By Cliff Rold

Tournaments are nothing new in boxing.  While not a regular occurrence, they have happened before, almost always in single elimination format.  The “Super Six” Super Middleweight arrangement, a modified round robin lineup established without direct influence of wins and losses, is something different.

Its success will come from the sum of its parts.  As stage two begins this Saturday with Arthur Abraham-Andre Dirrell, the sum is still being totaled.  Unique to its format, and old fashioned in a way, in this second round two fighters coming off of losses will find themselves right back in major fights.  For mega-stars, this sort of thing isn’t unusual but, in this era of a limited fight calendar, fans are seeing what is possible when losses are not inherently punished. 

It’s a positive example for the sport and a genuine encouraging of consistent competition.

Mikkel Kessler (42-2, 32 KO) and Andre Dirrell (18-1, 13 KO) are best served, placed in a position to prove a loss is just a loss. 

Jermain Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KO), the former Middleweight Champion of the World and a knockout victim in two of his previous four, went into round one as an x-factor and did not make it to round two. 

2004 U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Andre Ward (21-0, 13 KO), Britain’s Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KO), and Armenia’s German-based Arthur Abraham (31-0, 25 KO) will look to move to 2-0 in the competition. 

All five remaining participants in round one, and new addition Allan Green (29-1, 20 KO), are still in position to win the whole thing with a maximum of four fights to go for the two men who reach the finals.

The schedule as of now, assuming no one else joins Taylor as an early exit, is:

Stage Two
Abraham-Dirrell
Froch-Kessler
Ward-Green

Stage Three
Abraham-Froch
Kessler-Green
Ward-Dirrell

In the summer of 2009, the implications and scenarios for titles involved in the “Super Six,” and for titlists outside the tournament, were examined.  It bears another look, now just days away from a resumption of hostilities, as does an element not examined prior to round one.

The Points Race

Prior to round one, the impact of points wasn’t taken much into account.  After the results were in from the first three contests, their importance became clearer.

It’s a simple system with big ramifications: 3 Points for a win by knockout or stoppage, 2 for a decision win, 1 for a draw, and losers get the donuts.  With his twelfth round knockout of Taylor, Abraham leads with three points while Ward and Froch both picked up two points with decisions over Kessler and Dirrell respectively.  Ward’s win was dominant, Froch’s debatable, but the points do not discriminate.  Green enters in Taylor’s place with Taylor’s losing point total but the advantage of not having to be touched by the brick hands of Abraham. 

The points are obviously not the most important factor.  Wins are.  Anyone with two will qualify to the semi-finals.  With four of six to advance, there are simply not enough wins to go around for anything else to be true. 

But two wins isn’t the only way into the semi-finals.  With three points available, anyone with a single knockout win is likely to advance and has an advantage in securing extra points.  Abraham is the only fighter who qualifies as an example now and, for instance, would have the point’s equivalent of two decision wins if all he did was draw with Dirrell this weekend. 

Is four points a lock to continue?

Consider what’s available.  For Abraham, the maximum he can achieve is nine points and he is the only fighter who can.  Both Froch and Ward could get to eight points but both would need consecutive knockout wins.  Ward is particularly unlikely to do so. 

Both Dirrell and Kessler can cap out at six points, but they have to begin immediately and stoppages of Abraham and Froch are not strong bets.  In a scenario where Kessler, Dirrell, and Green all lose in round two, round three would see Dirrell against Ward and the other two against each other.  Assuming no draws, of the two winners, the man with the knockout would advance. 

Many results will unfold before then, and they will impact the title picture at 168 lbs. just as sure as the point race.

The Battle for Belts

The entrance of Green into the tournament really doesn’t change the title picture but he’s only playing with the two biggest fights of his life. Green is in a position where he is set for one, possibly two, title opportunities.  Green is one half of the sole remaining chance for a unification contest in the preliminary round robin.

Right now, the WBA belt belongs to Ward, the WBC to Froch.  Ward has claimed a knee injury and his bout with Green is delayed until at least June.  If he wins against Green, he’ll move on to a bout with Dirrell in round three, still a defending titlist.  Should he lose, Green will take the WBA title into his third round bout with Kessler.

Kessler will either be a challenger or champion in round three.  That will be determined when he faces Froch on April 24th.  Should Kessler win, he rebounds from his one-sided loss to Ward in round one.  If he then moves on to a newly WBA-crowned Green, he has a chance to claim that organization’s belt for the third time and garner some revenge by proxy.  It would be a wild swing for the Dane.

Want a wilder swing?  Here’s one that accounts for both belts and point totals.

If Green loses to Ward, AND Kessler beats Froch by knockout, Green could potentially win a major title from Kessler and not advance to the semi-finals over Kessler.  How?  If Green were to have only a single win over Kessler, and it came by decision, he would have only two points to Kessler’s three.  Were Green however to draw with Ward and then decision Kessler, one would assume an advantage despite a tie on the tournament scoreboard between the two.

Abraham, win or lose against Dirrell, has only one chance to get a crack at a belt before the elimination rounds and it’s not one he controls.  His third round opponent, Froch, controls that instead. 

Dirrell can receive a second title shot in the tournament, after a decision loss to Froch in round one and win or lose against Abraham, if Ward can defeat or draw with Green.

Clearly, this is still anyone’s ball game and no one need feel desperate just yet.

Stage one produced plenty to talk about; stage two has had two fights delayed and, in an A.D.D. world, has generated some grumpiness.  It’s all theory until someone gets hit.  That starts again this Saturday night and a good fight can chase any blues away.       

Weekly Ledger

But wait, there’s more…
 
All-Time Heavies: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=26161  
Klitschko Report Card: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=26182  
Picks of the Week: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=26234      

Cliff’s Notes…

Report cards and picks still to come for all the best action this week...meaning not just the HBO and Showtime shows but also the huge Flyweight and Bantamweight shows going on in Japan and Venezuela, respectively, this week.  This is just an amazing week of boxing, big fights happening from 105 to 175.  Enjoy as much as can be found. 
 
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