As can be seen below in an excerpt from The Ring, Dirrells possibilities for advancing after his fight with Ward is very limited should he not win.
I’m undecided as to whether I believe Ward would consider letting Dirrell win or if he’s too proud and too keen on keeping his “0”.
What you say?
ANDRE DIRRELL
Current score: 2 points
Upcoming opponent: Andre Ward
What does he have to do to advance?: Those four magic words again: Win and you’re in. And if Dirrell manages a draw against Ward, he would win a tiebreaker at three points apiece over Abraham but not over Froch, so he’s really only screwed on tiebreakers if he gets a draw and Abraham-Froch is also a draw. And even if all of that happens, he’d still advance if Green decisions Kessler.
Of course, a loss to Ward – which is the most likely outcome, unfortunately for Dirrell fans – is bad news for “The Matrix.” If Dirrell loses, Froch wins and either Kessler wins or Green wins by knockout, that’s all she wrote for Dirrell. If Dirrell loses and Froch also loses, then the American needs to pray for a three-way tie because he can’t win a two-way tie with Froch.
Chances of advancing: Well, there’s our not-so-scientifically calculated 25 percent chance that he beats Ward. Beyond that, the scenarios are not encouraging. We’ll call it 36 percent that Dirrell moves on – which is a shame, because he might just be the second best fighter in the tournament at this moment and he had a tough draw that involved him missing out on the Green-Jermain Taylor soft spot.
your downplaying how much these guys care about this sport and how desperatly they want to win
no one in their right mind will rig for a first loss
this means everything to these guys, they train hard as fukk to win, not to lose
the possibility of either of them letting the other win is a 0% chance
I agree that it's highly unlikely, but think about it. Ward has the power to let Dirrell stay in the Super Six, which could have tremendous significance for Dirrell and it might even be a spot they both feel is rightfully Dirrells. If then Ward feels, that he is so good, that he will get the belts back in the final, why not then let Dirrell win. He’s not losing much, but is helping a dear friend immensely?
Make no mistake, I believe Ward will do anything to stay undefeated, but it's food for thought.
Ward would bear hug and mule Dirrell all night before he allows that to happen.
They will both bring their A games.....
Thats funny b/c they may not be friends after this fight!! Just imagine in Mayweather/Gatti(RIP) were friends no way they would be friends after that fight, then again the fight could have been alot different.