Andre Dirrell withdraws from Super Six, casting tournament future in doubt
The latest party to cripple Showtime’s Super Six Boxing Classic is one Andre Dirrell.
Showtime Sports general manager Ken Hershman announced today that Dirrell has withdrawn from the tournament with an undisclosed injury. Hershman added that Dirrell’s to-be opponent Andre Ward, the WBA
super middleweight champion, will still fight November 27 against a yet unnamed replacement.
Dirrell withdraws a month and a half after WBC champion Mikkel Kessler dropped out with a serious eye injury that impeded competition. Kessler was then named the WBC champion emeritus, meaning he is guaranteed
a title shot with the current champion following the tournament.
Showtime recently announced the addition of Glen Johnson to the group of participants, taking Kessler’s place in a bout against Allan Green. The addition of Johnson, 41, was viewed askance by some.
It is well known that Andre Ward and Dirrell are close friends, which will undoubtedly inspire more doubt regarding Dirrell’s withdrawal. When a reporter speculated that Dirrell may have ducked to avoid
Ward and asked Ken Hershman for an opinion, Hershman simply replied that determining the legitimacy of the injury was “not my job.”
Asked what will happen in the wake of the newest twist, Hershman said: “We have a few options on the table,” and implied another replacement may enter. Should another replacement enlist, it would mark
the third to enter the six-man tournament, suggesting some seriously maladroit planning and inadequacies with the format of the tournament.
Following the first stage of competition, Allan Green replaced Jermain Taylor after he was knocked out cold by Arthur Abraham.
Along with replacements, the Super Six tournament has suffered other setbacks that threaten all but collapse. Promoters have failed to secure venues for fights, and fights have been postponed due to injuries.
As well, decisions of the sanctioning bodies concerning withdraws have come under scrutiny, with fighters complaining about that and the partiality of the judges.
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