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Stage Two of the Super Six: Something New

By Jeff Stoyanoff

From the beginning, The Super Six has been sold first and foremost as unique in the world of Boxing.  The round robin tournament represented a new path in the sport that would ultimately find a way to finally combine exciting fights and a dramatic format.  After the first stage, it would seem that the first part of the equation has come to fruition.  Perhaps the bouts could have been closer with the notable exception of the Froch-Dirrell contest which ultimately went to a split decision.  Yet, overall the event appears to be off to a good start.  And, now it really gets good, because the second part of the equation is about to come into play.
 
After stage one, it would seem that Andre Ward and Arthur Abraham are on a collision course to determine who will ultimately walk away with the Title in this event. With all due respect to the four remaining combatants, Abraham and Ward have clearly established themselves as the favorites.  In the non Super Six world of boxing, this is where the story would end.  Kessler would likely return to Europe and take a fight or two there before deciding if and how he wanted to proceed with his career.  Allan Green would toil in relative obscurity as he vainly tried to find his way into the major fight he feels he has earned.  Froch, Abraham, and Ward would all likely start exploring mega fight possibilities among themselves with each one holding out for the best possible deal that they could find.  And finally, Andre Dirrell would recede into the shadows as the talented fighter that the other top fighters would rather not fight no doubt embarking on a multi-year journey back to the top before gaining a shot once again.  Dirrell, as much as any other, would be the latest fighter to fall on the wrong side of the risk/reward equation that governs matchmaking at the highest levels of Boxing.  The paths of the fighters seeming to be so clearly carved out, that even an ordinary fan could predict the future.
 
Fortunately, this is an alternate universe.  The status quo will be upset and that can hardly be considered a bad thing for boxing fans.  In the upcoming weeks, the fighters will get right back into it and that leads to a question that is not so easy to answer; how will things look after stage two?  Will there be an emerging status quo that sees Ward and Abraham continue to dominate the action continuing on an inexorable path towards each other?  Or, will things be turned upside down in stage two as we turn our attention to new favorites and a muddled field?  We will know in a few weeks, but one thing is certain, we as boxing fans will have a new experience because the regular world of boxing seldom, if ever, delivers a stage two.

Abraham vs. Dirrell – Redemption Without the Wait
 
In a non-tournament format, this appears to be a fine example of a fight that would never happen.  With all due respect to Arthur Abraham, what use does he have for Andre Dirrell?  Dirrell is long, fast, and slick.  He has considerable skills and a striking fluidity in the ring.  On top of that, he is still relatively unknown.  Conversely, Abraham has a pair of sensational knockouts in the last couple of years and he just beat a big name in spectacular fashion which is the ultimate currency in the pursuit of a big time fight in boxing.  The import of all this is clear; in the real world, Abraham would have successfully moved passed the Dirrell’s of the world and arrived safe and sound in mega-fight territory.  There can be little doubt that Abraham, a true warrior in the ring, would fight anyone.  But, the business infrastructure of boxing would fast track him to the money he deserves and bypass the potential derailment that could come from a fight with Dirrell.
 
The Abraham-Dirrell tilt is an appropriate headliner for stage two.  Abraham has notable wins over Taylor and Miranda of late.  However, Dirrell is bigger than Taylor, faster than Miranda, and he is almost certainly better than both at this point.  Abraham is stepping up once again.  The mega-fight is still coming, but the participants are no longer predetermined based on one night.  Will boxing fans still be talking about Abraham as the favorite on March 28th?  That is one of the central questions that will be asked in stage two.

Froch-Kessler – And the Dark Horse is…..
 
If the lead up to this event could be called stage zero; then we have already seen a shift in how the fighters are perceived from one stage to the next.  In stage zero, much of the talk surrounded Kessler as one of the clear favorites and Froch as a viable threat to emerge as the winner of the event himself.  After stage one, the view has changed considerably.  Kessler struggled mightily against Andre Ward, who not coincidentally, replaced him as a new favorite to win the tournament.  Meanwhile, Froch also struggled to find the range against Dirrell and, while he emerged victorious in the fight, he also emerged with more questions about his potential to be a factor in the event than had been the case going in.  Indeed, both men seem to be on the outside looking in as fans speculate on what will happen next.  But, each stage is a still photograph of fan perception that can portray a vastly different landscape in an event like this.  What if one of the two is able to win in spectacular fashion?  Perhaps, it will signal a death knell for the hopes of the other fighter, but it will also catapult the other back into the conversation of potential winners of this event; once again that is the essence of stage two.
 
If Froch can win he would move to 2-0 and would hold wins over Dirrell and Kessler in the event.  That would provide a lot of answers to the questions that persist.  The landscape after round two might just show a vastly different Carl Froch than the one that existed after stage one.  On the other hand, what if Kessler looks sharp and is able to defeat Froch?  Once again, the picture would shift dramatically as the talk would surround Kessler’s loss being an aberration and his favorite status once again being justified.  The stakes are high in stage two and high stakes produce high drama.  The difference here is that Kessler and Froch are being denied the time to regroup that the business of professional boxing customarily provides.  Rather, the two men will meet right away and in so doing, will continue the rapidly shifting story of the 168 pound division.

Uncharted Waters
 
Hype is inevitable in boxing.  It is hopelessly interwoven into the storyline that leads to any fight, then and now.  The hype is alive and well in Super Middleweight Division.  Andre Ward and Arthur Abraham have made impactful statements regarding their burgeoning dominance in the division.  It is hard to avoid wondering if all this is merely a preamble to an eventual showdown between the two.  Yet, the Super Six doesn’t seek to delay and manipulate that hype and in so doing brings a new dimension to boxing for its fans.  Before stage one, the hype surrounded the central question of just how good are each of the fighters.  How good are Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell?  Is Carl Froch still being underrated as a top fighter?  Is Mikkel Kessler the most anonymous special fighter in boxing?  How will Arthur Abraham handle his opponents as he moves up to take on, not just any 168 pounders, but the best the division has to offer?  Stage one provided some answers, but the real question is, will stage two yield the same answers?  If stage one provided some unexpected answers then one can only assume that some more surprises might just be coming in stage two.  But, what happens in the ring is only part of the story here.
 
Fans learn about fighters and the answers invariably come in the ring.  But, those answers come randomly, or after years of missed opportunity, or sometimes not at all.  Boxing fans are eagerly anticipating the answer to the question of who is the best welterweight in the world.  The sad truth is that the answer is not only not coming soon it may never come at all.  Even if Floyd Mayweather, JR., is able to defeat Shane Mosley, what is the likelihood that he or Manny Pacquiao will deviate substantially from the impasse that imploded their fight the first time around?  It seems hard to fathom that winning is going to make either one of them more likely to give in and the money has already shown to be not enough to sway them from their position.  And now, Pacquiao is talking openly about retiring.  The mega fight has never been in greater peril.  Indeed, the welterweight saga provides a perfect juxtaposition to the Super Six with one representing the conventional timing of boxing and the other showcasing a format that is, in every way, its polar opposite. 

It is ironic that Roy Jones, JR., and Bernard Hopkins are preparing to step into the ring this month for their long anticipated rematch…it only took 17 years.  Once again, the conventional timing of boxing is on full display right alongside The Super Six.  The timing could not have been more perfect.  Rematches in boxing provide the most fundamental look at the business that underpins the game.  The degree to which the fans desire the fight is a mere afterthought in the making of a fight.  Perhaps that is exactly as it should be.  Fighters should not be beholden to fans when it comes to their livelihood.  It would be an absurdity for any athlete to not consider what is best for himself and those close to him first and foremost in making any decision.  Nonetheless, any look at the timing of big fights and lucrative rematches in boxing will unveil an often ridiculous sense of timing that can be found in no other sport and a frustrating heartache that only a boxing fan can understand.

And then there is the Super Six.  The top fighters get right back to it and the answers come, not later, but now.  Are Ward and Abraham on a collision course?  Is there a favorite looming in the shadows?  That we will get our answers when the fighters square off in the ring is thankfully nothing new.  That the answers come right away; now that is unique.

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