With the Red Sox out of the playoffs and the Yankees' locomotive steaming toward another potential World Series title, Red Sox fans have a void that needs to be filled this October. Preseason basketball sure isn't gonna do it. Football's great, but what do I do on a Saturday night? Bruins are helping, but I need more to fill the playoff void. Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic should be just the thing to knock me out of my playoff slump. Think of it as a boxing dessert after your Bruins entree.
The Classic pits six of the top super middleweights in the world against each other in a round-robin tournament. In the first stage of the tourney, each fighter will face off against each other, with the victor being awarded two points for a win and an extra point for a KO. (In the case of a draw, each fighter will be awarded one point.) After each fighter has squared off, the top four points leaders move to the semifinals. In the semis, the No. 1 seed will face the No. 4 seed, and No. 2 will take on the No. 3. Then, the winners tangle in the first-ever Super Six championship.
I will remind you that these are six of the best super middleweights in the world. That means that boxing fans will get to see nine excellent matchups between top-tier fighters — and that's before the semifinals of the tournament even begin. Seeing six top-tier fighters face off against each other shouldn't be a big deal — it actually should happen all the time — but it doesn't. That is why this is such a great event for both the fans and the sport in general. Let's take a look at the fighters involved:
Oct. 17
Carl Froch
United Kingdom (25-0, 20 KO)
WBC super middleweight champion
Age: 32
Height: 6-foot-1
Reach: 74 1/2 inches
Biggest wins: Jermain Taylor, TKO 12; Jean Pascal, UD 12
Fact: Has fought twice outside of the United Kingdom.
Knock: Oldest in the tourney, looked beaten against Taylor until the late rounds.
Best assets: Heavy hands, a heart that won't quit, and a solid chin.
vs.
Andre Dirrell
USA (18-0,13 KO)
Bronze medalist in the 2004 Athens Olympics
Age: 27
Height: 6-foot-2
Reach: 75 inches
Biggest wins: Anthony Hanshaw, TKO 5; Mike Paschall, TKO 4; Victor Oganov, TKO 6
Fact: Has never fought professionally outside of the USA.
Knock: Has faced the weakest competition of anyone in the tourney.
Best assets: Extremely fast hands, is the only southpaw in the tourney, has yet to taste defeat (Ward fights southpaw at times, but is primarily an orthodox fighter).
Oct. 17
Arthur Abraham
Germany (30-0, 24 KO)
Former IBF middleweight champion
Age: 29
Height: 5-foot-10
Reach: 72 inches
Biggest wins: Edison Miranda, UD 12; Edison Miranda, TKO 4
Fact: Suffered a broken jaw in the first Miranda fight, and still took the unanimous decision.
Knock: Notoriously slow starter, smallest in the competition.
Best assets: Underrated defense, a world-class chin, very heavy hands.
vs.
Jermain Taylor
USA (28-3,17 KO)
Former undisputed middleweight champion
Age: 31
Height: 5-foot-11
Reach: 74 1/2 inches
Biggest wins: Bernard Hopkins, SD, Bernard Hopkins, UD
Losses: Kelly Pavlik, TKO'd 7; Kelly Pavlik, UD; Carl Froch, TKO'd 12
Knock: Has had serious problems fading in the late rounds, which led to his KO to Froch.
Best assets: Has had some of the best competition of anyone in the tourney, starts fast, has nothing left to lose at this point.
Nov. 21
Mikkel Kessler
Denmark (42-1, 32 KO)
WBA super middleweight champion of the world
Age: 30
Height: 6-foot-1
Reach: 73 inches
Biggest wins: Anthony Mundine, UD 12; Markus Beyer, KO 3; Librado Andrade, UD 12
Only loss: Joe Calzaghe, UD 12
Knock: Has not been extremely busy since his loss to Calzaghe.
Best assets: Has fought the best opposition out of the six, has KO power, one of the best 1-2 combos in the business.
vs.
Andre Ward
USA (20-0, 13 KO)
Gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics
Age: 25
Height: 6-foot-1
Reach: 73 inches
Biggest wins: Jerson Revelo, TKO 8; Edison Miranda, UD12
Knockdown: Has hit the canvas once, the fourth round of his seventh fight against Darnell Boone.
Knock: Was rocked a few times early in his career, some believe he has a suspect chin.
Best assets: Has blazing speed, his first fight will be in his hometown of Oakland, Calif. He doesn't know how to lose yet.
I know that in New England, nothing replaces Red Sox playoff baseball, but I think a few KOs could be just what the doctor ordered. Take two fights this Saturday, and comment in the morning.
Here are my quick picks:
Dirrell with the upset over Froch. I wasn't that impressed with Froch against Jermain Taylor, and I thought he was outboxed throughout the fight until Taylor hit the wall. I think Dirrell uses movement and keeps Froch at bay.
Dirrell UD
I'm taking Abraham over Taylor. This is a great fight because both guys are former middleweight champs who stepped up to super middleweight. I keep hearing how Taylor's camp has fixed his problem with fading in fights, but this problem has been going on for too long. I see it haunting him again. Abraham is a tough guy and will keep pressure on Taylor throughout the whole fight. The other problem: Abraham gets stronger as the fight goes on.
Abraham UD
To get more information on the tournament, go to the Showtime Web site.
