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Detroit will host its biggest boxing card in nearly a decade when German sensation Arthur Abraham fights Flint’s Andre Dirrell as part of Showtime’s super middleweight tournament March 27.
The fight will be at either Cobo Arena or Joe Louis Arena, co-promoter Carlos Llinas said Thursday.
A formal announcement is expected Friday on what will be the most important fight in Detroit since Mike Tyson-Andrew Golota in 2000.
Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) is a former International Boxing Federation middleweight champion who moved up eight pounds to participate in Showtime’s tournament, which is a long-term endeavor to unify most of the 168-pound title.
Dirrell (18-1, 13 KOs) was a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist.
“I’m very thankful to be a part of it,” Llinas said. “Hopefully, it will be a boost to Michigan’s economy because Abraham has a great following and those people will be flying to Detroit, renting cars, eating, and going to the fight. Events like these are exactly what Detroit needs to boost the economy.”
The Super Six tournament originally included Abraham, Dirrell, Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler, Andre Ward and Jermain Taylor.
On the first night of the tournament, last Oct. 17, Abraham’s 12th-round knockout of Taylor, in Berlin, also knocked the former middleweight champion out of the tournament and into career limbo. Allan Green since has been named to replace Taylor in the tournament.
That same night, as part of the same televised program, Dirrell lost a disputed decision in Froch’s hometown of Nottingham, England.
The tournament suffered another mishap when Abraham-Dirrell, originally scheduled for March 6 in California, was postponed last week because of a back injury Dirrell suffered in training.
The tournament format calls for each of the six fighters to compete in three bouts to begin the tournament, with three points awarded for a knockout win, two for a decision win, one for a draw and zero for a loss.
After each contestant has fought his three scheduled bouts, the four fighters with the highest point totals will advance into the single-elimination semifinals, and those two winners will compete in the unification bout.
Each fighter -- except the replacement entrant, Green -- has competed once. In addition to the victories by Abraham and Froch, Ward defeated Kessler by decision in November.
The second group of bouts includes Abraham-Dirrell in Detroit, and an April 24 doubleheader of Green-Ward in Oakland, Calif., and Kessler-Froch in Denmark.
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The third group of bouts, later this year, will match Dirrell-Ward, Abraham-Froch and Kessler-Green.
Froch is the World Boxing Council super middleweight champion. Ward holds the World Boxing Association title.
The International Boxing Federation champion, Lucian Bute, is not part of the tournament.
The fight will be at either Cobo Arena or Joe Louis Arena, co-promoter Carlos Llinas said Thursday.
A formal announcement is expected Friday on what will be the most important fight in Detroit since Mike Tyson-Andrew Golota in 2000.
Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) is a former International Boxing Federation middleweight champion who moved up eight pounds to participate in Showtime’s tournament, which is a long-term endeavor to unify most of the 168-pound title.
Dirrell (18-1, 13 KOs) was a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist.
“I’m very thankful to be a part of it,” Llinas said. “Hopefully, it will be a boost to Michigan’s economy because Abraham has a great following and those people will be flying to Detroit, renting cars, eating, and going to the fight. Events like these are exactly what Detroit needs to boost the economy.”
The Super Six tournament originally included Abraham, Dirrell, Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler, Andre Ward and Jermain Taylor.
On the first night of the tournament, last Oct. 17, Abraham’s 12th-round knockout of Taylor, in Berlin, also knocked the former middleweight champion out of the tournament and into career limbo. Allan Green since has been named to replace Taylor in the tournament.
That same night, as part of the same televised program, Dirrell lost a disputed decision in Froch’s hometown of Nottingham, England.
The tournament suffered another mishap when Abraham-Dirrell, originally scheduled for March 6 in California, was postponed last week because of a back injury Dirrell suffered in training.
The tournament format calls for each of the six fighters to compete in three bouts to begin the tournament, with three points awarded for a knockout win, two for a decision win, one for a draw and zero for a loss.
After each contestant has fought his three scheduled bouts, the four fighters with the highest point totals will advance into the single-elimination semifinals, and those two winners will compete in the unification bout.
Each fighter -- except the replacement entrant, Green -- has competed once. In addition to the victories by Abraham and Froch, Ward defeated Kessler by decision in November.
The second group of bouts includes Abraham-Dirrell in Detroit, and an April 24 doubleheader of Green-Ward in Oakland, Calif., and Kessler-Froch in Denmark.
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Follow David Mayo at twitter.com/David_Mayo
The third group of bouts, later this year, will match Dirrell-Ward, Abraham-Froch and Kessler-Green.
Froch is the World Boxing Council super middleweight champion. Ward holds the World Boxing Association title.
The International Boxing Federation champion, Lucian Bute, is not part of the tournament.
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