If Jermain fights a disciplined fight, he should
also come out of the first round with a victory. But that's the beauty of
boxing and this tournament, you never know what's going to happen, so everyone
is going to have to tune in on Saturday night."
Immediately following Abraham-Taylor, Carl "The
Cobra" Froch (25-0, 20 KOs) of Nottingham, England, will defend his World Boxing
Council (WBC) title against 2004 Olympic Games medalist Andre "The Matrix"
Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) of Flint, Mich., LIVE on SHOWTIME from the Trent FM Arena
in Nottingham, England.
"In the Dirrell-Froch fight, I feel that if
Dirrell fights a disciplined fight and continues to do what he's been doing in
the ring, but does it better because this is another level of competition, I
don't see why he won't walk away with the victory,"Ward said.
The Danish star Kessler is less committal about
the first fights in Group Stage 1 of the tournament and seems more interested in
just watching some great boxing matches.
"The Super Six tournament will revolutionize the
boxing scene," Kessler said. "The concept only allows the best fighters to
participate from the super middle weight division, starting with Abraham vs.
Taylor and Froch vs. Dirrell this Saturday. I will at the O2 World in Berlin to
see Abraham vs. Taylor."
"I am looking forward to seeing the
Abraham-Taylor fight live in Berlin. The key words of the fight are power vs.
intelligence as I see it -- Abraham as raw power and Taylor as the
smart/intelligent fighter. Hopefully, the fight will promote the Super Six
tournament as it should be promoted. That counts as well for the Froch-Dirrell
fight later that night in Nottingham."
While Kessler sees Abraham-Taylor as a battle of
power vs. intelligence, he's got a different view on Froch-Dirrell as both
fighters have tremendous knockout potential.
"Froch-Dirrell is experience vs. the eager of
youth," Kessler said. "Froch is known for his stamina and ability to return
when everything is against him. Dirrell is a super talent -- he is young, but
has already proven his position in the division. He is difficult to fight
because he is changing styles all the time. Again, this is a fight that is hard
to predict."
Regardless of who wins, Kessler just seems to be
excited about what this tournament will do for the future of the super
middleweight division and boxing in general.
"As a fighter I look forward to be a part of this
great tournament, but as a boxing fan also, I am very excited to follow all the
other fights in the tournament," Kessler said.
"Hopefully the group stage concept will create
even more entertaining fights -- at least I hope so. A KO victory will put
you close to the semifinals! The tactical dimensions of the fights will be
changed with this concept without a doubt."
The Kessler-Ward battle in Oakland for Kessler's
WBA title will be Ward's first world title fight and Kessler's third defense.
For more
information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic including exclusive videos,
photography, expert analysis from Al Bernstein and Steve Farhood, and much more
please visit
www.WorldBoxingClassic.com.
About SUPER SIX
WORLD BOXING CLASSIC
The
inaugural
Super Six World Boxing Classic is a
ground-breaking, six-fighter tournament from SHOWTIME Sports® featuring the
class of the super middleweight (168-pound) division. The field is comprised of
world renowned fighters with a staggering combined record of 161-4-1 with 117
knockouts: former IBF middleweight champion "King" Arthur Abraham of Germany;
U.S. Olympic medalist Andre "The Matrix" Dirrell of Flint, Mich.; WBC super
middleweight champion Carl "The Cobra" Froch of England; WBA 168-pound champion
Mikkel "Viking Warrior" Kessler of Denmark; former undisputed 160-pound world
champion Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor of Little Rock, Ark.; and U.S. Olympic
gold medalist Andre "S.O.G." Ward
of Oakland, Calif.
All bouts
in the Super Six World Boxing Classic will be contested under the Unified Rules
of Boxing. Each boxer fights three bouts against different opponents in the
field in the points-based
Group
Stage
of competition (Win=2 pts with a 1-pt bonus for KO/TKO; Loss=0 pts; Draw=1 pt.).
After the Group Stage, the four fighters with the highest point totals will
advance to the single-elimination Semi-Finals. The winners of the Semi-Final
bouts will advance to the Finals and fight for the inaugural Super Six World
Boxing Classic trophy.
