By Cliff Rold

It’s a sign of the fistic times.

In the anticipated Super Middleweight tournament dubbed the “Super Six,” which features three of the best in the U.S. versus three of the best in Europe in the opening round, none of the Americans are favored to win their opening bouts.  None of the Americans are heavily favored to win the tournament in general. 

27-year old 2004 U.S. Olympic Middleweight Andre Dirrell (18-0, 13 KO) can’t be concerned about the fighting the odds.  His concern will have to be fighting 32-year old WBC titlist Carl Froch (25-0, 20 KO) on Froch’s home turf in Nottingham this Saturday night. 

That’s enough to think about.

Inside the Trent FM Arena, he’ll face not just Froch but a hostile capacity crowd of approximately 10,000 and a time difference of eight hours from his Big Bear, California, training camp.

Dirrell feels ready. 

“I worked harder than I ever did in any other camp.  Not because of the work ethic; I always have a hard work ethic.  But the altitude,” a range of between 6700 and 9000 feet at the popular mountain training area, “made everything harder and it made everything a challenge.  Everything was great.”

It won’t be the first time Dirrell has traveled abroad for glory.  In 2003, he competed in the Pan-Am Games in Santo Domingo and in 2004, in Greece, came up just short of the Gold to end a 231 bout amateur career.  He pulled an upset with a one point quarterfinal victory over Cuba’s Yordanis Despaigne, the man who had eliminated him by the same scoring margin one year earlier at Pan-Am.  He was then forced to settle for the Bronze with a semi-final defeat by what Dirrell feels was faulty scoring. 

Heading into his first major title opportunity as a professional, the lack of Olympic Gold has been on Dirrell’s mind.  “I vowed to not have the same feeling that I did in the Olympics when they robbed me of my medal.  I’m stepping out onto the big stage again, out of the country again…I’m more prepared mentally than ever and I’m ready to get out there and get it.  This is my Gold Medal opportunity and I will take advantage.”

His promoter, Gary Shaw, sees the Froch bout as not just a title opportunity but a chance for Dirrell to grow.  “He’s coming in as the baby of the group in the experience category according to everybody.  I think this coming Saturday will be a growing experience for Andre Dirrell.  He will be in a foreign country with 10,000 people booing the (U.S.) national anthem before the bell even rings for his fight...He’ll be in a battlefield that he’s never stepped on before.  He’s fought amateur around the world but this…will be a huge growing experience.  And when the fight is over, should he win, which I believe he will, he will have matured in his career.  Then the other fights will just come natural to him.”

With the extra maturity, Shaw anticipates what could be even more by the end of the tournament.  “Whoever wins the “Super Six” will be a star but there are two fighters who could come out of it as superstars.  One of them is Andre Dirrell because he has a huge personality out of the ring and he has a compelling story with his brother having cancer.”

His brother is 24-year old Anthony Dirrell (18-0, 15 KO).  Anthony fought Hodgkin’s Lymphoma from 2007 to 2008 before returning to the ring.  The bond between the two, and their shared dreams and goals, will be carried into the ring this weekend by Andre.  Asked if watching his brother deal with such an unexpected early illness was a setback, Dirrell was reflective.

“It was a setback because it had me down at first.  I saw him go through the chemo, still stay healthy, still gain weight and it made me happy.  It boosted me.  It gave my family insight on life; that anything can happen at any moment.” 

While the tournament ties up six quality names at Super Middleweight, two of the major titles (WBO and IBF) and plenty of quality fighters are still independently at play.  Andre anticipates a chance for both of them to champions in a short time.  “There’s another belt out there with (IBF titlist Lucian) Bute.  There’s other tough fighters out there so Anthony could still be out there making a name for himself, still be working hard.  As long as I’m on my p’s and q’s, working harder than ever, I believe we both have it in us to be World Champions.”

Andre will have an extra piece of ring security over the duration of the tournament his little brother does not.

One of the interesting elements of the tournament is something boxing rarely sees.  The fighters can lose and still ultimately win.  With each participant guaranteed three bouts in a modified round robin, which will determine a single elimination final four, usual concerns about the market impact of navigating a fighter coming off a loss is mitigated.  In boxing today, with limited TV dates, there are occasions where it can be more rewarding to keep winning against decent opposition than to lose versus better classes of foes.  The “Super Six” rewards for risk first. 

Both Dirrell and his promoter see this as a positive for the sport.  “Basically, we’re out here to make a name for ourselves.  We want to shine,” stated Dirrell.  “In this tournament, we’ll be able to do that.  We’ll be able to shine, to show our true talent and we’ll be in there with top opponents.  If you’re a real fighter, you love a real challenge.  This is a real challenge.  This is something new and something we all look forward to.”

Shaw looked deeper at the ramifications of a sport which has forced many to manage towards risk, and loss, aversion.  “It’s ruining boxing.  It’s one of the reasons MMA (mixed martial arts) is overtaking boxing or has overtaken boxing.  In MMA, a fighter can lose.  Three weeks later, a month later, the fighter is fighting again and might be fighting for a World Championship.  In boxing, one loss becomes devastating.  In MMA, all they care is about is if the fights are exciting, that the fighters are quality fighters.  Here, you can have a real exciting fight, the fighter loses, and then the fighter is punished.  It causes the promoters and managers to be overly careful how they match up their fighters.  This tournament, the fact that it’s not a single elimination tournament, has allowed us to be willing to put our fighters up against the best in the world fight after fight.”

There is though the first fight to consider.  Prior to his April win over fellow tournament participant, and former World Middleweight champion, Jermain Taylor (27-3-1, 17 KO), there was attention paid to the fact Froch had never been knocked down.  Taylor promptly sent him to his seat in round three before succumbing to the Brit in the twelfth round.  What if Dirrell can get Froch in similar trouble?  Can he finish what Taylor did not?

Dirrell is confident he can.  “I have the handspeed and my mental game is set.  I believe I’m a great finisher.  I’ve worked on it a lot this camp.  I just know that if he’s hurt I’ll be able to stop him…the power is there; the killer instinct.”

Killer instinct won’t mean letting caution fly to the wind.  Style wise, Dirrell is aware of what serves him best.  “I’m looking to box all night.  This is the sport of boxing.  This is what I do.  I’m not looking to run.  I’m looking to remain sharp, land counterpunches, and confuse him in the ring.  Everyone knows it would be dumb for me to sit in there and engage with him even though my handspeed is faster and I’m more elusive.  They can expect a few engagements but I won’t be in there more than three seconds letting shots off.  I’m gonna’ get right back out and if I see it again I’ll jump right back in there and make it happen again.  It’s not gonna’ be a brawl.”

Run was an interesting choice of words.  Following an HBO appearance versus Curtis Stevens in June 2007, Dirrell briefly wore the ‘runner’ label after an unentertaining encounter.  “(Stevens) was just one of those things.  I don’t think about that fight no more.  It’s not even in my head.  I really don’t like talking about it because it wasn’t me.”  The evidence has been on display in the ring.  In his six bouts since, including wins over Anthony Hanshaw and Victor Oganov, Dirrell has scored six straight stoppages.  The only running Dirrell will want to do from here is to the final round of the Super Six. 

While a press release this week had Dirrell predicting a final round between himself and the unofficial top seed, WBA titlist Mikkel Kessler (42-1, 32 KO), he had a different prediction the night before leaving for Nottingham. 

“Andre Ward,” was Dirrell’s immediate pick when asked.  The 25-year old Ward (20-0, 13 KO), slated to face Kessler in the final opening round bout in November, was the 2004 U.S. Olympic Light Heavyweight Gold Medalist and Dirrell’s teammate in Athens.  Ward was also his choice, aside from himself, as the tournament’s most underrated fighter.  “He’s in the same situation as me.  We’re both the least favored.  We’re underrated.  Period.  You can look at that and see for yourself.  We both have the most skill in this tournament and they say we haven’t proven ourselves.”

Ward and Dirrell are slated to face off in the third and final bout of the preliminary rounds, making a potential tournament finals face off a rematch of whatever happens there.  Could the “Super Six” witness the birth of a defining, if friendly, rivalry?  It’s among the questions fans wait to have answered.

Shaw had a different take, picking Kessler as the man most likely to face Dirrell in the final and also as the other potential superstar to emerge in the tournament.  “(Kessler) has an award winning smile.  He has a super personality.  He crosses over to women.  And he can punch.”

Check the ratings.  In every division from Middleweight to Heavyweight, foreign born fighters largely from Europe have created an appearance of parity and often superiority over American counterparts.  It was not similarly common in the 20th century.  Dirrell wants to make a statement about his country over at least his next three (and he’ll want all five possible) fights.  “America has to show that we got it.  I believe we want to do that in this tournament.  I believe that it’s important to put America up on a pedestal.  This tournament is highly, highly anticipated by the fans and it’s time to show what America can do.”

The last time Dirrell fought on foreign soil, he did so representing his nation.  In a way, he does so again this Saturday.  He isn’t looking for Bronze the second time around.

Where?

Froch-Dirrell will air live on Saturday at 8 PM EST on U.S. premium cable network Showtime following the tape delayed broadcast of Jermain Taylor versus former IBF Middleweight titlist Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KO). 

More From Shaw

Super Middleweight is not the only division heating up.  Just seven pounds north, at Light Heavyweight, promoter Gary Shaw also has a heavy investment by way of 27-year old Chad Dawson (28-0, 17 KO).  Dawson has previously held the WBC and IBF belts but given them up at various times.  Dawson is slated for a rematch of one of 2008’s top fights, versus former champion Glen Johnson (49-12-2, 33 KO) on November 7.

While Dawson-Johnson II is plenty to get excited about, so too is the changing face of a division dominated in recent years by aging warriors like Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones, Johnson, and Antonio Tarver.  Earlier in 2009, 26-year old Jean Pascal (24-1, 16 KO) won the WBC belt in a war with 31-year old Adrian Diaconu.  They will rematch later this year. 

27-year old Tavoris Cloud (20-0, 18 KO) was thrilling in defeating former titlist Clinton Woods for the vacant IBF belt in August.  It was Cloud’s second straight win over a former champion after a knockout of Julio Gonzalez in his previous outing.  A one year layoff for Cloud between those wins has not helped his position as much as the quality of the names otherwise might have.

Asked if this burgeoning youth movement could mean big money for Dawson over the next year or two, should he defeat Johnson in November, Shaw’s reaction was mixed.  “Pascal would be a big fight in Canada,” he began before moving to Cloud, Dawson’s IBF mandatory before he gave up the belt for the Johnson rematch.  “Tavoris Cloud would not be a big fight anywhere.  I mean, most people don’t even know his name.”

Further asked if a fight like Dawson-Cloud is something which could be developed over time, Shaw stated, “Not if Tavoris is fighting for titles on ESPN or without TV.  You got to get recognition.  Last year, I think he fought once.  You got to be out there.  You got to be fighting and you got to be fighting the best out there.  In order to have Hagler-Hearns, Leonard-Duran, you got to have two sides.  One side can’t make a big fight.”

If a potential thriller between Dawson and Cloud is farther off in the horizon, the possibility of a potential superfight down the road between two of his promotional entities could be developing.  If Dirrell can win the “Super Six,” and Dawson is still at the top of the Light Heavyweight heap when it’s over, they would be only pounds apart.  “It would be huge.”

The Weekly Ledger

But wait, there’s more…

Cliff’s Notes…

Look for an in depth examination of the Super Middleweight co-written with Jake Donovan later this week…also, the second half of the Top 25 Lightweights is coming…Aside from that, enjoy Froch-Dirrell and Taylor-Abraham.  What else is there to say?

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com