Abraham-Dirrell Headed to Detroit on March 27, Ricardo Mayorga MMA Debut Set for May 15

Two news stories caught my eye yesterday that I didn't have time to comment on until now.

The first is that a site has been set for the recently rescheduled Arthur Abraham-Andre Dirrell Super Six fight, and it's one that makes a lot of sense. According to the Grand Rapids Press, that bout will take place in Detroit on March 27, either at Cobo Arena or Joe Louis Arena.

Dirrell is from Flint, a tad over 60 miles from Detroit (and a place the BoxingWatchers know fairly well, as our mom grew up there), so it goes without saying that he should draw plenty of local fans. If the fight was going to take place in the U.S. - and at this point in his career, even King Arthur prefers it that way - you may as well hold it where the American boxer will sell some tickets. So well done, Showtime, promoters, or whoever exactly deserves the credit.

And now for something that makes a lot less sense: Ricardo Mayorga's move to MMA is apparently for real. Mayorga is set to face Din Thomas, a former UFC fighter and a competitor on Season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter, on May 15 in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

I don't know a ton about Mr. Thomas, but I do know that he has wins over Jens Pulver, Matt Serra and Clay Guida in his MMA career. That alone is strong evidence that he doesn't suck.

My gut tells me that Mayorga will get annihilated. However, one of the worries I always have about boxers moving to MMA is that their footwork and spacing will be incorrect because of the threat of kicks, knees and takedown attempts. Mayorga's boxing technique was never that great to begin with, so perhaps it won't be too difficult for him to throw it out the window completely.

We know he's tough, so maybe El Matador can take a few shots to land one. Maybe there will be some weird hybrid rules to give him more of a chance or Thomas will be, ahem, persuaded to keep the fight standing. Who knows?

I just know I'll be rooting against Mayorga, because I'd prefer to just keep the two sports separate, thanks very much.

Posted by The Franchise

Dirrell-Abraham Bout Moved Back 3 Weeks, But Still Not Free of HBO Competition

One of my recurring themes over the past few months has been repeatedly wishing that HBO and Showtime would stop counterprogramming each other with cards on the same nights, because it's not good for the health of the sport in the U.S.

I've been especially irritated about HBO insisting on putting fights on the same weekends as the second round robin fights of Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic. From a competitive standpoint, I understand why they're doing it, but I don't like it.

A few days ago, word came down that Andre Dirrell had a minor back injury, necessitating the move of his bout with Arthur Abraham from March 6 to March 27. Though that's never the kind of news you like to hear, the silver lining was that at least it got away from HBO's card on the 6th, a doubleheader featuring Devon Alexander-Juan Urango and Cory Spinks-Cornelius Bundrage.

I was happy for about five minutes. Then I remembered that HBO also has a broadcast all but set for the 27th, a card that looks even better than the previous one with Marcos Maidana facing Victor Cayo and Ali Funeka getting a well-deserved rematch with Joan Guzman. Crap.

I'm not blaming this one on HBO, as its plans for the 27th have been known for a little while (though as far as I can tell, there's no site finalized for that card - time to get cracking on that one, no?). And some of the congestion is due to HBO's ambitious boxing schedule for the next few months, something I wholeheartedly applaud.

Still, looking at the whole picture strictly from a fan's perspective, it stinks that none of these fights will get the spotlight they probably deserve, and that viewers will have to make choices multiple times this spring. I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that there's a little basketball tournament going on in late March too, which obviously will take some eyeballs away.

But it is what it is, I suppose. Let's move on to...

SHOE SHINING

As reported by various sources and confirmed by the Showtime Sports site, boxing is still on for March 6. Vic Darchinyan, who qualifies as must-see in my book, becomes the headliner as he steps in with Rodrigo Guerrero, and Lenny Zappavigna faces Fernando Angulo in a fight that was always on the card but wasn't originally going to be televised. Though the broadcast has been rebranded as a ShoBox show, props go to Showtime for keeping it at 9 pm Eastern instead of shoving it back to a later time...

Though it's been common knowledge for some time, it was only yesterday that Allan Green was confirmed as the next Super Six opponent for Andre Ward, making it "officially official," as I like to say. Green certainly isn't lacking for confidence, saying to the AP of his tournament foes, "I know I can beat any of them." That won't be ab easy task, but Green's power certainly makes him a livelier underdog than the man he replaced, Jermain Taylor...

In terms of "Stories I Wish Would Go Away," James Toney's continuing flirtation with MMA ranks right up near the top of the list. But I can't fault a guy for wanting to make a few extra bucks, especially these days, and The Ring's William Dettloff recently offered a well-written examination of why Lights Out shouldn't be blamed for that either.

Posted by The Franchise

Top 10 Pound-For-Pound Boxers: BoxingWatchers.com End of 2009 List

Yes, we're a few days into 2010 now, but sometimes it takes some time to have all the BoxingWatchers give some input on... well, anything really.

Anyhow, we only do a pound-for-pound list at the end of each calendar year, because things don't generally change too much in any given month to be worth voting again. After 12 months though? That's a different story.

For starters, we lost several men from our end of list. Joe Calzaghe retired, and Antonio Margarito lost his only 2009 fight and got suspended for cheating.

A notable addition to the top 10 is Floyd Mayweather, who was still "retired" at this time last year. And the rest of the deck has been shuffled somewhat as well.

Based on nothing but our own opinions, here's our list:

BoxingWatchers.com Top 10 Pound-for-Pound Boxers - End of 2009
(End of 2008 rank in parentheses)

1. Manny Pacquiao (Last year: 1)
2. Floyd Mayweather (NR)
3. Bernard Hopkins (3)
4. Shane Mosley (NR)
5. Juan Manuel Marquez (4)
6. Israel Vazquez (5)
7. Chad Dawson (NR)
8. Paul Williams (6)
9. Arthur Abraham (NR)
10. Timothy Bradley (NR)

Also receiving votes: Nonito Donaire

Dropped out: Joe Calzaghe (retired, last year: 2), Antonio Margarito (7), Kelly Pavlik (8), Ivan Calderon (9), Rafael Marquez (10)

Posted by The Franchise

BoxingWatchers.com Boxer Power Rankings: End of 2009

Since everyone of consequence is done fighting for the year, I'm not even waiting for the end of the month to do the final set of power rankings for 2009. As soon as I can get input from the other BoxingWatchers, I'll also post our year-end pound-for-pound list as well.

Instead of my usual wanna-be pithy comments for each boxer, I'm simply going to include how they did in their 2009 appearances in a boxing ring. At the end you'll also find the final rankings from 2008 as a frame of reference.

More guidance on the philosophy behind these power rankings can be found here. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy.

1. Arthur Abraham - 26.13
2009 fights: March 14: W UD12 LaJuan Simon, June 27: W TKO10 Mahir Oral, October 17: W KO12 Jermain Taylor

2. Juan Manuel Lopez - 20.73
2009 fights: April 25: W TKO10 Gerry Penalosa, June 27 W TKO9 Olivier Lontchi, October 10: W UD12 Rogers Mtagwa

3. Kelly Pavlik - 20.13
2009 fights: February 21: W TKO9 Marco Antonio Rubio, December 19: W TKO5 Miguel Espino

4. Manny Pacquiao - 18.99
2009 fights: May 2: W KO2 Ricky Hatton, November 14: W TKO12 Miguel Cotto

5. Celestino Caballero - 17.49
2009 fights: April 30: W SD12 Jeffrey Mathebula, August 29: W TKO8 Francisco Leal

6. Wladimir Klitschko - 17.07
2009 fight: June 20: W TKO9 Ruslan Chagaev

7. Lucian Bute - 16.76
2009 fights: March 13: W TKO4 Fulgencio Zuniga, November 28: W KO4 Librado Andrade

8. Nonito Donaire - 16.60
2009 fights: April 19: W TKO4 Raul Martinez, August 15: W UD12 Rafael Concepcion

9. Felix Sturn - 15.25
2009 fights: April 25: W TKO7 Koji Sato, July 11: W UD12 Khoren Gevor

10. Tomasz Adamek - 14.61
2009 fights: February 27: W TKO8 Johnathon Banks, July 11: W TKO4 Bobby Gunn, October 24: W TKO5 Andrew Golota

The next 10: Vitali Klitschko, Robert Guerrero, Andre Ward, Timothy Bradley, Fernando Montiel, Chris John, Carl Froch, Chad Dawson, Vic Darchinyan, Paul Williams

Power Rankings - End of 2008

1. Arthur Abraham - 24.96
2. Wladimir Klitschko - 23.67
3. David Haye - 21.07
4. Celestino Caballero - 20.72
5. Manny Pacquiao - 20.62
6. Vic Darchinyan - 17.00
7. Andre Berto - 16.34
8. Paul Williams - 15.89
9. Kelly Pavlik - 15.36
10. Antonio Margarito - 15.30

Posted by The Franchise

20/20 Hindsight: Re-Handicapping the Super Six Field

The boxing world wasn't exactly turned upside-down when Andre Ward upset Mikkel Kessler this past Saturday, but a big portion of it certainly sat up and took notice. Kessler was considered by many as the tournament favorite, and while Ward was highly regarded, fans just didn't know if he was ready for the level of competition he'd face in the Super Six World Boxing Classic.

Now they do. Ward boxed exactly the fight he needed to against a stronger and more experienced opponent, frustrating Kessler with his hand speed and movement. He tied up often and did a lot of jumping in and out, which didn't make for an aesthetically pleasing fight all the time - Kessler and his team went a step further by suggesting it was a dirty fight - but his tactics led to a surprisingly easy night.

With the first stage of the tournament's round robin portion complete, Ward's victory announces him as a real contender to win the whole thing. The beauty of the Super Six format is that anyone could still win it, but we learned enough from the first round of fights to have a better guess at who's going to be around at the end.

That makes this a perfect time to evaluate each boxer's chances of taking the silver cup. I won't pretend to be an expert on setting odds, but here's one writer's attempt to size up the field going forward:

Arthur Abraham - 2 to 1

King Arthur was my personal pre-tournament favorite, and he did nothing to change that opinion with his spectacular knockout of Jermain Taylor. The extra point he earned for the KO was important, because even if the wheels come off in his next two round robin bouts, it very well be enough to get him into the semifinals anyway.

I don't expect that to happen, though. No one has been able to figure out Abraham's style yet, and even though Andre Dirrell and Carl Froch will give him two very different looks, neither fighter was impressive enough when they fought each other to make one think they'll be able to pull it off.

Abraham may very well run the table. I'd be surprised if he doesn't make the final and stunned if he isn't at least in the semis.

Andre Ward - 4 to 1

Ward has the physical tools and charisma to be a star, and now he is in great position to take the next steps down that path. Regardless of what you thought of the uglier parts of his fight with Kessler, he proved a lot and has to be taken seriously.

Ward's path to the elimination round should only get easier from here. He should be a huge favorite against Jermain Taylor (or a substitute) in his next match, and even though Dirrell's speed will be a test, it's one that S.O.G. should be able to pass.

My one qualm about Andre's chances to win the whole thing is that he often left openings for counters on Saturday. That would play right into Abraham's hands, but Ward has plenty of time to work on closing that hole in his game before he'd run into King Arthur.

Mikkel Kessler - 8 to 1

Assuming he's able to heal from the cuts he suffered against Ward and get his mind right, the Viking Warrior should be far from finished. Kessler's lateral movement is an Achilles heel, but his next fight is against Froch, who should be much easier to find.

A victory over The Cobra should fix any remaining confidence issues he'd have, leaving him with a date against Taylor, who looks like the weak link in the field. It's not hard to see Kessler with two wins and the No. 2 or 3 seed once the semifinals begin.

Once he's there, his biggest problem would be facing Ward again, or perhaps Dirrell. Don't count Kessler out yet.

Carl Froch - 15 to 1

Yes, Froch has two points under his belt, but they didn't come easy. I'm still not convinced he deserved the decision against Dirrell, and he just doesn't appear to have enough weapons in his arsenal to emerge as the overall winner.

Even if Froch advances out of the round robin, it's fair to wonder what he'll have left in the tank. His fights against Kessler and Abraham stand great chances of turning into slugfests, with the kind of action that takes something out of both combatants.

The Cobra has a way of finding a way to come through when the chips are down, so he can't be completely dismissed. He just looks too limited to bet the house on him ending up as the last man standing.

Andre Dirrell - 40 to 1

I truly believed Dirrell's athletic ability would make him the wild card in the tournament. That may yet prove to be the case, but man, he really needed those two points against Froch.

The Matrix looks to have the toughest road to the semis thanks to upcoming fights against Abraham and Ward. If he beats one of them, it will be the kind of upset that will shake up the whole Super Six.

Dirrell said during the Kessler-Ward broadcast that he still feels confident. He'll need that belief in himself and a lot more than that if he's going to make a run.

Jermain Taylor - 500 to 1

Surprisingly, Taylor recently revealed on Twitter that he's planning on staying in the World Boxing Classic. Many observers assumed he'd look to drop out after that vicious knockout at the hands of Abraham last month.

This analysis is easy: Taylor has now lost four of his last five, with three coming by KO. If he wins four bouts in a row against top competition, which is probably what it would take for him to win the tournament, it will go down as one of the most amazing turnarounds in the history of any sport.

Never say never in boxing, but that's about as close to never as you can get.

Posted by The Franchise

BoxingWatchers.com Boxer Power Rankings November 2009

All hail King Arthur! Arthur Abraham remains atop our power rankings (which, as you probably know by now, is NOT a pound-for-pound list!) after his sudden and violent KO of Jermain Taylor in the first stage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.

There's been some shuffling behind him, but with a busy schedule over the next five or six weeks, things could really look different by the end of the year. We will do a P4P list for the end of 2009 too, and though I expect Floyd Mayweather will easily take the top spot there, the second position could be affected by the upcoming Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight.

But I'm getting ahead of myself a bit. Here are this month's power rankings...

1. Arthur Abraham - 26.13 - It's tough to do much better than Abraham has done from November 2006 to the present: nine fights, nine wins, with seven by way of knockout. He may have knocked Taylor clean out of the tournament, but he'll get a very different look from Andre Dirrell in a few months.

2. Wladimir Klitschko - 21.07 - Wlad has fared almost as well as the man above him, going 7-0 with 6 KOs over the past three years. One wonders if he'll eventually relent and fight big brother Vitali in what would be a very intriguing match-up.

3. Juan Manuel Lopez - 19.23 - Juanma got a bit more than he bargained for from Rogers Mtagwa and ended up holding on for dear life in the final round. Don't expect such high drama when he takes on Steven Luevano next, though it could still be a very entertaining fight.

4. Manny Pacquiao - 17.49 - After some doubts about how he'd fare against naturally bigger boxers in his last few fights, it almost seems as if some fans are giving Pac Man too much credit now and dismissing Miguel Cotto's chances of beating him. We'll find out in less than two weeks if that school of thought proves to be correct.

5. Kelly Pavlik - 16.97 - With a troublesome staph infection that won't go away, The Ghost's current period of inactivity continues to roll on. If he doesn't fight by the end of January - which seems likely now - he'll lose enough points to disappear from this list.

6. Nonito Donaire - 16.60 - The Filipino Flash is probably going to return to action in February of 2010. No definitive word on an opponent as of yet.

7. Felix Sturm - 15.75 - Sturm has to be a little jealous seeing the best European boxers one division north compete in the Super Six. Someone needs to organize a tournament for middleweights.

8. Tomasz Adamek - 14.61 - Could this be the Klitschko slayer? It's probably a pipe dream, but Adamek's team has eyes on pushing him as a heavyweight contender now that he's proven (kind of) that he can hang with the big boys.

9. Carl Froch - 14.60 - It wasn't pretty, and opinions of who won the fight varied wildly, but The Cobra managed to slip past Andre Dirrell last month. His next bout with Mikkel Kessler should have European boxing fans whipped into a frenzy.

10. Lucian Bute - 14.36 - What will Bute be hoping for when he steps in against Librado Andrade for the second time on November 28? Less late round drama and a KO victory this time.

The next 10: Miguel Cotto, Celestino Caballero, Fernando Montiel, Vitali Klitschko, Chris John, Juan Manuel Marquez, Robert Guerrero, Paul Williams, Chad Dawson, Mikkel Kessler

Posted by The Franchise

20/20 Hindsight: Europe 2, USA 0 Behind Abraham, Froch on First Night of Super Six

Credit the oddsmakers for looking good after an eventful first night of action in Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic.

All three Americans were toward the bottom of the list in terms of betting odds for winning the whole thing, with Jermain Taylor the longest shot of all at 10-1. That looked prophetic as Bad Intentions was victimized by a nasty KO at the hands of Arthur Abraham, delighting his home fans in Germany.

Taylor didn't look too bad in the opening rounds, using a high activity level and a steady diet of jabs to keep Abraham mostly at bay. But of course, King Arthur just settles in behind that high guard to study his opponents, and he starts throwing when he deems it's the right time.

I had Abraham comfortably ahead on the cards headed into the final round, with Taylor needing a KO to win. Instead, he was knocked silly by a gigantic right hand in a scene reminiscent but even worse than the shot that Carl Froch hit him with earlier this year.

Not surprisingly, ESPN's Dan Rafael is reporting that Jermain suffered a severe concussion which includes some short-term memory loss. If I was a betting man - and I am - I'd put money on Allan Green sliding into Taylor's spot for the remainder of the tourney. I think he'd be the weakest link in the field, but I already felt that way about Taylor. much as I pull for him because he seems like a decent guy.

As for Abraham, his last round heroics should play well with fans everywhere, helping him toward his stated goal of becoming a star in America. I think he could catch on (despite his shaky English), as he seems to have that "it" factor. Certainly with three points in the bank and a very winnable fight against Andre Dirrell in Stage 2, he looks like he's in the Super Six for the long haul.

The nightcap between Carl Froch and Andre Dirrell couldn't have been more different. As expected, it was Dirrell flashing the hand speed and Froch trying to walk him down to land power shots.

And it was ugly. Boy, was it ugly. Clinching, hitting behind the head, hitting on the break, holding and hitting, something that looked like a judo throw... you name it, this fight had it. Dirrell was deducted a point for clinching, which he was doing like a madman, but how you could pick just him to single out is beyond me.

Despite that, there was some drama with Froch coming on in the middle rounds and Dirrell fighting a superb 11th round followed by a spirited 12th. All three of us here at BoxingWatchers.com had Dirrell winning by comfortable margins, so much so that they are now calling us out in Hungary. Google Translate claims the one comment reads "I mean, the 118-109 and 117-110 they are not meant seriously."

Uh, actually Hungary, they are meant seriously, and if you browse through the rest of our round by round posts here, I think you'll find we usually do a damn good job of scoring, free of any agendas. I called my brother Uatu after the scores were announced and unleashed a profanity-laced tirade because I was so befuddled by the judges scoring the fight for Froch.

I've calmed down since and been surprised to learn that some people thought Froch won. Other reputable sources (plus this one) side with us. But it is what it is.

Froch deserves credit for a willingness to relentlessly come forward. He cut the ring off well and did trap Dirrell on the ropes at times, I just didn't think he did much clean, effective punching in those spots - mostly because Dirrell showed great head movement - or in many others, to be honest. The Cobra also demonsrated an iron chin, but we already knew he had that.

Dirrell shouldn't hang his head, and I don't think he will. He needs to shake it off and get his mind on Abraham, because that is going to be a tough one.

Discounting some dissatisfaction over the Froch-Dirrell score and some concern for the well-being of Taylor, that was a fun night of boxing. Fans in Europe were certainly digging it, but to really capture the imagination of American sports fans, the Americans are going to have to win some fights. Paging Andre Ward...

Posted by The Franchise

Abraham v. Taylor: Round by Round

The broadcast has just started, live from Nottingham, England. Al Bernstein, Gus Johnson and Antonio Tarver are taking care of the commentary. This is the first time I've seen the Super Six Championship cup. It looks pretty cool.

Steve Farhood is live from Berlin. Michael Buffer is handling the ring entrances. Jermain Taylor is coming to the ring first. Taylor is entering to Michael Jackson's "Bad." The crowd sounds surprisingly behind him, clapping to the beat and cheering him on.

Arthur Abraham comes to the ring now to music by The Scorpions. The Scorpions are actually performing above the entranceway. The crowd is really into the band. Abraham descends from behind the screen in an elaborate robe with fur.

Michael Buffer is working on the intros now. Abraham is 30-0 with 24 KOs. Taylor is 28-3-1 with 17 KOs.

And here we go!

Round 1

They meet in the center. Taylor's style looks slightly different than when he fought Froch. He's not rocking back and forth as much. Abraham lands a good jab. Taylor tries to back him down with his strong jab. Taylor tries a left hook that gets partially blocked. Abraham is starting slowly as expected. He backs Taylor off with a wide right hand. The crowd starts an Abraham chant. Taylor lands a right to the body. Taylor ducks a right hook. Abraham lands a jab. Taylor gets out of the corner. Taylor lands two hooks to the body.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor

Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Franchise: 10-9 Taylor

Round 2

Taylor gets the jab going again. Abraham's hooks are very wide and are getting blocked easily by Taylor. Taylor gets some more jabs between the gloves of Abraham. Taylor lands some hooks and one was way low. Abraham gets some time to recover and Taylor gets a warning. Abraham is using his own jab more now. Taylor keeps his going and mixes in an uppercut. Taylor lands a good left hook. This has been a good round for Taylor so far. Abraham gets in a left hook and Taylor backs off. Taylor gets against the ropes and Abraham goes to work. Taylor complains that the punches were in the back of the head.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor

Uatu: 10-9 Abraham

Franchise: 10-9 Abraham

Round 3

Taylor starts his jab again. Nothing from Abraham yet. Taylor keeps the jab going. Abraham unleashes a combo of hooks to the body. Taylor is wasting a lot of energy throwing his jab into Abraham's gloves. Abraham goes inside again and throws his combo of hooks. Abraham lands a great right hook. Abraham is starting to come alive. Taylor starts jawing with Abraham about punches to the back of the head at the end of the round.

Spartan117: 10-9 Abraham

Uatu: 10-9 Abraham

Franchise: 10-9 Abraham

Round 4

Taylor comes out swinging hard and backs up Abraham immediately. Now he gets back to his jab. Taylor lands a shot to the body that the ref called low. It didn't look low to me. Abraham works the body with a hook. Taylor's corner told him to use his right more, and it looks like he listened. Taylor gets backed up with some Abraham jabs. Abraham goes to the body once more. Taylor throws an uppercut, but Abraham blocks it. Abraham throws a four-punch combo to the body again. Very close round toward the end.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor

Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Franchise: 10-9 Taylor

Round 5

Taylor throws some more jabs and one right to the body. There is some swelling starting over the right eye of Abraham. Abraham is starting to throw more punches now but almost all jabs. Taylor lands a good hook to the body. Abraham goes to his trademark combo to the body. Abraham lands a good right hand upstairs. Taylor dodges another combo from Abraham. They trade blows on the inside now, swinging wildly. Abraham lands a great straight right. Abraham's best round yet.

Spartan117: 10-9 Abraham

Uatu: 10-9 Abraham

Franchise: 10-9 Abraham

Round 6

Abraham is starting to go to work now. His punches look way wider than I've ever seen them. Taylor gets a left hand around Abraham's glove. Taylor keeps his jab going. Abraham gets a good right hand to the body. Taylor goes to the body again that Abraham calls low. The ref takes a point away. It looked like it was right on the beltline. Abraham gets in a good right hand. They trade in the middle of the ring but nothing landed for either fighter.

Spartan117: 10-8 Abraham

Uatu: 10-8 Abraham

Franchise: 10-8 Abraham

Round 7

Taylor lands a combo to the head and body. Abraham answers back with a hook upstairs and one good shot to the body. Taylor keeps throwing his jab. Taylor gets rocked with a big right hand. Taylor isn't throwing much other than his jab. Abraham lands three shorts to the body and one more with a right to the head. Abraham tries for a knockout punch but misses by a lot. Abraham lands a right hand and Taylor shakes his head. The crowd is on its feet now.

Spartan117: 10-9 Abraham

Uatu: 10-9 Abraham

Franchise: 10-9 Abraham

Round 8

Taylor has already thrown about 10 jabs in the first 30 seconds. Abraham drops his gloves below his waist now. Taylor throws a right hand but misses. Taylor misses two jabs as Abraham backs away. Not much coming from Abraham in the first two minutes. Taylor lands another jab. Abraham misses with a right hand. Taylor tries to sneak in another right hand. Abraham lands a flurry while Taylor is against the ropes. Abraham backs off for the last 10 seconds of the round.

Spartan117: 10-9 Taylor

Uatu: 10-9 Taylor

Franchise: 10-9 Abraham

Round 9

Taylor continues to throw the jab. Not much from either fighter yet in Round 9. Abraham gets through a crushing right hand, and Taylor is on wobbly legs. He's holding on to survive. He's trying to regain his composure in there. I'm surprised he survived. Abraham backs off now. Taylor lands a right uppercut on the inside. Taylor has his legs under him again. Abraham does almost nothing for the last 20 seconds of the round.

Spartan117: 10-9 Abraham

Uatu: 10-9 Abraham

Franchise: 10-9 Abraham

Round 10

Taylor keeps his jab going. Abraham goes back in defensive mode. Taylor's not throwing enough right hands to win these rounds. He's throwing the jab almost exclusively. Abraham throws some more wide hooks. Taylor gets backed into the ropes and eats some hooks from Abraham. Abraham is pouring it on now and Taylor is backing off. Good round for Abraham.

Spartan117: 10-9 Abraham

Uatu: 10-9 Abraham

Franchise: 10-9 Abraham

Round 11

Taylor lands a right to the body after a jab. Taylor starts throwing some more right hands. Taylor gets out of the corner and Abraham misses some wide hooks. Taylor goes back to the jab. Abraham lands a five-punch combo to the body while Taylor is in the corner. Abraham throws a flurry and lands at will. Taylor is in trouble in there. He's not doing enough to win any of these rounds, and Abraham should be well on his way to a decision victory.

Spartan117: 10-9 Abraham

Uatu: 10-9 Abraham

Franchise: 10-9 Abraham

Round 12

Taylor keeps his jab going and throws one to the body. The ref tells him to keep his punches up again. Nothing from Abraham yet. There isn't a sense of urgency from Taylor like there should be if he wants to win. Abraham lands a right hook. Abraham lands a right hand that backs him up into the corner, and they trade wild shots. Abraham lands a left hook and then another. Taylor throws a right hand but misses. Abraham lands an enormous right hand and Taylor is knocked out hard. The fight is all over. They are checking to see if Taylor is OK in there.

The winner by TKO at 2:54 in the 12th round... "King" Arthur Abraham.

Abraham says that "it was a great fight and a great KO, and Taylor is a good fighter, but I am better." He says he wasn't looking for the knockout, his main goal was only to win. He's asked if Taylor hits hard and he laughed and says no. He says his next plan is to go to America and "take America."

Taylor sounds really discouraged in his interview. He says he trained hard and of course he wanted a victory. He says he just got caught with a punch he didn't see.

Posted by spartan117

Live Froch-Dirrell Round By Round Updates Plus Abraham-Taylor Round By Round Tonight

It's time! Time for the Super Six World Boxing Classic to get underway, that is.

Tonight's first wave of fights will see Arthur Abraham take on Jermain Taylor, while Carl Froch defends his super middleweight title against Andre Dirrell in England. Showtime will televise both fights in the U.S., and it appears that Abraham-Taylor will air on a delay and Froch-Dirrell will be live.

That being the case, we'll be here for any boxing fans unfortunate enough to not be able to see the bouts on TV. We'll have separate posts for both fights out on our home page, and we'll even act like the Abraham-Taylor fight is happening live. Just keep yourself away from spoilers elsewhere on the internets and you'll be fine!

Join us here around 8 pm Eastern time tonight as the World Boxing Classic begins.

Posted by The Franchise

BoxingWatchers Round Table: Super Six Picks

The BoxingWatchers each have their own opinions on the sport, but we don't get a chance to come together and express them very often. On the eve of the Super Six World Boxing Classic, we figured now was as good a time as any.

It goes without saying that we're excited for the super middleweight tournament to begin. Everything from the format to the participants suggests that boxing fans all around the world are in for a treat.

What's going to happen over the next year and a half? Here's our take...

Who is most likely to win?

Uatu: This is a difficult question. All of these fighters have question marks. The consensus pick seems to be Mikkel Kessler because of his size, his strength, and his skills. He also only has one loss, and that was to Joe Calzaghe in his prime. But he doesn't fight often and not here in the US. Still, he is the most likely.

Spartan117: I like Kessler to win it all. He has more experience in the ring than most of the other fighters in the tournament, and he has faced some tough competition in the past. An argument against him is that most of his opponents throughout his career have been no-namers and he faced them in his own country, but he's the only one in the tournament that faced future Hall of Famer Joe Calzaghe and even made it somewhat competitive.

I think he and Arthur Abraham have the most pure boxing skill in the tournament, but I have more faith in Kessler's style to win it all.

The Franchise: Will Abraham be the same fighter at super middleweight that he was at middleweight? If he is, then I think he's got the best shot at winning. He's tough, accurate, patient and powerful, and I don't think any of the other entrants have styles that will be too much for him to figure out.

I like Andre Ward's chances too, provided he gets past Kessler in his first fight, which should give him confidence that he can win it all. He is just so solid in all facets of the game, I would not be at all surprised to see him in the final.

Who is least likely to win?

Uatu: Since all of the fighters have question marks, this is also hard to choose. Could be Andre Dirrell since he lacks experience or Abraham since he's coming up in weight, but I will go with Jermain Taylor.

Despite his vast experience edge over the others, he has already lost to Carl Froch, and he's always looked a little shaky in the late rounds. So unless he has something new up his sleeve, Taylor will have the hardest road to victory overall.

Spartan117: Dirrell is the underdog in my book. We haven't seen him face the top-tier opposition, unlike every other fighter who's competing. This could make him a bit of a wild card, but I think experience will decide the winner, and Dirrell might be a bit over his head. That being said, I am still looking forward to see what he brings to the tournament.

The Franchise: I'm having the hardest time envisioning Froch as the last man standing. I respect his toughness and power, but considering Taylor was about 15 seconds away from beating him on the cards, I can see all of the others winning decisions against him.

What will happen during the tournament that will surprise a lot of people?

Uatu: Dirrell will both impress and excite the naysayers out there.

Spartan117: I feel the biggest surprise of the tournament will be Taylor. I see Jermain as the only fighter in this whose career is at stake if he doesn't perform well.

We have seen him fade in late rounds in many of his past fights, but it looks like he's been working harder to fix that then ever before. He's seen plenty of elite competition in his career (most notably bringing Bernard Hopkins' title defense streak to an end), which should prepare him for what he's about to face.

I think he understands what this tournament means for him and his career, which means we'll see him at the top of his game.

The Franchise: I'll go in a different direction with this question and say I expect that we'll see at least one of the Super Six drop out, and the substitute will shake things up by winning a match. It will cause some controversy but not enough to take away from the whole thing.

Some people may be surprised when more mainstream media start paying attention to the tournament in its later stages, but if it delivers as I expect, I won't be surprised.

Anything else to say about the Super Six?

Uatu: There is absolutely no way this tournament can fail. None.

Even if every fighter gets hurt in the first round, or if every fight is boring, so what? These are all matchups we want to see, even in the first round. It could slightly fall short of expectations if some of the fighters drop out along the way, but once again, so what? You might as well aim high. At least there is a blueprint in place.

Now, maybe the true champ at 168 won't truly emerge at the end, but once again, so what? I am not watching this to see a true champ crowned as much as I am watching to see a slew of even fights among super talented fighters in their prime. I am not getting those types of fights anywhere else.

Dare I say, this is a very UFC way of putting together fights. There are winners, there are losers, but we get a bunch of even fights and one loss doesn't take you out of the picture forever.

Oh, and for right now, I like Abraham to win it all.

The Franchise: It's been said before in other places, but it bears repeating: I hope other promoters, networks, etc. are paying attention to the fan reaction for this event, because it has been almost entirely positive. I don't expect the Super Six will "save" boxing, but it's a giant step toward eliminating some of the ill will and indifference toward the sport that's been building up over the last 20 years.

Goods fights speak for themselves, and while nothing can ensure exciting matches, this format provides the best conditions for them to occur. I hope and I truly believe that the eventual winner, and perhaps one or two other boxers who impress along the way, will emerge as big stars.

Posted by The Franchise

Predictions: Abraham-Taylor and Froch-Dirrell

The Franchise says...

The Super Six World Boxing Classic is finally here, and it's a damn good time to be a boxing fan. If you're like me, one of the things you always hope for is to see top fighters facing each other, and this tournament ensures that we'll be watching exactly that in the super middleweight division for the next year and a half or so.

The first two fights have some intriguing subplots. Arthur Abraham and Jermain Taylor were both champions at 160 pounds, and while Taylor has two fights under his belt at 168 (going 1-1), Abraham is making his first serious foray into the division.

He's physically the smallest man in the tourney, and that could turn out to be an important fact, because he's a serious threat to win the whole thing if he can translate his style to the higher weight class. Abraham is efficient and accurate, content to wait for the right time to let loose even if that takes a few rounds.

Taylor is the only man in the field for whom the event is something of a final stab at regaining elite status. His days as the undisputed middleweight champion seem far behind him now, and he heads in off of three losses in his last four fights.

If Taylor can use what looks like a significant reach advantage and keep Abraham at bay with his jab, he has a definite chance to make his statement. He's capable of some very smart boxing - it's easy to forget that he did some good things in his first loss to Kelly Pavlik and would have beaten Carl Froch is he could have held on for another 14 seconds - but he has to be able to put it togehter for 12 rounds, and his track record on that score is not good.

I think this fight will be closer than some will suspect based on each man's recent performances, as Taylor uses what he's learned fighting some truly top-notch competition to make it very competitive. Ultimately, I just believe that Abraham will show his true quality over 12 rounds, and with the home fans urging him on, King Arthur will earn a narrow but unanimous decision.

The other fight on the tournament's first night sees WBC super middleweight titleholder Carl Froch put his gold on the line against undefeated but relatively untested American Andre Dirrell. It shapes up as the champ's power and toughness against the challenger's flashy quickness in front of Froch's literal hometown fans in Nottingham, England.

It's really hard to know exactly what we've got in Dirrell, who is two years older than fellow participant Andre Ward but has been in even lighter to this point. It's no mystery that he has a solid amateur background as a former Olympic bronze medalist, has speed in both his hands and his feet and he can switch from his normal southpaw stance to an orthodox look any time and be comfortable either way.

The unknown is how he'll handle taking shots from a puncher like Froch, who proved he can bring the thunder even after going 12 rounds with his dramatic victory over Taylor earlier this year. We should know early on if he has an answer for the movement and hand speed of Dirrell, and if he does, it could be a long, painful night for the American.

This is the rare fight where no outcome would surprise me. There's a lot to like about Froch's experience and power (plus the friendly crowd and, perhaps, judges), but it's possible Dirrell's athleticism will trump those factors.

I'm going to go with my gut over my head for this pick. While acknowledging Froch could catch his foe with a fight-ending shot, I think Saturday will be a coming out party in the form of Dirrell winning by decision, which may be closer on the cards than it appears on television.

Uatu says...

I like Abraham to wear Taylor down late and win by KO.

I will take Froch to wear Dirrell down late and win by decision.

Spartan117 says...

I like Taylor to get the upset victory tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to see how his new training methods will prepare him for a tough opponent like King Arthur. Taylor by decision.

I see Dirrell trying to make a statement with an early round K.O. Dirrell by K.O. in round 3-6

Posted by The Franchise

Arthur Abraham vs. Jermain Taylor: Super Six In-Depth Preview

"King" Arthur Abraham

Birthplace: Yerevan, Armenia
Resides: Berlin, Germany
Height: 5' 10"
Reach: 72"
Current Titles Held: None
Former Titles Held: IBF Middleweight (160 lbs.)
Professional Record: 30-0, 24 KOs
Record in Fights Going 12 Rounds: 8-0
Record at 168 lbs.: 6-0

Notable Wins: TKO4 Edison Miranda II, UD12 Edison Miranda I, KO5 Kingsley Ikeke

Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor

Birthplace: Little Rock, Arkansas
Resides: Little Rock, Arkansas
Height: 5' 11"
Reach: 74 1/2"
Current Titles Held: None
Former Titles Held: WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine Middleweight (160 lbs.)
Professional Record: 28-3-1, 17 KOs
Record in Fights Going 12 Rounds: 7-2-1
Record at 168 lbs.: 1-1

Notable Wins: UD12 Bernard Hopkins II, SD12 Bernard Hopkins I, TKO9 Raul Marquez
Notable Losses: TKO12 Carl Froch, UD12 Kelly Pavlik II, TKO7 Kelly Pavlik I

Analysis:

The first bout in Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic features a battle between the two men in the field who have the most accomplishments to their names, though those honors came one weight class south of super middleweight. Taylor is a former undisputed middleweight champion with two victories over Bernard Hopkins under his belt, while Abraham gave up his IBF 160-pound title to enter the tournament after making 10 successful defenses.

Those similarities aside, the two men couldn't be more different when it comes to styles and career paths. King Arthur may not have truly elite power or speed, but he's been able to turn back all challengers to this point by taking several rounds to study them, then dishing out punishment once he sees openings.

Taylor, meanwhile, limps into the Super Six off of a dramatic TKO loss at the hands of fellow participant Carl Froch that punctuated a 1-3 record in his last four fights. Despite his middleweight reign, he's never quite seemed to get his boxing savvy to the same high level of his physical gifts, and he's had a worrisome tendency to fade after looking good early.

While those factors would seem to dovetail into an easy night for Abraham, there's still intrigue thanks to the fact that he's physically smaller than every man he'll face in the tournament. He'll be giving away height, reach and overall bulk to Taylor, and he'll have to prove he can retain his effectiveness against top contenders at this higher weight.

The format of the Classic ensures the loser won't be out of contention to win it all, but of all the first round matches, this one stands to do the most psychological damage to the boxer who ends up in that position. Abraham would have to quickly show that he can deal with tasting his initial defeat, while Taylor would undoubtedly hear the whispers that he's finished - or even worse, that he shouldn't have been in the field at all.

Abraham's Winning Strategy: Patience is a Virtue

King Arthur's usual M.O. is to cover up on defense until he's comfortable with what he's seeing, unleashing accurate jabs and power shots once he thinks he's got his foe figured out. It's worked for him so far, and there's no reason to think he'll do anything radically different.

But Taylor could test his commitment to the game plan in a couple of ways. Jermain often looks impressive or even scores knockdowns in the first few rounds, earning a lead on the scorecards. The American can also be awkward and doesn't throw a ton of punches, leading to fewer opportunities for counter-punching than Abraham usually sees.

Though Taylor's chin is now rightly suspect, Abraham could still find his power punches don't do as much damage at 168. There are also the pressures of earning the extra points for a KO and fighting in front of thousands of adoring fans in his adopted homeland of Germany that could tempt him into extra aggression.

Abraham can't worry about any of that. He needs to dance with what got him here because it's his best chance to stay undefeated.

Taylor's Winning Strategy: Attack Early, Defend Late

Several media outlets have reported that Taylor has been working with doctors and coaches specifically to solve his problem of running out of gas in the late rounds. He'd better hope they come up with something, because Abraham will make him pay if he reverts to his old form.

That doesn't mean Taylor should sit back for the first few frames. On the contrary, he'd probably be better served by dialing up the aggression even more than usual in the hopes of building a lead - a task that may be tougher in Germany.

Since he's naturally bigger than Abraham, Taylor should be able to muscle him in the early rounds. King Arthur covers up well, so Jermain would be well served to mix things up to the head and body and throw combinations with the knowledge that not all of the punches will get through.

Assuming he feels like he's ahead after the halfway point, Taylor can ease off a bit and use the fact that he's taller and rangier to pick off a foe who will have to push the pace to catch up. And while it may not be pretty, getting on his bike may be called for as well, the better to avoid more final round drama going against him.

Fight Camp 360: Episode 1 Recap

Fight Camp 360 is Showtime's answer to HBO's 24/7 or countdown series. It's a documentary style behind the scenes look into Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic.

It starts with ESPN's Dan Rafael discussing how this tournament came to be. There's some great footage of George Foreman and Mike Tyson commenting on how big a deal the tournament is.

Carl Froch is shown at dinner with his wife and family discussing his fight against Taylor and what the tournament means to him.

Next is Andre Direll. He's been training at Big Bear, California. He's been close with his father and he's dedicating his performance in the tournament to him.

Jermain Taylor gets the floor now. He's met with doctors to see why he's been getting tired late in his fights. They say it's because he's been losing weight too fast. Since then he's completely changed his training style.

Showtime now focuses on the meeting between all of the fighter's promoters. There were long conversations discussing how the tournament would be scheduled and who would face who.

Arthur Abraham gets focus now. He talks about how he got into the sport. He idolized Mike Tyson growing up and he says that this tournament will get him to where he wants to be in boxing.

That's it. It was a great look into the 4 boxers that fight next week.

Posted by spartan117

BoxingWatchers.com: Boxer Power Rankings - October 2009

Slacking. That's what we've been doing on the site this week, and that's what I've been doing for several months with our power rankings (patent pending).

If you're new here, you're going to look at these and go, "Whoa! Hold up! Where's Money Mayweather?"

Yes, Floyd would likely be on top if this was a pound-for-pound list, but it's not. We only do one of those at the end of each year.

The power rankings are a mathematical way to show who's been staying active, winning and winning decisively against opponents with good records over the past three years. Boxers like Mayweather (since he retired for about two years) just haven't fought enough in that time period to qualify. A "perfect" score is 36, but anything over 17 is pretty impressive.

Now that that's out of the way, here's our list for the beginning of October:

1. Arthur Abraham - 24.13 - It's always easy to criticize fighters who build up gaudy records staying close to home, but King Arthur has begun taking on more challenges. He should get tested big time in the Super Six World Boxing Classic, where he'll not only face top fighters but he'll do it while stepping up in weight.

2. Wladimir Klitschko - 21.07 - Speaking of challenges, this guy could use one. It's hard to recall the last time Wlad was in any danger during a fight.

3. Juan Manuel Lopez - 20.59 - Over the last three years, JuanMa is 9-0 with 9 KOs. He'd have a truly monstrous score in these rankings except for the fact that two or three of his victims fall into the "highly questionable" category.

4. Nonito Donaire - 17.60 - The Filipino Flash is likely to stay somewhat in the very large shadow of countryman Manny Pacquiao for the next few years, but he's been doing some impressive work of his own. He should squeeze in one more fight before the end of the year.

5. Manny Pacquiao - 17.49 - Pac-Man has made it to the point where every time he steps in the ring, it's an event. Beating Miguel Cotto won't be an easy task, but you know Freddie Roach will have his man ready to go.

6. Celestino Caballero - 17.08 - Pelenchin wasn't exactly in tough his last time out against Francisco Leal. It's tough to see who may be on the horizon for him to fight that would get fans excited.

7. Kelly Pavlik - 16.97 - After several stops and starts related to a staph infection, The Ghost has finally been given the okay to fight Paul Williams on December 5. At least that's how it looks right now. That should be an entertaining bout.

8. Felix Sturm - 15.75 - The obvious fight between Sturm and Abraham is out of the question now that Abraham has departed middleweight for bigger (literally) and better things. Maybe he'll get a shot at the Pavlik-Williams winner, but I kind of doubt it.

9. Lucian Bute - 14.36 - He's possibly the most glaring omission from the World Boxing Classic, so he'll content himself with a rematch against Librado Andrade in November. You may recall he was lucky to avoid becoming a late KO victim the first time.

10. Carl Froch - 13.60 - Since he's also part of the Super Six, The Cobra could go soaring up this list over the next year. And he could just as easily be all the way out, too.

The next 10: Miguel Cotto, Fernando Montiel, Tomasz Adamek, Vitali Klitschko, Chris John, Juan Manuel Marquez, Mikkel Kessler, Robert Guerrero, Paul Williams, Chad Dawson

Posted by The Franchise

Franchise Thoughts: Looking at the Second Half of the 2009 Boxing Schedule, Plus the Debut of Shoe Shining

After a pretty hot start to the year in boxing, we hit a bit of a lull during the middle of the summer months. Something similar happened in 2008, but at least then we had Olympic boxing to watch (plus bitch about its ridiculous scoring system).

Anyway, we're past that now, and even if it's not necessarily pedal to the metal for the rest of 2009 - September could still use a few more fights, for one - as Jim Ross would say, business is about to pick up.

With that in mind, here are some highlights for the rest of the calendar year. This isn't intended to be an exhaustive list, and some of these fights aren't set in stone yet, but these are dates to keep in mind moving forward.

Aug. 15 - Nonito Donaire vs. Rafael Concepcion, Steven Luevano vs. Bernabe Concepcion (PPV); Roy Jones vs. Jeff Lacy (PPV)

Dueling pay-per-views are always a bummer, simply because they force you to make a choice. It will be interesting to see who has more (or more properly who has less) left in the tank between Roy and Jeff, and that event will probably sell better because of Jones' name. The little guys will be the better value pick though, and fans on the internets seem to be in love with Bernabe, so the Luevano bout should be a good one.

The Jones PPV also has Danny Green, B.J. Flores and Jason Litzau on the card, which is at least an attempt to give viewers some bang for the buck.

Aug. 22 - Juan Diaz vs. Paulie Malignaggi (HBO)

This is a nice matchup between two eminently watchable boxers; Diaz for his entertaining fighting style and Paulie for his personality. Both men are trying to get careers that kind of came off the rails in 2008 back on track, so motivation shouldn't be an issue.

The rest of the card is also loaded, with Robert Guerrero facing Malcolm Klassen and Daniel "Call me Danny" Jacobs taking on Ishe Smith. The Golden Child has been pretty defensive on Twitter about criticism of Smith as an opponent; maybe he'll channel that aggression into something impressive.

Aug. 28 - Tavoris Cloud vs. Clinton Woods, Juan Urango vs. Randall Bailey (ESPN2)

Friday Night Fights goes out with a bang with two title fights. I think the hard-swinging Cloud is on the verge of making a name for himself, but he's been off for a year and Woods is no stiff, or at least he hasn't been in the past. Urango-Bailey doesn't excite me a ton but is better than most FNF main events.

Sep. 12 - Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward (Showtime)

No, they aren't fighting each other, but tuning up and fulfilling sanctioning body obligations before the World Boxing Classic kicks off (probably, see below!). Nervous Showtime execs will be watching with crossed fingers.

Ivan Calderon also headlines a PPV the same night if pro wrestling-style squash matches aren't your thing.

Sep. 19 - Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (PPV)

So many questions to be answered here. Was Floyd really hurt and will he be rusty after his brief retirement? Will JMM handle the step up in weight? What weight is this fight being contested at, for that matter?

Unlike many HBO PPV cards, this one could end up really stacked. Already on is round two between Chris John and Rocky Juarez. Zab Judah will fight someone. And Dan Rafael has mentioned Allan Green-Sakio Bika as a possibility as well. If you're going to fork over your hard-earned money for just one PPV this fall, you could do a lot worse than this.

Oct. 10 - Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa (PPV)

Again, these two guys aren't fighting each other, but will be in action on the latest Latin Fury card. Juanma is starting to become must-see TV for any boxing fan, and wins for him and Gamboa enhance the chances of a showdown in 2010.

Oct. 17 - Carl Froch vs. Andre Dirrell, Arthur Abraham vs. Jermain Taylor (Showtime)

Anticipation will likely be at a fever pitch as the most exciting concept to hit the sport in some time, the Super Six World Boxing Classic, gets underway. Not much more needs to be said, as every fight in the tournament is worth watching.

Nov. 7 - Chad Dawson vs. Glen Johnson II (HBO)

This is one rematch plenty of fans want to see. Johnson pushed Dawson to his limits last time and hasn't shown signs of aging yet. If Bad Chad wins convincingly, it could go a long way toward reversing some of the negative feelings regarding his lack of killer instinct. And could a certain Executioner be waiting for the winner?

This is also the date that David Haye fights Nikolai Valuev. You know, if Haye actually decides to fight.

Nov. 14 - Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto (PPV)

How can you not like this match? It pits two popular fighters with large ethnic followings and styles that usually result in action-packed fights against each other, and it will be an excellent show to attend live.

The rest of the card is still coming together, but Edwin Valero, Humberto Soto and Alfonso Gomez are all likely to be fighting.

Nov. 21 - Mikkel Kessler vs. Andre Ward (Showtime)

Assuming nothing goes awry in September, Kessler and Ward will finish off the first group of round robin matches here. My personal opinion is that S.O.G. drew the toughest initial bout, but the beauty of the World Boxing Classic is that there are no easy fights, so he might as well see how he measures up right away.

Nov. 28 - Lucian Bute vs. Librado Andrade II (HBO)

Bute is the guy who has the most reason for being upset about not being included in the World Boxing Classic, and apparently he wasn't even asked. That should be enough to put a chip on his shoulder, but there's also the fact that he was the beneficiary of some home cooking by the referee in Montreal during his first fight with Andrade.

It's tough to envision a second ending as dramatic as the twelfth round of Bute-Andrade I, but since this could very well be the last significant fight of 2009, maybe these guys will figure out a way to put an exclamation point on another good year for the sweet science.

SHOE SHINING...

Any good blog worth its salt needs a cutesy name for links and short commentary not big enough to warrant full posts, and I finally settled on shoe shining. Because who doesn't love a showy burst of uppercuts, right?

And if some boxing blogger out there has already thought of this one, I apologize. Just remember imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. On with the show...

Except for Floyd's dispute of reports that he owes the IRS a boatload of money, thus forcing him to come out of retirement, we haven't had too many appearances from Mayweather family members in the headlines for a bit. That changed over the past 24 hours when Roger Mayweather was arrested on charges of attacking a female boxer he used to train. I'm sure Floyd Sr. will have a comment or two on this one...

From the "say it ain't so" file comes Dan Rafael's blog entry mentioning how a lawsuit from Kessler's former promoter could derail the Super Six before it even gets going. To which I say, oh, hell no...

Here's a good little piece on how the Agua Caliente Casino Resort put a big effort into promoting the Timothy Bradley-Nate Campbell card. It's just nice to see boxing discussed as something to use as a draw for guests...

Andrew Walker at East Side Boxing discusses what it would take for the U.K. to get a TV channel devoted to boxing. My heart says that would be incredible for the U.S. too, but my heart knows that niche channels in general don't seem to be doing that well, and boxing's audience is too small to make that possible.

Posted by The Franchise

Boxer Clothing and Gear: Super Six World Boxing Classic Edition

Since we're still a few months away from the beginning of the World Boxing Classic, there's plenty of time left to gear up in support of your favorite super middleweight. That's assuming, of course, that your favorite 168-pounder isn't Lucian Bute. But I digress.

As it turns out, there's a pretty nice selection of t-shirts, clothing and other assorted stuff out there bearing the names and likenesses of Showtime's Super Six. And it's as close as your nearest web-enabled computer, as you're about to see.

Just click on each fighter's name to be headed in the right direction. Some of this I've covered in previous posts on boxer clothing and gear, but some is new.

Onward!

Mikkel Kessler - The Viking Warrior does not mess around. Kessler's fan shop has t-shirts, hats, hoodies and posters that can be purchased in four different currencies, including my favorite, the Danish krone.

If you're looking for something a little different, Kessler has serigraphs in four different colors. I has to look up the word serigraph, and I don't have an extra four or five thousand kroner on my dresser, but that's the way it goes.

Arthur Abraham - You'd better believe the former middleweight titleholder has his own onlineshop (his spelling). The site can be viewed in English, but some things get a little funky in the translation from German. Maybe not "all your base are belong to us" bad, but definitely off.

I dig the shield logo he uses on a lot of his clothing - very fitting for a fighter nicknamed King Arthur. Some of the more interesting items for sale are Arthur Abraham flip-flops and a fan club membership card that's actually a mini DVD.

Jermain Taylor - You'll notice that Jermain has no link. Once upon a time, there was a JT Store (no, not Justin Timberlake) attached to his official site. That was probably back when he was beating Bernard Hopkins and generally on top of the world.

Now his site has no link to a store and simply says you can email merchandise@jermaintaylor.com if you are interested. Demand is down, I suppose. You can still Google your way in the back door, but buyer beware.

Carl Froch - I'm not sure what happened to The Cobra's official site, because I believe he used to have one. Fortunately the folks at Red Corner Apparel has the foresight to sign Froch to a shirt deal before he knocked out Taylor. That's good timing.

Froch's shirts are currently on sale. Red Corner has also promised a new site and an expanded line of clothing soon, so that's a company worth watching.

Andre Ward - Ward signed earlier this year with Pound 4 Pound Apparel, and he's been getting an increasing number of items in his line as the year goes on. Right now there are S.O.G. tees, hoodies, warm-up jackets, beanies, and even polo shirts. Sharp!

And S.O.G. stands for Son Of God. If you don't know, now you know.

Who's that leave? Only the tournament's young wild card, Andre Dirrell. As far as I can tell, The Matrix has no official site, no clothing, no nothing. Some company get on the stick and sign this kid, because if he ends up winning the tournament, you'll be glad you were in on the ground floor.

Posted by The Franchise

Report: WBC Will Cooperate With Super Six World Boxing Classic

One of the things I wondered about when Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic was announced earlier this week was whether or not it may help push the sport's sanctioning bodies further into irrelevancy.

By that I mean that many fans will recognize the winner of the tournament as the world champion at 168 pounds. That'll be true no matter what happens to the various alphabet belts in the meantime and despite the fact that several other worthy super middleweights (Lucian Bute for sure, possibly Allan Green and Sakio Bika) are not participating.

With that in mind, it's interesting to see that one sanctioning body with something at stake - the WBC, since Carl Froch is its 168-pound titleholder - is going to play ball with the Classic. In his blog entry yesterday, ESPN's Dan Rafael reported that the WBC has given its support to the tournament, meaning they probably won't shaft Froch (or anyone who might beat him) with any silly mandatory defenses while the event is going on.

Rafael correctly points out that the WBC is likely doing so out of its own financial self interest and that it's not hard to take that stance right now because its top three contenders for Froch's belt (Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell and Jermain Taylor, in that order) are also in the Super Six. It's easy to do the popular thing when it's also what's best for you.

The true test will be after the first round of fights. I don't pretend to know exactly how the WBC board figures out its ratings, but if, say, Dirrell beats Froch and Ward beats Arthur Abraham, that would likely mean that the WBC would want the former Olympic teammates to fight each other next.

Or if all three Americans lose their first fights (which is certainly possible), that could make someone like Karo Murat or Green the No. 1 contender. Would the WBC continue to defer to the tournament or would it try to exert some influence on the proceedings? I suppose it could always hand out the ever popular interim belt, which is currently vacant at 168.

It will also be worth keeping an eye on the IBF, who apparently is making Mikkel Kessler fight a crappy mandatory before he even starts his tournament run, and the power behind the sport's most respected set of rankings, The Ring. The magazine's super middleweight championship is currently vacant, and without its No. 2 man Bute involved, it may stay that way throughout.

Posted by The Franchise

Franchise Thoughts: Remembering Thunder Gatti, Anticipating the World Boxing Classic

I was getting ready to do the round by round for the Joseph Agbeko-Vic Darchinyan fight Saturday when I got the text message from Uatu telling me that Arturo Gatti was dead. Details were scarce in the first few hours, but my first reaction was one of disbelief.

He was, after all, just a few days past his 37th birthday. He'd been in the ring as recently as two summers ago, though that TKO loss to Alfonso Gomez is not the way his fans would probably prefer to remember him.

The story of his untimely demise continues to unfold, and it appears Gatti was the victim of foul play, perhaps by his own wife. That's a pretty raw deal for someone who was such a courageous fighter once he stepped inside the ropes.

Gatti will hold a special place in my heart for two reasons. First, his trilogy with Micky Ward that really put him on the map coincided with the beginning of my time as a serious boxing fan. The sport sold itself with fights like those.

Also, I was fortunate enough to see Gatti fight in person at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City several times, and the reaction he got from those crowds was something to see. It's kind of strange to think that a Canadian who was born in Italy would be adopted so completely by the Jersey fans, yet that's exactly what happened.

There's probably a lesson to be learned there for younger fighters still coming up. In terms of boxing skill, Gatti was never one of the best in the world - he was taken apart pretty easily by Oscar De La Hoya and given a merciless beating by Floyd Mayweather - but the heart he displayed was more important to his followers.

Fighting a crowd-pleasing style and laying it all on the line may not always be the best way to win any given fight, and it certainly puts you at risk of physical damage and a shortened career. Gatti showed, though, that it does go a long way toward winning people over, and that certainly counts for something.

HBO is replaying the Ward trilogy in its entirety Friday night on HBO2 and Saturday morning on HBO. I plan on catching at least one of those showings as my own small personal tribute.

R.I.P. Thunder. You certainly did more than enough in the ring to earn it.

In happier but no less stunning news, the six-man super middleweight tournament dreamed up on Showtime was made official yesterday. I felt a little sheepish thinking it could actually come together last week, but that feeling is quickly turning to excitement.

It's not hyperbole to say that this is the most welcome change in the way things usually proceed in boxing in decades. It took a lot of creativity and guts on Showtime's part to even suggest it, a lot of vision on the part of the fighters to agree to it and a surprising amount of cooperation from five different promoters to make it a reality.

Assuming the proper amount of push from the network, there's every reason to think that the winner and perhaps the other finalist will become big stars even in the eyes of casual fans. That outweighs the risk of, say, going 0-3, but as we've discussed internally, at least the losers of early fights are still guaranteed two more big ones, and that rarely happens.

Things could still unravel - this is still boxing - but I'm going to assume that at least the first set of fights will go as planned and give my very early thoughts on the U.S. versus Europe portion of the round robin:

• Carl Froch vs. Andre Dirrell - I think it's likely that Dirrell has the most God-given talent of anyone in the tournament. The question is whether he's ready for a challenge like this, and Gary Shaw is rightfully a little concerned about fighting Froch on his home turf too. My gut says Dirrell will pull it off, giving him a ton of confidence going forward.
• Arthur Abraham vs. Jermain Taylor - It's a shame for Taylor, who I really like, because I think this style match-up is a bad one for him. Bad Intentions has shown an undeniable habit of fading late, while Abraham starts slowly and turns it on as he goes. Unless Jermain gets to him early or he's just outmuscled at 168, I think King Arthur stays undefeated.
• Mikkel Kessler vs. Andre Ward - To me, this is the toughest call. Ward seems like he has everything except for top level power, and Kessler really impressed me in the only fight of his that I've seen (his loss to Joe Calzaghe). I favor Kessler right now but could see myself flip-flopping several times before November.

Those are three tasty fights, with the promise of nine more to go. I say bring on October.

Posted by The Franchise

Showtime's Super Middleweight Tournament Made Official as World Boxing Classic

An announcement that many boxing fans were hoping for but not many thought would actually happen was made today in New York.

Somehow, some way, Showtime got six of the world's top super middleweights - overseen by five different promoters - to agree to take part in a round robin tournament, dubbed the World Boxing Classic, that will begin this October and run through the first part of 2011. As widely rumored ahead of time, the participants will be WBC titleholder Carl Froch, WBA titleholder Mikkel Kessler, former middleweight champs Jermain Taylor and Arthur Abraham and undefeated young Americans Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell.

According to today's press release, Froch and Kessler's belts will be on the line during their first tournament matches. It had previously been reported that any mandatory defenses dreamed up by the sport's sanctioning bodies would not interfere with the tournament, and Abraham has already relinquished his IBF middleweight belt in order to take part.

Each man is guaranteed three fights in the round robin portion, with two points given for a win (and a one-point bonus for a knockout), one for a draw and none for a loss. The boxers with the most points after three bouts will move on to the semifinals, with the winners facing each other to decide the whole thing.

Noticeably absent from the tournament field is IBF 168-pound titleholder Lucian Bute. Early reports had him turning down a spot in the tourney, but his representatives told ESPN's Dan Rafael last week that he was never invited.

Of the six men who will be competing, only two have faced each other before. That happened this past April, when Froch scored a memorable 12th-round KO of Taylor in a fight he was losing on two of the three official cards.

Though the complete schedule for the first round of the World Boxing Classic hasn't been made public yet, it's set to get underway on October 10 with a split-site doubleheader. Abraham will take on Taylor in Germany, while Froch will face Dirrell in the U.K.

Posted by The Franchise

20/20 Hindsight: Showtime's Proposed Super Middleweight Tournament... and Why It Might Actually Work

There weren't any major fights to look back on during this July 4th weekend (sorry Eddie Chambers!), so instead, I'm going to focus on some news that first hit over the last few days. Close your eyes for a second and imagine that two current super middleweight titleholders, two rising American stars, a former middleweight champion and an undefeated middleweight titlist moving up in weight all agreed to compete in a six-man, round robin tournament.

Sounds great but crazy, right? After all, this is boxing, where even obvious match-ups have a hard time coming together for various reasons.

But it might not be as far-fetched as it seems. As reported by various sites, but most prominently by ESPN's Dan Rafael, Showtime is attempting to assemble a tournament featuring Mikkel Kessler, Carl Froch, Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell, Jermain Taylor and Arthur Abraham.

You really need to read the whole piece to appreciate the ambition involved, but to summarize the details, each man would fight three others in the field with two points awarded for a win (plus one for a KO), one for a draw and none for a loss. The top four in points after the preliminaries would advance to the semifinals, with the winners facing each other after that to decide the whole thing.

The very tentative plan for the first round would be:

Oct. 10: Froch vs. Dirrell and Abraham vs. Taylor
Nov. 7: Kessler vs. Ward
Jan. 30, 2010: Abraham vs. Dirrell
March 2010: Froch vs. Kessler
April or May 2010: Ward vs. Taylor
July or August 2010: Ward vs. Dirrell and Froch vs. Abraham
September 2010: Kessler vs. Taylor

In a word, wow. It would be hard to believe any boxing fan wouldn't be excited by this idea: a series of good fights in a division stocked with talented fighters.

So many questions would be answered by this tournament. Is Froch for real? Does Taylor have anything left in the tank? Can Abraham continue his winning ways at 168? Are the two Andre's ready for the big time? And that's just a few off the top of my head.

At the same time, it's even easier to see why it's not wise to get your hopes up for Showtime actually pulling this off. Too many competing interests, too many egos to be stroked, too much perceived risk (it's very possible to come out 0-3) and just too many questions, even if Rafael says there are contingencies for everything.

Until an official announcement is made that the tournament is on or credible boxing scribes write that it's dead, the case against it will be argued all over the internet. As an optimist by nature, I'm going to take a shot at arguing why the crazy thing might happen.


1. None of the participants are superstars.

Yes, it's a talented field, and everyone but Ward and Dirrell has held an alphabet belt. All of the fighters are known quantities who have been on the big American cable outlets.

Still, no one in the proposed tourney has huge name recognition among mainstream sports fans - the kind of pull that would generate eight-digit paydays. Taylor is probably the closest to being a household name in the U.S., but his star has faded after three losses in his last four fights.

The Europeans are all looking to raise their profiles on this side of the Atlantic, and Ward and Dirrell could use the step up in competition. Even with the knowledge that no bouts in this event would be easy, there's reason to think all of these guys could see the upside in it.

There's no way a Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather would agree to something like this, because the risk doesn't justify the possible rewards. But for a group of boxers a notch or two below elite status, it just might.

2. Golden Boy and Top Rank are not involved.

This is not a slam against either organization. They are the two biggest powers in the sport right now, and they even play nice with each other when there's incentive to do so.

It's just hard to imagine either Golden Boy or Top Rank would agree to let one of their fighters participate in a tournament like this one. They wouldn't feel comfortable with the uncertainty involved, and they'd likely want more say in the format.

On top of that (as Rafael points out), Golden Boy and HBO are almost like peanut butter and jelly at this point, and this is Showtime's baby.

It's not going to be easy to get a half-dozen promoters to agree on anything, let alone something as complicated as a round robin tournament. Yet it's still going to be easier to sell them without the two gorillas in the room.

3. The proposed fights have strong regional appeal.

Some of the match-ups wouldn't sell out venues in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. Showtime seems to be aware of this and has thoughts of staging the fights where they make the most sense.

Froch-Kessler and Froch-Abraham will draw big crowds in Europe. Ward can certainly bring fans out in California, and Taylor should still be an attraction in the South or Midwest.

A few of the prelims look shakier than others (think Abraham-Dirrell, especially if either or both lose their first fights), but by and large, the round robin fights have strong regional appeal. Put them in the right places, as Showtime appears willing to do, and the ticket sales should be acceptable for all parties involved.

4. Showtime can afford to think outside the box and has a history with these fighters.

HBO tends to market everything, even fights that don't necessarily warrant it, as its own event. That formula has allowed it to become the industry leader, and there's really no incentive for it to commit to anything like this.

As the network doing the chasing, Showtime can roll the dice to try to bridge the gap. It's quite the coup if the tournament comes off, as the cable channel would have compelling fights to broadcast from this fall through the first part of 2011.

Showtime has also invested time and money in this particular group of fighters (and the 168-pound division in general), with all but Kessler making appearances over the last two years. If there's a big promotional blitz, as Rafael suggests is in the works, there's no one better equipped to hype the participants, show highlights, etc.

The fighters and their teams surely know this too. That previous investment could pay off handsomely by giving Showtime the extra bit of persuasion necessary to get the participants they want to sign up.


There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical that the tournament will become a reality. Boxing is the sport where great ideas wither on the vine far too often, as anyone who's followed it for any length of time can attest.

It's a long shot, but there are just enough factors in play to make this concept the exception. As boxing fans, we just have to cross our fingers and hope that a plan this promising pans out.

Posted by The Franchise