By Lem Satterfield
In the best performance of his career, England's Carl Froch (27-1, 20KOs) easily out-boxed Germany's Arthur Abraham (31-2, 25KOs) at the Hartwall Arena, regaining by a lopsided, unanimous twelve round decision, the WBC belt he lost to Mikkel Kessler in April. Judges Oren Shellenberger and Max DeLuca each scored it a shutout, 120-109, for Froch, with Burt Clements awarding one round to Abraham by the score of 119-109. Froch picks up two points in the Super Six Boxing Classic, which brings his total to four and makes him the No. 2 seed.
Ward, the No. 1 seed with six points in the Super Six, already has secured a spot in the semifinals that are slated for early 2011. Kessler withdrew from the tournament with an eye injury in August, and his replacement, Glen Johnson (51-14-1, 35 KOs) stopped Green in nine rounds on Nov. 6.
Johnson's stoppage of Green earned him three points in the tournament, tying him for the No. 3 seed with Abraham. Because both Johnson and Abraham have picked up a single knockout win in the tournament, the tie-breaker came down to total scorecard points, which goes to Johnson with 1,021 compared to Abraham's 1,002. When Johnson entered the Super Six to replace Kessler, he gained the Danish fighter's scorecard points.
The way the semifinals are structed, Ward will face Abraham [No. 1 vs. No. 4], and Froch is going to defend his title against Johnson [No. 2 vs. No. 3].