By Joseph “The Mad Boxing Genius” Torres: When Showtime’s Super-Six tournament was first announced, it was more than just a tournament. It meant different things to different people.

For fighters like Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell, it was a chance to make a statement. They were no longer boys in a man’s game but men who are forces to be reckoned with. For men like Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham, it was their time for them to have all of the hard work they did in Europe to pay off in America. And then there was Mikkel Kessler and Jermain Taylor who wanted to re-establish themselves (after some heartbreaking losses) as the very best that boxing had to offer.

Make no mistake about it. This was never about winning one single tournament but rather establishing and re-establishing careers. However, what was supposed to be an important event in boxing history has been anything but.

Because of the round robin structure of the tournament, there were no guarantees of success or failure based on one win or one loss. The participants would fight for points and the eventual points leaders’ would go onto the elimination rounds.

Unfortunately, almost from the get-go the tournament had been plagued with problems. In group stage 1, Jermain Taylor withdrew after his knockout loss to Arthur Abraham due to health and safety reasons.

He was replaced by the ultra talented but underachieving Allan Green who fought Andre Ward in group stage 2. He didn’t fail to disappoint when he lost a lopsided decision.

After going 1 for 2 in the tournament, Mikkel Kessler didn’t make it to group stage 3, withdrawing from the tournament completely due to an eye injury that some suspected he suffered during his group stage 1 fight with Andre Ward.

Now as the tournament stands, Carl Froch has withdrawn from his fight with Arthur Abraham due to a back injury he suffered during training camp and the Andre Ward/Andre Dirrell fight is only two weeks away but with no secured venue for the fight nor are the fighters’ in serious training.

The tournament may have had a whimpering journey but it can still end with a bang.

As it stands, Froch has withdrawn from the fight with Abraham not the tournament itself. If Showtime is willing to wait out the Froch injury, and doctors say he’ll be ready to fight again in about seven or eight weeks, Showtime can save this part of the tournament and reschedule.

As for Ward vs. Dirrell, it’s been reported that neither man are in serious training. At this level, a fighter needs at least eight weeks of hard preparations. If you couple that with no secured venue for the showdown, this fight is not likely to take place at its scheduled time for September 25th.

Although Ken Hershman, EVP and GM of Showtime’s of sports and events programming, was to hold each fight as a separate event, it would make the most sense to lump these two world class fights together in one card and in one venue.

The move doesn’t come without its ramifications. This would be a four-way promotion and from what we’ve seen in FightCamp360, Dan Goossen, Gary Shaw, Mick Hennessey and Sauerland Events would have a difficult time working together on one single event.

The contracts that everyone signed would also have to be re-negotiated on some aspects like venues. The problem here is that everyone involved must agree to revisit the contracts and eventually agree on the changes.

However, to salvage the legitimacy, which had taken a hit even before the tournament began when IBF champ Lucian Bute wasn’t even considered, due to his ties with HBO, but more importantly for everyone to save financially, it would make sense to simplify the tournament at this point.

In this case, less means more. Remember, sports fans, especially in boxing only remember what “you’ve done for them lately”. How many times did we count Shane Mosley out after his performances against Winky Wright and Ricardo Mayorga just to jump on his bandwagon after he dismantled Antonio Margarito?

Boxing fans will not necessarily forget but they will forgive all the hoopla that has hindered the tournament if it can finish strong.

The timeline works out. The Doctors say Froch will be ready to go in seven to eight weeks. Ward and Dirrell also need at least eight weeks of training. In that time, they can promote the two semi-final fights properly, secure a neutral venue like Las Vegas and charge 54.95 for a PPV. The venue would sell out, the PPV would do well over 500 million buys and everyone would save money. Plus, you would have a solid platform to plug Showtime’s next event, the single elimination bantamweight tournament.

Unfortunately sometimes the best laid plans don’t live up to the real thing. The Super-Six Tournament is one of them. A single PPV for the semi-finals, one card and one venue with the egos of the fighters and the promoters, may not be the most realistic idea. However, with the legitimacy of the tournament hanging by the string it’s time to take a chance and get creative. With the thin boxing schedule this fall, it just might work!

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