Showtime Middleweight Boxing Tournament

When undefeated Joe Calzaghe retired in February 2009, he left behind him a vacuum in the 168 pound, Super Middleweight division. On July 13, 2009, Showtime announced that were holding a "Super Six" tournament to fill that vacuum. An event of this nature, which will pit the best against the best repeatedly is the sort of thing boxing fans have been clamoring for, and will give a sport much under siege by MMA programs a much-needed boost.

The tournament is using a novel and innovative round-robin, points system that will guarantee solid, exciting match-ups well into the middle of 2010. It will begin with the Group Stage, where all of the six fighters will have three bouts. A win will be worth 2 points, a draw 1 point, and a loss none. The four top points earners will be matched in a semi-final round, and the winners of those bouts will meet in a final bout that will truly establish the best Super Middleweight in the world.

Those six fighters are:

Arthur Abraham of Armenia/Germany (30-0, 24 KOs)
28 years old, former IBF Middleweight Champion

Abraham is leaving behind his IBF belt to move up to 168 lbs and participate in this Showtime tourney. Abraham first drew attention when he fought the then-undefeated Columbian thug Edison Miranda. Miranda badly broke Abraham's jaw with a head butt. Abraham, his mouth sickeningly hanging open and gushing blood, bravely hung on and won a narrow victory over Miranda. He got his revenge by handily obliterating the Colombian in a rematch. He has also beaten Harold Graham, Raul Marquez, and Shannon Taylor. He is a well-rounded, experienced boxer-puncher.

Andre Dirrell of the USA (18-0, 13 KOs)
26 years old

The southpaw Dirrell was the Middleweight Bronze Medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Although untested at the top level, he shows a complete package of skill, speed, and power that is cleaving a path of destruction through the division's journeymen and gatekeepers. It was only a matter of time before he got a big fight, and the Super Six tournament will give him at least three.

Carl Froch of England(25-0, 20 KOs)
32 years old, current WBC Super Middleweight Champion

Froch recently established himself as a real world contender with his come from knockout win against Jermain Taylor in the 12th Round of their April 2009 engagement. He is tough, determined, hard hitting fighter who exemplifies the classic British 168 pound fighter.

Mikkel Kessler of Denmark(41-1, 31 KOs)
30 years old, current WBC Super Middleweight Champion

Kessler fought the great Calzaghe, and it was his lack of experience that told. He is a big, strong, hard-punching Viking with good skills, but Calzaghe was his first mega-fight opponent. He did well early in the bout, but as Calzaghe adjusted, the Welsh champion's experience, work rate, and speed gave Kessler problems he could not solve. He is now a two-time champion.

Jermain Taylor of the USA (28-3-1, 17 KOs)
30 years old, former Undisputed World Middleweight Champion

It is questionable why Taylor is in this tournament. He was a Bronze Medal winner at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In his pro career, he was able to beat the wizard Bernard Hopkins on the basis of his youth, athleticism, and work rate. He then had a draw against another of boxing's grand masters, Winky Wright, and a highly suspect win over Corey Spinks. Then he lost twice to Kelly Pavlik. He came back with a win over Jeff Lacy, and then challenged Carl Froch for his title. He was winning that fight when Froch kayo'ed him in the 12th. Taylor could be a dangerous fighter, but he tends to suffer on mental stamina and ring generalship. He was beating both Pavlik in the first bout and then Froch when he got himself hurt. Rather than switch to survival mode, he tried to fight it out. It makes for exciting replays, but loses fights.

Andre Ward of the USA (19-0, 12 KOs)
25 years old

Ward is Dirrell's former Olympic teammate. He fought as a light heavyweight at Athens, and won the Gold Medal. He is a fast, powerful southpaw who recently and handily outpointed Edison Miranda.

Conspicuous by his absence from this list is middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik. Whether Pavlik refused to participate, was prevented by contractual difficulties due to his HBO ties, or was simply not invited in the first place is unknown.

The first fight night in the Super Six tourney is set for October 10th, 2009, and will be broadcast live on Showtime. That night will see Froch vs. Dirrell and Abraham vs. Taylor.

Sources: sports.sho.com/browse/events.html?sport=boxing, boxrec.com