Andre Ward, Carl Froch, Lucian Bute & The Super Middleweight Division Breakdown: BOXING NEWS

By Gina L. Caliboso

This past weekend as I sat watching the first installment of HBO’s Boxing After Dark, I had the pleasant surprise of hearing one of my favorite fighters, Andre “S.O.G.” Ward right alongside Max Kellerman. I say pleasant surprise because I think Ward may have a back-up plan given that he is recovering from surgery. So, with the departure of “you either love him or hate him” Larry Merchant, Ward would make an excellent ringside commentator. But I hope he doesn’t hang up his gloves and call it quits just yet. The Super Middleweight division is once again flooding in a pool of talent. Who will be Ward’s next opponent? What does the Super Middleweight division look like now?

First, there is one boxer that is NO LONGER in the super middleweight division. In the boxing soap opera of Showtime’s Super Six Middleweight Tournament, I had questioned why he hadn’t been asked to participate. Lucian Bute, 31-1, 24 KO’s was noticeably absent for the tournament.

Bute had shown boxing brilliance in his bouts against Librado Andrade. However, I always believed a fighter needs to step out of the comforts of his home fight venue and venture outside to seek a championship in hostile territory. Bute always won when he fought out of Montreal, Canada. Bute went up against Froch in England and lost his IBF Super Middleweight title belt in a 5th round TKO with Bute receiving a standing count. It’s the mark of a champion to risk losing in a decision and facing a hostile crowd. Both Bute and Froch like the home ring advantage. But in this case, Bute lost and I don’t think he’s been the same since. He’ll now be fighting as a light heavyweight.

In his debut move into the light heavyweight division, Bute defeated Denis Grachev in a 12 round unanimous decision and earned the NABF Light Heavyweight title belt. And yes, he did fight in Montreal. I’ll be keeping an eye on Bute since he’s now in the division with a whole OTHER batch of fighters. But that’s a whole other article.

Ranked #4, “King” Arthur Abraham remains fighting in Europe. Of course, Abraham’s last loss came against Andre Ward over 12 rounds. As the Super Six tournament revealed, Abraham, at 32, has some brawl and he took the fight away from Jermain Taylor, but let’s not forget the ugly DQ against Andre Dirrell. We’ll see if Abraham decides to make a dent and makes fights against Kessler or Froch. My guess is no.

Ranked #3, Mikkel “Viking Warrior” Kessler, 46-2, 35 KO’s is also one of my favorite fighters in the division. During the Super Six tournament, I thought he fought quite well technically against Ward, but the cuts above his eyes had enough. He lost his bout against Ward, but came back to fight a technically smart fight against Froch and earned the 12 round unanimous decision. In 2011, Kessler fought just once against Mehid Bouadla and earned a 6 round TKO and followed up in 2012 with a 4th round KO win over Allan Green. If you recall, Green came in as a replacement during the Super 6.

In December 2012, Kessler followed up his victory against Green with a 3rd round TKO over Brian Magee and earned the WBA Super Middleweight title. Kessler continues to be quite competitive, but like Bute and Abraham, he continues to fight only in Europe. For the record, Kessler’s only career losses have been against Ward and the brawler Joe Calzaghe.

Ranked #2, Carl “Cobra” Froch, 30-2, 22 KO’s is a very smart fighter. In the Super 6, Froch earned the win over Andre Dirrell, but it was a lesson for Dirrell to not trust the judging from another country. Froch is a fierce competitor and when he’s aggressive, he manages to put together a fair amount of combinations that make his opponent work a bit harder. I think Froch is definitely one of those fighters that can easily put the pressure on his opponent, but he seems to lose his own aggressive steam during a fight. He decidedly beat Bute. For Froch, he is the oldest super middleweight in the division. I think a rematch against Kessler would be a good match for him to set his career at peace. Against Ward, I think he would lose- AGAIN.

A rematch against Kessler would be in order. But I do see a conflict in venue. Both Froch and Kessler LOVE fighting on their own countries. I think Germany would be neutral territory for either fighter, with an edge towards Kessler, but I see Froch winning this one point and a fight between the two will take place in England.

Last, but certainly not least, the #1 ranked fighter of the super middleweight division is none other than Andre “S.O.G.” Ward, 26-0, 14 KO’s. In his last bout against “Bad” Chad Dawson, 31-2, 17 KO’s, Ward earned the 10th round TKO and made Dawson look absolutely outclassed. Prior to his bout against Ward, I had the image of Dawson defeating Hopkins in a throw-down in the 2nd round, even though Dawson defeated Hopkins in a rematch with a MD. Like I said, the light heavyweight division is a whole OTHER article. Just to let you know where I’m going, Dawson is set to fight against Canada’s Jean Pascal. Ward had been scheduled to fight against Kelly Pavlik this upcoming Saturday, but had to undergo shoulder surgery, and is expected to be in rehab for a few months. It’s possible he may be back some time in the fall.

Well, RSR fans, that’s it. Ever since the Super 6 tournament, the Super Middleweight division has always been and remains one of my favorite divisions to watch. The fighters remain fiercely competitive and strong. And even though Ward is out, let’s hope Froch, Kessler, Abraham, and company keep the division interesting to watch.