By Scott Gilfoid: If Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell are still going to fight on the scheduled date of September 25th, then the two promoters that manage fighters need to come to an agreement for a venue for the Super Six tournament fight. As of now, all they have is the September 25th date but no agreement about a location for the fight. Dan Goosen, the promoter for Ward, wants the fight to take place in the city that will bring in the largest gate. It just so happens that the city that will likely bring in the biggest amount of fans just happens to be Oakland, California, the city where Ward comes from Goosen thinks that the Dirrell-Ward fight could potentially bring in as many as 15,000 fans and a gate of $1 million, according to the usatoday.com.

Goosen says “Quite frankly, there’s a number of reasons that really slowed down the process. And the one at the top of the list is the arm wrestling on where the fight should be held. I say if we’re going to have a fight of this magnitude, let’s maximize the revenue, and the best way to maximize the revenue is to go to a place where you can draw 15,000. At the Oracle Arena in Oakland, it would be a slam dunk. I believe we can do a $1 million plus gate. “

Dirrell and his promoter Gary Shaw want the fight to take place in Detroit, Michigan, the state where Dirrell is from. Ward has already fought both of his Super Six tourney fights at home, and if he gets his way and this fight ends up in Oakland, it would mean that all three of his stage fights will have been at home without him having to venture out to an unfriendly city. Ward is already guaranteed a spot in the semifinals of the Super Six tournament by virtue of his wins over Mikkel Kessler and Allan Green.

Dirrell, on the other hand, badly needs a win over Ward to ensure that he gets into the semis. This is why it’s even more important that this fight not take place in Oakland. Ward seems to fight remarkably well when backed by thousands of his screaming fans and it would be very hard on Dirrell to have to deal with that kind of pro-Ward support for the entire fight. Dirrell has fought only once at home during the Super Six tourney and his only loss was the result of what many boxing fans felt was a hometown decision loss to World Boxing Council super middleweight champion Carl Froch last year in October. Dirrell would rather not risk experiencing that feeling again so soon by having to fight in Ward’s home city.