The SMW tourney is almost too good to be true..

Hmm. I don't know if Bute is lacking in confidence TBH. After his impressive win over Zuniga he was asked if he wanted Kessler next and he looked like he shit himself before talking about someone else (3:50).... I'm also suspicious of Bute's confidence, Bat. Not counting one fight in his home country of Romania in 2005, he hasn't fought outside of Montreal in almost five years, and there have been matchmaking attempts by nearly all of the major players at 168 to fight him without results. The information around Bute's omission from the tournament is vague to say the least, but I don't find it at all unbelievable that someone in his camp rejected an offer from Showtime. He's been on Showtime more than any other current SMW, and is an undefeated titlist with a strong fan following and can claim transatlantic citizenship. His participation in the tourney would've made it that much bigger an event. If I can figure all that out then surely it didn't escape the bean counters at a major cable outlet like Showtime.

I'm not that bothered by Bute not being in it. There is talk that he was offered it and wasn't interested. According to Froch's camp, they tried to make a fight with Bute but Bute didn't fancy it. There was also talk about 6 months ago that JT's people had tried to set something up with him without success. I'm not saying that he isn't good, but he doesn't seem to want it as much as some of the other guys do. Maybe he'll go after Pavlik, Balzsay, Green or even Dawson, or maybe he'll face lesser opposition, gonna have to wait and see. Hmm. I don't know if Bute is lacking in confidence TBH. After his impressive win over Zuniga he was asked if he wanted Kessler next and he looked like he shit himself before talking about someone else (3:50)....

if boxing had this sorta shit for it's best divisions every year, it'd be in a pretty healthy place.

Kessler's resumée shit's all over Froch's, Ward's and Direll's. At least check boxrec before giving such lame posts. :nonono::nonono: All these retards talking shit about Kessler probably haven't even seen him fight. Let's see what they have to say about his resume when he wins this tournament.

I think the opposite. I think he loses to everyone in this tourney. He has been struggling with clubfighters as of late. These guys are coming to win. The weight of 160 was getting to him, apparently. If what his camp was saying is true, then we should see him looking rejuvenated at 168.

Too bad every division can't do this, or at least unify their damn belts. Nice there's a decent effort bein made to get the best fights out of a stacked division. Just wonderin why Taylor is in there. Taylor being there is a combination of his name and the fact that the three blemishes on his resume have all come in highly competitive fights to hard-hitting, undefeated fighters, leaving some with that lingering feeling that "if he just fix his conditioning..." Many fans sympathize with him and root for him, making him a perfect addition as the underdog in this tourney. Bute should ideally be there but for whatever reason didn't accept or wasn't offered... Taylor deserves it more than Andrade IMO because Andrade has already been beaten by two top SMWs with both fights being pretty one-sided (with the exception of the final minute against Bute). Also Taylor deserves it more than Green who has beaten no one in the top 10 and has somehow ruined every shot he's ever had at landing a big fight. Sure, Green would be an exciting addition to the field but Taylor has deserves it more if for nothing else than showing tremendous heart in facing top caliber opponents every time he's stepped into the ring for the last 5 years.

Too bad every division can't do this, or at least unify their damn belts. Nice there's a decent effort bein made to get the best fights out of a stacked division. Just wonderin why Taylor is in there. It must be because he's the biggest american name in there. He's in the tournament because of drawing power and not because of qualifications. On the other hand Ward, Direll and Taylor just might be the best USA has to offer in that division.

Too bad every division can't do this, or at least unify their damn belts. Nice there's a decent effort bein made to get the best fights out of a stacked division. Just wonderin why Taylor is in there.

Good to see this tournament is happening. Abraham has given up his IBF middleweight belt, Kesslers gotten his promotional wrangles sorted and all the fighters have signed. Some potentially great match-ups and finally the fans get to see the fights. Well done to Showtime for getting this set-up.

Boxing should honestly force things like this. It would make the sport HUGE and we would get to see the best fighting the best. Every one of these fighters made a fan out of me. Its the best thing to happen to boxing in years. I think Kessler takes it.

Froch deserves the bigest respect. Apart from Taylor, Ward and Dirrell, Froch is the only person who hasn't built up a list of useless title defences. He has jumped straight into the deep end, and has the most to lose. You couldn't blame him for wanting to give the tournament a miss and rack up a few easy, meaningless title defences. Instead he is jumping in head first. Kessler's resumée shit's all over Froch's, Ward's and Direll's. At least check boxrec before giving such lame posts. :nonono::nonono:

Froch deserves the bigest respect. Apart from Taylor, Ward and Dirrell, Froch is the only person who hasn't built up a list of useless title defences. He has jumped straight into the deep end, and has the most to lose. You couldn't blame him for wanting to give the tournament a miss and rack up a few easy, meaningless title defences. Instead he is jumping in head first.

Respect to Froch and his promoters. He didn’t look convincing against Taylor, i was afraid he would hide and protect his belt for a while.. He was calling out Kessler five minutes after winning it. The guy is afraid of nobody, and I suspect would have tried to avoid a mandatory against a bum or 'prospect' if he could. He was lucky in a way that his first mandatory just happened to be Taylor, who would have been a very attractive fight anyway. That said, I'm not sure additional respect for Froch is required here. The tourney is ideal for him, with guaranteed big money fights (which he hasn't had so far) against Kessler and Abraham as well as the 'home tie' against the lesser known Dirrell. Win or lose he's now in that comfortable 'I could retire tomorrow and be set up for life' zone. That's why this has happened, I think, it's just in everybody's best interests that it does, boxers, Showtime, and promoters. None of them have better options, or indeed any anywhere near as good as their respective three-fight packages, quite apart from the additional rewards of doing well. The semis and especially final will be massive.

It's very rare that promoters are willing to compromise and put this kind of thing together, in this day and age. In a world where JCC Jr. is a PPV attraction, it's crazy to see that all of these guys will be willing to man up and fight the best in the world. It makes me a fan of all of them. Yeah. High props for the promotors, broadcasters and fighters. Special thanks to Kalle Sauerland who came up with the idea. I love the round robin format. It'll make for interesting speculation as to how the next round will go. It's pretty good also that extra points are awarded for KO's. This will add incentives so as to not coast away the last couple rounds. This tournament is one of the best things that has happened in boxing for years. One can only hope that it's a smash at the boxoffice as well thereby paving the way for similar tourneys in other divisions. As for the line-up well some is missing for what ever reason, but it's still excellent.

It's very rare that promoters are willing to compromise and put this kind of thing together, in this day and age. In a world where JCC Jr. is a PPV attraction, it's crazy to see that all of these guys will be willing to man up and fight the best in the world. It makes me a fan of all of them. yea i agree. its a win win for showtime and the fans

sounds bad ass i say king arthur wins. just my opinion. I think the opposite. I think he loses to everyone in this tourney. He has been struggling with clubfighters as of late. These guys are coming to win.

Froch isn't going to fair well in the tournament... :nonono: I'm not so sure. it is not always about talent, but will to win. Froch has a ton of will and will test the heart of anyone he fights.

It's very rare that promoters are willing to compromise and put this kind of thing together, in this day and age. In a world where JCC Jr. is a PPV attraction, it's crazy to see that all of these guys will be willing to man up and fight the best in the world. It makes me a fan of all of them. I feel the same way, it's too good to be true but i'm very very hopeful. SMW division imo is one of the best divisions in boxing.

sounds bad ass i say king arthur wins. just my opinion. It's gonna do him good to move up in weight.

Pretty sure you sign a contract for the complete tourney, with equal payoffs along the way and a bonus for the winner. ...and penalties for the pussies and whiners...this should be all held on their contracts...