to Bob Arum or Oscar De La Hoya. I’m a startup and they shouldn't be threatened by that but again the onus is on them if we reach out or a fighter of theirs wants to be in the tournament.”