By Robbie Bannatyne: They say when one door closes another door opens. So while many boxing fans are mourning the loss of Carl Froch, after he announced that the George Groves fight was indeed his last gig, we shouldn’t worry too much. As there is a new band of British super-middleweights who are ready to usher in a fresh, exciting era.
There is an embarrassment of riches at 168lb, the only problem being that all the top British fighters want to be front men- none of the band will be content playing bass. Of course not all the eminent 168lb British boxers can take centre stage: there must be winners and losers in the battle for supremacy in the super-middleweight division.
What better way to separate the wheat from the chaff than to stage a British version of the vastly successful ‘Super Six Boxing Classic’ tournament, which acted as a springboard to stardom for our very own Carl Froch? The British version could start in 2016 and would be broadcast on Sky Sports on a pay-per-view basis. The tournament could feature the following fighters; James De Gales, George Groves, Callum Smith, Rocky Fielding, Martin Murray and Frank Buglioni.
Of course the viability of the tournament is dependent on the likes of George Groves and Frank Buglioni emerging victorious in their upcoming title challenges against Badou Jack (WBC) and Fedor Chudinov (WBA ‘regular’) respectively.
The original format isn’t broken so there is no need to fix it. The British version of the Super-Six tournament would run from 2016-2018. Each fighter would have three bouts in the group stages, with the top 4 moving onto the semi-finals. If anything the British themed sequel to the Super Six would be a far more streamlined, sleeker adaption than the original.
In the Super Six Boxing Classic, the group stages fights were held in multiple locations and countries, in myriad time zones, on a host of different dates. Conversely, in logistical terms, the British Super Six would be a far tighter ship. All bouts would be on British soil, and the group stage could be contested in only three pay-per-view cards, featuring all six contenders on the same bill each time. The promoters and Sky Sports could charge 30 pounds pay-per-view for each group stage card, with the semi-finals and final, set as stadium bouts, priced at £20 pay-per-view.
The whole tournament could be done and dusted in only five major fight-nights if both semi-finals were staged on the same bill. If the promoters and Sky Sports wanted to split the tournament over more dates to generate additional revenue then so be it. You won’t hear any discontent from the fans- we will just be delirious with joy that the tournament is happening in our nation, with our fighters.
Such a prospect isn’t a pipe dream, it is a highly plausible plan. Especially considering that Eddie Hearn already has four of the possible contenders- DeGale, Fielding, Murray and Smith- in his Matchroom stable, as well as the exclusive broadcasting deal with Sky Sports. At most there would only be three promoters involved in the production; Matchroom, Sauerland who promotes Groves, and Frank Warren who handles Franks Buglioni. In contrast, the Super Six Boxing Classic had six different promotional entities at different times throughout the duration of the tournament.
It sounds like a dream but it could be the reality, a fairy tale that comes to fruition in front of our eyes.
The door of Carl Froch’s career is now closed. Make sure that the British Super-Middleweight Super Six welcomes us when we open the next one.
Thanks for reading. I look forward to reading your comments.
Fight Fans: Please share this article on Twitter; @EddieHearn, @MatchroomPromotions and @SkySportsBoxing to make this dream a reality.
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