Super Six World Boxing Classic
Super Six World Boxing Classic was a boxing tournament, which was held from October 2009 to December 2011 and the six professional boxer at the championship belt in the weight class super middleweight should fight according to the versions of the WBA and the WBC. However, while the estimated $ 50 million (approx. EUR 34 million ) doped competition had some fighters exchanged and adapted to the tournament. Winner of the tournament was the American Andre Ward, who won the final against the British Carl Froch.
- 4.1 Group Stage
- 4.2 Semi-finals
- 4.3 final
- 4.4 Overview
Background
The idea for the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament had the sports promoter Kalle Sauerland, son of boxing promoter Wilfried Sauerland, in May 2009. Due to the various boxing organizations would find his opinion to a few " big fights " took place, the attract a wide audience, so that he was looking for a way " linked across the best boxers in a weight class " to be determined. Sauerland discussed the idea with Ken Hershman, the Director General of the U.S. TV channel Showtime, and worked with this concept for a tournament with a group stage, semifinals and finals from.
Below is the Sauerland and Hershman took care of the selection of the boxers. Here Sauerland used his contacts with the European boxing promoters, while Hershman won the U.S. representative of the tournament. The agreement was worked out further revised by Sauerland over a period of two months, until he was finally signed by all those responsible: " Often it borders on a miracle if some two promoter on a unilateral contract. Here now had but be reconciled five promoters and six boxers. "
Originally participating in the tournament Boxer completed in July 2009, three press conferences, at Madison Square Garden in the United States, the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and at the Brandenburg Gate, where they presented the tournament.
Participant
At the start of the tournament
The participants at the start of the tournament were three Europeans and three Americans. Favorites for the overall victory of the WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (30 ) was mainly viewed from Denmark before the tournament starts. The British WBC champion Carl Froch (32 ) launched the second reigning champions in this weight class in the competition. A native of Armenia German boxer Arthur Abraham (29 ) had resigned before the tournament his IBF middleweight title after ten successful title defenses, to advance to the Super Middleweight. The American Jermain Taylor ( 31), who had won against Bernard Hopkins in 2005, all four major world titles in the middleweight division, since 2008 boxed with changing success at super middleweight.
The applicable as promising young American Andre Ward ( 25) and Andre Dirrell (26 ) were supplied as in the professional sector inexperienced boxer in the tournament, but were able to point to successes in Amateur Boxing: Ward was the 2004 Athens Olympic champion light heavyweight, Dirrell won the same tournament Bronze at middleweight. Both were facing the marketing potential of the tournament on the U.S. market other, verdienteren, preferred boxers. Boxer who do not participate, despite their successes in this weight class at the time of the tournament, are the Romanian IBF champ Lucian Bute, at the time of the tournament notion incumbent Hungarian WBO champion Károly Balzsay or its successor Robert Stieglitz.
Froch, Abraham, Ward and Dirrell could decide before the start of the tournament all their pro fights for himself, Kessler lost once in 42 fights. Taylor had already recorded three defeats.
Changes in the tournament
After his heavy defeat in the first knockout round of the tournament Jermain Taylor decided in January 2010 to withdraw from the tournament due to health reasons. As a replacement candidate for the winner of a Taylor, scheduled for February 5, 2010 at the elimination contest between the American Allan Green and a native of Cameroon Sakio Bika should go into the tournament. Bika said the fight, however, without further explanation, which is why the free space has been awarded directly to Green.
Mikkel Kessler announced during a press conference on 25 August 2010 that he has to cancel his participation in the tournament due to an eye injury. On the advice of his doctors he should pause at least nine months, so it was not possible for him to deny more fights in the tournament series in the given time frame. As a substitute, the 41 -year-old Jamaican Glen Johnson was determined.
After the negotiations with respect to the date and venue of the planned third round match between Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell, outside the ring friends, dragged and there was even a penalty of eventual breach of contract, both parties should not agree, the Dirrells management announced on 8 October 2010 announced its withdrawal from the tournament due to " neurological problems "; no substitutes for it was invited.
Mode and rules
The tournament began with a group phase in which each participant should waging battles against three boxers. The fights were scheduled for twelve rounds with three minutes each. The winner of a battle won two, the loser no points. If the victory was achieved by knockout, the winner of a bonus point is awarded. A draw each one point was awarded.
After completion of the group stage denied the four fighters with the most points the semifinals. As a tie-break points in equality (1) was the result of the direct encounter between the boxers, (2) the number of knockouts and ( 3) used the sum of the points classification in the group stage. The resulting previous winners were then in the final against each other.
Group stage
The tournament began on 17 October 2009 with Arthur Abraham fights against Jermain Taylor in Berlin and Carl Froch against Andre Dirrell in Nottingham. Abraham was the first fight by a whacked win just before the end of the twelfth round. The second fight of the evening was Carl Froch with 115:112, 115:112 and 113:114 for points to decide for himself, 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 favorite Mikkel Kessler surprisingly clear on points. In the fight Mikkel Kessler suffered two lacerations to the eye area. The injuries were probably caused by headbutts, but they were counted by the referee as unintentionally. In the eleventh round the referee stopped due to this injury from the fight and told the clearly leading on points Andre Ward the winner.
The originally scheduled for January 23, 2010 scheduled fight between Andre Dirrell and Arthur Abraham was first postponed to March 6, since no suitable place was available to host in January. Because of a back injury Dirrell this one more time has been postponed to March 27. Dirrell won this match by disqualification of Abraham in the eleventh round, as this - on points clearly laid back ( 92:97, 91:98, 92:97 ) - the previously slipped and kneeling on the ring floor Dirrell met with a shock what the referee was seen as a deliberate foul. In addition, Abraham was the first time for the count in this fight in his career as a professional boxer when he cashed in reserve receding before a counterattack Dirrells a hit, lost his balance and fell to the ground.
The vacant due to the withdrawal of Jermain Taylor after the first round of the group stage launch site was filled in February 2010 with the replacement candidate Allan Green, who got in seamlessly with zero points in the second round of the group stage. Mikkel Kessler won on April 24, 2010 in his second fight, the first tournament points when he dethroned WBC champion Carl Froch by a points victory. This was also the first defeat of the British in his pro career. The first on the same day scheduled date for the fight against Andre Ward greens had to be postponed to June 19, 2010, after Ward had violated the already once operated right knee. Ward defeated Green Allen finally clear on points - all three judges scored each of the twelve rounds in his favor - and was the only participant after the second round of the group stage unbeaten.
The end of the third round was a long time unclear after Mikkel Kessler got out due to an eye injury from the tournament and Allan Green, therefore, would have no opponent. As a replacement for Kessler ultimately Glen Johnson has been committed. The battle between Green and Johnson was discharged for November 6, 2010 and Johnson by KO won in the eighth round. He arrived with only one preliminary round fight as ultimately the semi-finals in third place, while Allan Green was eliminated no points.
The originally scheduled for September 25, 2010 proposed fight between Andre Dirrell and Andre Ward was first postponed without explanation on 27 November. In this battle should be fought for the vacant after the withdrawal of Mikkel Kessler world title after WBC version, the winner would have taken two titles, as Andre Ward has been run as world champion after WBA version. After getting out of the tournament Dirrells Ward was credited with an automatic victory, so he moved ahead with six points after the group stage in the semi-finals .. Ward played as a replacement for the canceled fight against Dirrell in the same place and date, 27 November 2010 in Oakland, a title defense of the WBA championship against Sakio Bika, which he won on points.
After Carl Froch did not want to compete in Germany against Arthur Abraham and even threatened with a withdrawal from the tournament, Arthur Abraham, in turn, also refused to fight in Frochs native England, was first elected after lengthy negotiations Monaco as a neutral venue. However, the scheduled for October 2, 2010 battle had due to a back injury from Carl Froch on November 27, 2010 to be laid; new venue has been the Finnish capital Helsinki; was also fought for the vacant WBC title again, the Mikkel Kessler after his injury-related withdrawal from the tournament had to leave. Froch finally won clearly against the very passive boxing Abraham on points and thus secured next to the new WBC World Cup second place in the final standings of the group stage, while Abraham fell back to fourth place.
Semifinal
The first semi-final contested by the first-placed after the group stage Andre Ward and Arthur Abraham, who had completed the first round in fourth place. The fight took place on May 14, 2011 in the city, in the U.S. state of California City Carson instead, which made for criticism because of an alleged preferential treatment of the US-American, as a native of California Ward thus could deny all tournament fights, including the semi-finals in his home, while the other participants at least once, usually had to compete at several times abroad. The favored by the convincing first round Ward eventually won clearly on points against Abraham and also defended the WBA world championship; two of the three judges wrote him ten of the twelve laps completed well, while the third judge did zusprach him every round. Ward thus 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 semifinal Carl Froch met on June 4, 2011 in Atlantic City on Glen Johnson and won convincingly on points, as expected, although a judge evaluated the fight a draw. Froch thus defended the WBC World Championship and qualified for the final.
Final
The final appointment, which had been originally scheduled for October 29, 2011 had to be postponed to December 17, 2011, as Andre Ward during the preparation for the fight in sparring drew upon a laceration in September 2011, which was stitched and heal first had. The battle was a fight club narrowing the title of world organizations WBA and WBC, which were last funded jointly by Joe Calzaghe in 2008. In addition, the title of the renowned Boxzeitschrift " Ring Magazine " has been assigned. As the venue for the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City has been selected to the U.S. east coast. The fight went the full distance of twelve rounds and was finally decided in a unanimous vote of the three judges in favor of Ward. Ward used primarily its advantages in flexibility and shock speed relative to the much more cumbersome and slower acting Froch, who sought to compensate for the pronounced impact hardness by its compared to Ward, but this rarely succeeded. Nevertheless evaluate two of the judges scored the fight barely ( 115:113 ) with one lap for Ward, while the third judge saw only two rounds at Froch ( 118:110 ).
Survey
Score: 119:109, 120:108, 120:108