-Super Six Tournament Struggling to Survive as Another Bout is Canceled-
Carl Froch has withdrawn from his scheduled October 2nd bout against Arthur Abraham. The contest was originally a Stage 2 match-up, but following the withdrawal of Mikkel Kessler from the field, was potentially going to be a semifinal match, to go along with Andre Ward vs. Andre Dirrell. However, Froch has withdrawn from his fight against Abraham, citing a back injury. While the bout is officially postponed and should be rescheduled, this leaves the future of the tournament very much up in the air at this moment.
As reported by Dan Rafael, Froch has pulled out of the bout due to a back injury, and Showtime is working furiously to try to hash out the details of another site and date before it’s too late. Froch’s withdrawal follows Kessler’s from just a few weeks prior, and leaves the tournament basically in shambles. The Oct 2nd fight agreement for Froch vs. Abraham was a headache and a half to sign and finalize to begin with, and chances may be slim for another agreement to be worked out.
That leaves the Super Six with one of a potential three Stage 2 fights on the schedule. And oh yea, there is a major problem with that one as well. The Ward vs. Dirrell bout is supposed to go off on September 25th, however, that’s in 12 days, and there’s no location or event site agreed upon yet. Nothing has been announced postponing that contest, but it seems entirely impossible to put together the event in less than two weeks.
That means that all of the Stage 2 bouts are either delayed or canceled entirely, and the Super Six tournament, a great idea that brought real excitement into the sport, may be meeting a premature ending. The problem of course is that the Super Six went on for far too long, and offered far too many opportunities for changes of heart, injuries, promotional and managerial problems, and more. A single elimination or more simple round robin format would have produced the same level of excitement without the chance for so many hiccups.
As it stands now, the direction of the tournament remains unclear. Froch vs. Abraham and Ward vs. Dirrell may end up rescheduled for the end of the year, or beginning of 2011 as the semifinal bouts, with a championship contest being arranged for the spring of next year
Or, perhaps nothing comes together, and the tournament fades away. That, however, would leave Showtime furious at a whole host of promoters and fighters, and it’s likely that nobody wants to burn that many bridges. Nothing is known yet though, so stay tuned for more updates and news regarding this devastating body blow to the Super Six.
