Super Six World Boxing Classic
Super Six World Boxing Classic was a boxing tournament that was held from October 2009 to December 2011 and in which six professional boxers were supposed to fight for the world championship belt in the super middleweight class according to the versions of the WBA and WBC . During the competition, which is valued at an estimated 50 million dollars (approx. 34 million euros), some fighters had to be replaced and the tournament mode adjusted. The winner of the tournament was the American Andre Ward , who prevailed in the final against the British Carl Froch .
background
The idea for the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament came from sports promoter Kalle Sauerland , son of boxing promoter Wilfried Sauerland , in May 2009. In his opinion, due to the various boxing associations , too few “big fights” took place attracted a wide audience, so he was looking for a way to determine “the best boxer in a weight class across all associations”. Sauerland discussed the idea with Ken Hershman, the general director of the US television channel Showtime , and worked with him on a concept for a tournament with a group stage, semifinals and final.
Subsequently, Sauerland and Hershman took care of the selection of the boxers. Sauerland used his contacts to the European boxing promoters, while Hershman won the US representatives of the tournament. The drawn up contract was revised by Sauerland over a period of two months until it was finally signed by all those responsible: “It often borders on a miracle when two promoters agree on a unilateral contract. Here, however, five promoters and six boxers had to be brought under one roof. "
The boxers originally taking part in the tournament completed three press conferences in July 2009, in Madison Square Garden in the United States, in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and in front of the Brandenburg Gate , at which they presented the tournament.
Attendees
At the beginning of the tournament
The participants at the start of the tournament were three Europeans and three US Americans. Before the start of the tournament, the WBA super middleweight world champion Mikkel Kessler (30) from Denmark was seen as the favorite for the overall victory . The British WBC world champion Carl Froch (32) started the competition as the second reigning title holder in this weight class. The Armenian-born German boxer Arthur Abraham (29) had resigned his IBF middleweight title after ten successful title defenses before the tournament in order to advance to the super middleweight division. The American Jermain Taylor (31), who won all four major world middleweight titles against Bernard Hopkins in 2005 , has boxed with variable success in the super middleweight division since 2008.
The Americans Andre Ward (25) and Andre Dirrell (26), who are considered to be young hopes, entered the tournament as the most inexperienced boxers in the professional field, but were able to show success in amateur boxing: Ward was Olympic champion in the light heavyweight division in Athens in 2004 , Dirrell won bronze at the same tournament middleweight. Both were preferred to other, more deserving boxers in view of the tournament's marketing potential in the US market. Boxers who, despite their successes in this weight class, did not participate at the time of the tournament are the Romanian IBF world champion Lucian Bute , the Hungarian WBO world champion Károly Balzsay and his successor Robert Stieglitz at the time of the tournament presentation .
Froch, Abraham, Ward and Dirrell were able to win all of their professional fights before the start of the tournament, Kessler lost once in 42 fights. Taylor has already suffered three losses.
Changes in the course of the tournament
After his severe knockout defeat in the first round of the tournament, Jermain Taylor decided in January 2010 to retire from the tournament for health reasons. As a replacement candidate for the winner Taylor was one of the planned 5 February 2010 elimination contest between the American Allan Green and from Cameroon originating Sakio Bika go into the tournament. Bika canceled the fight without any further explanation, which is why the free space was given directly to Green.
Mikkel Kessler announced during a press conference on August 25, 2010 that he had to cancel his participation in the tournament due to an eye injury. On the advice of his doctors, he should take a break of at least nine months, so that it was not possible for him to contest further fights in the tournament series in the given time frame. The 41-year-old Jamaican Glen Johnson was chosen as a replacement .
After the negotiations regarding the date and venue of the planned third-round meeting between Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell, friends outside the ring, dragged on and there was even a threat of punishment for a possible breach of contract, both parties should not come to an agreement, Dirrell's management announced on March 8th. October 2010 his withdrawal from the tournament due to "neurological problems"; no substitute was invited for him.
Mode and rules
The tournament began with a group stage, in which each participant had to fight three boxers. The fights were scheduled for twelve rounds of three minutes each. The winner of a match received two points, the loser zero points. If the victory was achieved by knockout , a bonus point was credited to the winner. In the event of a tie, one point was awarded.
After the end of the group stage, the four fighters with the most points contested the semi-finals. As a tie-break in the event of a tie, (1) the result of the direct encounter between the boxers, (2) the number of knockouts and (3) the sum of the points scoring from the group stage. The resulting winners then competed against each other in the final.
Struggles
Group stage
The tournament began on October 17, 2009 with the fights Arthur Abraham against Jermain Taylor in Berlin and Carl Froch against Andre Dirrell in Nottingham. Abraham was able to win the first fight by a knockout shortly before the end of the twelfth round. Carl Froch won the second fight of the evening with 115: 112, 115: 112 and 113: 114 on points, so that he gave Dirrell the first defeat of his professional career. The last duel of the opening round on November 21, 2009 Andre Ward won against the favored Mikkel Kessler surprisingly clearly on points. During the fight, Mikkel Kessler suffered two lacerations in the eye area. The injuries were likely caused by head butts, which the referee considered unintentional. In the eleventh round the referee broke off the fight because of this injury and declared Andre Ward, who was clearly leading on points, the winner.
The fight between Andre Dirrell and Arthur Abraham, originally scheduled for January 23, 2010, was first postponed to March 6, as no suitable location was available for the January match. Due to a back injury by Dirrell, this was postponed again to March 27th. Dirrell won this encounter by disqualifying Abraham in the eleventh round, because he - clearly lagging behind on points (92:97, 91:98, 92:97) - hit Dirrell, who had previously slipped and kneeling on the ring floor, with one blow, which was done by the referee was counted as a deliberate foul. In addition, Abraham was counted in this fight for the first time in his career as a professional boxer when he received a hit while backing away from a counterattack by Dirrell, lost his balance and fell to the ground.
The starting place vacated due to the withdrawal of Jermain Taylor after the first round of the group phase was filled in February 2010 with the substitute candidate Allan Green, who entered the second round of the group phase with zero points. Mikkel Kessler won his first tournament points in his second fight on April 24, 2010 when he dethroned WBC world champion Carl Froch by winning points. This was also the first defeat of the Briton in his professional career. The date for the fight Greens against Andre Ward, initially set on the same day, had to be postponed to June 19, 2010 after Ward injured his right knee, which had already been operated on. Ward finally defeated Allen Green clearly on points - all three judges scored each of the twelve rounds in his favor - and was the only participant undefeated after the second round of the group stage.
The third round was unclear for a long time after Mikkel Kessler dropped out of the tournament due to an eye injury and Allan Green therefore had no opponent. As a replacement for Kessler, Glen Johnson was ultimately signed. The fight between Green and Johnson was fought for November 6, 2010 and won by Johnson by knockout in the eighth round. He reached the semi-finals with only one preliminary round fight as third place, while Allan Green was eliminated without points.
The fight originally planned for September 25, 2010 between Andre Dirrell and Andre Ward was first postponed to November 27 without any further explanation. This fight should also be fought for the world championship title in the WBC version, which was vacant after Mikkel Kessler's withdrawal, the winner would have had two titles, as Andre Ward was already listed as world champion in the WBA version. After Dirrell's exit from the tournament Ward got an automatic win credited so that he moved into the semifinals early with six points after the group stage. Ward played as a replacement for the canceled fight against Dirrell at the same place and date, November 27, 2010 in Oakland , a title defense of the WBA World Championship against Sakio Bika , which he won on points.
After Carl Froch did not want to compete against Arthur Abraham in Germany and even threatened to withdraw from the tournament, Arthur Abraham also refused to box in Froch's home country England, after lengthy negotiations Monaco was initially chosen as the neutral venue. The fight scheduled for October 2, 2010 had to be postponed to November 27, 2010 due to a back injury from Carl Froch; the Finnish capital Helsinki became the new venue ; there was also a fight for the vacant WBC title, which Mikkel Kessler had to surrender after his injury-related exit from the tournament. Froch finally won against the very passive boxing Abraham clearly on points and thus secured second place in the final classification of the preliminary round in addition to the renewed WBC World Championship, while Abraham fell back to fourth place.
| rank | Attendees | Struggles | Victories (knockout / TCO) | Defeats (K. o./TKO) | draw | Points | World title super middleweight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
 Andre Ward (d)
|
2 | 3 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 | 6th | WBA |
| 2. |
 Carl Froch
|
3 | 2 (0) | 1 (0) | 0 | 4th | WBC |
| 3. |
 Glen Johnson (b)
|
1 | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 0 | 3 | - |
| 4th |
 Arthur Abraham
|
3 | 1 (1) | 2 (0) | 0 | 3 | - |
| 5. |
Allan Green (a)
|
2 | 0 (0) | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | - |
|
Andre Dirrell (c)
|
2 | 1 (0) | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 | - | |
 Mikkel Kessler (b)
|
2 | 1 (0) | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 | - | |
|
Jermain Taylor (a)
|
1 | 0 (0) | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | - | |
| ( italic: retired early) | |||||||
Semifinals
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The first semi-final was contested by Andre Ward, who came first after the group stage, and Arthur Abraham, who had finished the preliminary round in fourth place. The fight took place on May 14, 2011 in the city of Carson in the US state of California , which caused criticism because the American was supposed to be favored because the California-born Ward was able to contest all tournament fights including the semi-finals in his home country , while the other participants had to compete abroad at least once, usually several times. The favorite after the convincing preliminary round Ward then finally won clearly on points against Abraham and also defended the WBA World Championship; two of the three judges credited him with ten of the twelve completed rounds, while the third judge even awarded him every round. Ward remained unbeaten in his professional career and moved into the final of the tournament, while Abraham lost the third of his last four fights and was eliminated from the tournament. In the second semifinals, Carl Froch met Glen Johnson on June 4, 2011 in Atlantic City and, as expected, won clearly on points, although a judge tied the fight. Froch thus defended the WBC World Championship and qualified for the final.
final
The final date which was originally scheduled for 29 October 2011 had to be postponed to December 17th 2011, since Andre Ward in September 2011 while preparing for the fight in sparring a laceration drew upon which sewed was and initially heal had to. The fight was a union fight of the titles of the world associations WBA and WBC , which were last worn jointly by Joe Calzaghe in 2008 . In addition, the title of the renowned boxing magazine " Ring Magazine " was awarded. Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on the US east coast was chosen as the venue . The fight went over the full distance of twelve rounds and was finally decided in a unanimous vote of the three judges in favor of Wards. Ward mainly used his advantages in mobility and stroke speed compared to the clearly clumsy and sedate-looking Froch, who tried to compensate for this by his more pronounced stroke hardness compared to Ward, which, however, rarely succeeded. Nevertheless, two of the judges only just scored the fight (115: 113) with one round lead for Ward, while the third judge saw only two rounds at Froch (118: 110).
Overview
| year | Day | opponent | place | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group stage 1 | |||||
| 2009 | October 17th |
Arthur Abraham |
Jermain Taylor |
O 2 World in Berlin , Germany
|
Victory of Abraham by knockout in round 12 |
|
Carl Froch WBC world champion |
Andre Dirrell |
Trent FM Arena in Nottingham , UK
|
Points win (shared decision) by Froch Scoring: 115: 112, 115: 112, 113: 114 |
||
| 21st November |
Mikkel Kessler WBA world champion |
Andre Ward |
Oracle Arena in Oakland , United States
|
Points victory (technical decision) by Ward after breaking off in round 11 Scoring: 93:97, 92:98, 92:98 |
|
| Group stage 2 | |||||
| 2010 | 27th of March |
Andre Dirrell |
Arthur Abraham |
Joe Louis Arena in Detroit , United States
|
Dirrell wins by disqualification in round 11 |
| April 24th |
Mikkel Kessler |
Carl Froch WBC world champion |
MCH exhibition center in Herning , Denmark
|
Points victory (unanimous decision) by Kessler points evaluation: 117: 111, 116: 112, 115: 113 |
|
| June 19th |
Andre Ward WBA world champion |
Allan Green |
Oracle Arena in Oakland, United States
|
Point victory (unanimous decision) by Ward Scoring: 120: 108, 120: 108, 120: 108 |
|
| Group stage 3 | |||||
| 2010 | November 6th |
Allan Green |
Glen Johnson |
MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas , United States
|
Johnson knocked out victory in round 8 |
| November 27th |
Carl Froch |
Arthur Abraham |
Hartwall Areena in Helsinki , Finland
|
Point victory (unanimous decision) by Froch and thus WBC world champion
Scoring: 119: 109, 120: 108, 120: 108 |
|
| Semifinals | |||||
| 2011 | May 14th |
Andre Ward WBA world champion |
Arthur Abraham |
Home Depot Center in Carson , United States |
Points win (unanimous decision) by Ward Scoring: 120-108, 118-110, 118-111 |
| June 4th |
Carl Froch WBC world champion |
Glen Johnson |
Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City , United States |
Victory on points (majority decision) by Froch Scoring: 116: 112, 117: 111, 114: 114 |
|
| final | |||||
| 2011 | December 17th |
Andre Ward WBA world champion |
Carl Froch WBC world champion |
Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, United States |
Points victory (unanimous decision) by Ward Scoring: 118: 110, 115: 113, 115: 113 |
See also
Web links
- Videos of the event at Showtime Sports
credentials
- ↑ a b Spox.com: Interview with promoter Kalle Sauerland - "The Champions League of Boxing"
- ↑ Kasten.de: Super-Six visits Denmark
- ↑ Kasten.de: Super-Six in front of the Brandenburg Gate
- ↑ a b Spiegel-Online: “Super six tournament” with Abraham is perfect
- ↑ Super Six World Boxing Classic - Fighters (English)
- ↑ Jermain Taylor Withdraws From Super Six Tournament (English)
- ↑ Boxen.de: Kessler withdraws from Super Six: tournament in its current form in danger August 25, 2010
- ^ Showtime serves legal notice over Ward-Dirrell
- ↑ Spox.com: Abraham meets Dirrell, according to the media
- ↑ Sports.sho.com: October 17, 2009
- ↑ Spiegel-Online: Knockout victory makes Abraham the table leader
- ↑ Spox.com: Super-Six: Successful start for Carl Froch
- ↑ sueddeutsche.de: Super-Six-Tournament of Boxers - Abraham-fight moved to March 6th, December 6th 2009
- ↑ sport1.de: Abraham fight postponed again February 19, 2010
- ↑ fightnews.com: Super Six Update ( Memento of the original from October 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ boxingscene.com: Andre Ward Solidifies Status With Super Six Championship
