Super Six: Shaken and Stirred!

By Nikolaj Ovesen: October 17th this year seems to be quite a bit more significant than it has been for many years. Why? Because it’s the start of a tournament, where six top boxers will go toe to toe with each other. On October 17th and November 21st, these six fighters will try to prove they are the best of the bunch. In the end there’ll be 3 matches in this first round of the tournament. These three matches have been analyzed countless times, by journalists, analysts, and so called boxing experts. I’m of course talking about the matches between Froch/Dirrell, Abraham/Taylor and Kessler/Ward. I’m not here to give my analysis on these bouts but my prediction to how these fights will end is: Froch KO6, Taylor UD12 and Kessler KO11.

The point with this article is however to shake up the roster and give my opinion, to which fights would be most exciting to watch, and which won’t.

One of the many great things about this tournament is that there are question marks above each fighter. None of them is perfect by any means. Will Kessler’s ring rust be his downfall? Does Ward have a good enough chin to take the bazookas coming his way? Will Dirrell’s speed be nullified by his inexperience? Will Froch be able to catch up in speed? Will Taylor be able to go through 10 rounds without weakening? And Will Abraham be able, to bring his power with him to Super Middleweight?

It’s inevitable that some of the boxers will have an easier time against one over another, that’s just how it is. Styles make fights. But that’s not what us fan’s are here for. No, we want to see some action. We want to see a competitive fight. The question is then; who should fight who?

Froch vs Abraham

Power puncher vs power puncher are always great to watch. It’s the same reason we look forward to the Pacquiao/Cotto bout. It’s all about the firepower. Carl Froch is a man with a heart (and chin) of steel. In a fight with Abraham he would be able to use his superior reach and footwork to keep Abraham at a distance while still firing his bombs. Abraham, who always starts out slowly with his head tucked behind his tight peek-a-boo defense, is a man who, in middleweight could change the course of a match with a single punch. If he were somehow able to bring his power with him to Super Middleweight, (Personally I think he’s a lot stronger in SMW) and make it a slugfest, no question he’d bring Froch’s chin to its test.

My guess is a UD12 Froch. I just don’t see how Froch ever be knocked out, and vice versa. But again, it’d be one heck of a fight. One can only guess the outcome.

Kessler vs Ward

I’m not going to hide that I’m a huge Kessler fan, and will be cheering on him all the way, but when I first heard that Ward would be Kessler’s first opponent; I found myself having mixed feelings. The fight in my eyes could be the toughest one out there for Kessler. Ward is an insanely talented technician. I hear experts say he’s only next to Mayweather when it comes to technique. And that may be the key to winning against Kessler. Kessler also has raw boxing talent. His Jab and 1-2 is the best in the world. Over time his speed has been decreasing, but only to be replaced by even greater power.

Again this fight could be any mans fight. But I do have an idea that Kessler will be the only man standing in the end.

Kessler vs Froch

It has been confirmed, that this will be the fight we will see in round 2. Both men have complimented each other inside and outside of the ring. But at same time both men have said something like: “If we were to fight, I would win”.

This fight, in my eyes, could turn out two ways: Either Froch would be able to bring the fight to Kessler, or he would end up like Librado Andrade, annihilated. Personally I believe that Froch is way better than Andrade, thus making this fight very interesting to watch.

Taylor vs Froch II

14 seconds is not a lot of time. Enough said. No, I give the credit to Froch for winning his first fight with Taylor, and I won’t lie and say I wasn’t rooting for him, because I was. But facing the reality, he would have lost if Taylor had been able to hold on.

This is a rematch I would absolutely love to see. Pay Per View or not. Would it be a déjà vu? Would Froch have found his way with Taylor like Pavlik did? Or would Taylor give Froch hell again, and hang on in the end?

Ward vs Dirrell

Two American prospects. Two Olympic medalists. Two obnoxiously fast boxers. What is not to like here? It’d be impossible (at least for me) to see who’d have the edge here, but I think we’ll learn a lot more after seeing their first fights against world level boxers. I have a hunch that the gold medalist would take the win.

16 Responses to “Super Six: Shaken and Stirred!”