The final round of the Super Six Boxing Classic promises to feature plenty of tension and drama. Heading into the final stage of three bouts, only one boxer has clinched a spot in the tournament’s semi-finals: American Andre Ward. All of the remaining five boxers are still mathematically alive for the three remaining spots in the field. And Ward will certainly have reason to fight hard when he meets his good friend Andre Dirrell – Ward’s WBA super middleweight title will be on the line along with pride from facing his fellow U.S. Olympian.
The intention of the Super Six Boxing Classic was to highlight the super middleweight division – one of the deepest and most entertaining in the sport – and ensure that quality fights take place through the duration of the event. While the tournament is missing some big names – most notably top-rated super middleweight and current IBF king Lucian Bute – it can’t be accused of failing to deliver some top fights between high-quality competitors. This only promises to heat up as the tournament reaches its final stage.
Here is a quick capsule breakdown of each of the three remaining matches in the Super Six World Boxing Classic group stage:
Carl Froch vs. Arthur Abraham: Although he might have been lightly regarded heading into the tournament, England’s Froch (26-1, 20 KOs) has put himself just inside the cut line to make the semi-finals with his performance in the first two rounds of the tournament. He earned a gritty split decision victory over Dirrell in his first bout and then lost an action-packed fight against Mikkel Kessler in the fight of the tournament so far in his last contest.
He’ll likely need a win against Abraham (31-1, 25 KOs) to have a shot to make it out of the group stage. Abraham has a little bit more cushion, having earned a bonus point in the standings with his knockout of Jermain Taylor last October that was so vicious that it knocked Taylor out of the tournament and possibly into retirement. However, Abraham was a mess in his last fight, being knocked down for the first time in his career in his last fight against Dirrell before being disqualified for hitting Dirrell in the 11th round after his opponent slipped.
Andre Dirrell vs. Andre Ward: As previously mentioned, Ward (22-0, 13 KOs) has already advanced to the next round of the tournament. He put on a master class in boxing last weekend against tournament newcomer Allan Green, winning every round on all three judges’ scorecards en route to the victory.
However, both he and Dirrell noted that it will be difficult to face each other – although they will be professional and definitely go after the win. Dirrell looked sharp in rebounding from his loss to Froch by taking it to Abraham from the opening bell. There do not seem to be any lingering issues from the cheap shot he took from Abraham that ended their fight.
Mikkel Kessler vs. Allan Green: Coming into his fight with Ward as a replacement for the injured Taylor, Green (29-2, 20 KOs) needed to do something spectacular in order to establish himself in the tournament and make up for lost ground. Unfortunately for the Oklahoma native, he turned in a dud of a performance against Ward, looking flat, tight and completely lost. He later said that coming in two pounds under weight was a sign that he was overworked in training and not right physically.
He’ll get a second shot at a world title when he takes on current WBC champion Kessler (43-2, 32 KOs). The German showed why this tournament format is so potentially intriguing in his first two fights, going from the low of his losing his WBA title to Ward in the first round to winning the WBC title from Froch in his second match.
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