By Shaun Campbell: Although the current Super-middleweight Super Six Tournament has all but fallen apart with half it’s original cast dropping out, the basic idea of the competition did impress me. So although I am not a writer who usually considers hypothetical match ups, it got me thinking about who would be my ultimate super-six fighter to go at it in a tournament throughout the weight classes. And I decided to start of with my favourite weight class, the Light-Welterweights. These fighters from recent era’s are all included due to the fact I think they would give great entertainment, even though some of them may not have the expected record of a ultimate fighter (such as Micky Ward). Please leave your opinions.

1) Kostya Tszyu – described by Larry Merchant as “possibly the greatest light-welterweight ever”. Described as an “animal” by Oscar De La Hoya. There is no doubt that Tszyu deserves to be considered in the top 6 light-welterweights of all time, and possibly one of the best pound for pound fighters in recent years. With a record of 31-2 25KO’s when he retired after being beaten by Ricky Hatton, his legacy is firmly in place. Never did Kostya turn down a challenge. For example, fighting Ricky Hatton in Manchester, fighting Julio Cesar Chavez in Phoenix, where bottles were hurled at him by the crowd. Unfazed by that Tszyu went on to successfully defend his WBC title. The clever counter puncher is arguably one of the most intelligent boxers to ever have laced on gloves.

2) Ricky Hatton – described by many as “The People’s Champion” and commonly referred to as “Hitman”. The man who ended the career of Kostya Tszyu by making him quit in the 11th round on tat magical night in Manchester. The atmosphere that night was electric, despite it being 2am due to the fact that it was broadcast at peak time to American audiences. Hatton went on to claim the WBA world title by beating tricky Carlos Maussa. This resulted in him becoming Britain’s first Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year. One thing you can never accuse Hatton of is ducking a fighter. Always so eager to please the fans he took on the two best pound for pound fighter, possibly of any era in Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, taking 30,000 fans over with him. Unfortunately for Hatton and his army of fans, he wasn’t quite good enough to claim the title of best boxer on the planet. Now battling personal problems, he is still loved by so many. All those truly fantastic performances down the years mean his place in boxing’s Hall of Fame is secure.

3) Arturo Gatti – described as “the ultimate blood and guts warrior”. Never involved in a dull fight, Gatti drifted between the weight of super-featherweight and welterweight, but it is thought that this was his best, most natural weight. His thrilling style was a mix of brawler and boxer. The slugger from Canada was happy to take on whoever was put in front of him. And who can forget the memorable trilogy with Micky Ward. The first fight is possibly the greatest fight of all time, even though it was only 10 rounds. Gatti held the WBC light-welterweight title, defending it on a number of occasions. Sadly, in July 2009, Arturo Gatti was found dead. His death saddened many across the world, and even though he didn’t always win, no one can not respect this truly amazing fighter.

4) Micky Ward – described as a fighter who can “lose every minute of every round, then come back with something amazing”. Irish Micky Ward lost 13 of his 51 fights. It doesn’t seem possible that a man who lost that many of his fights should be considered for a tournament like this. But, for the fans, I don’t believe anyone would say they wouldn’t want to see Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward go at it again. Ward beat Gatti in their first encounter, and almost knocked him out with a ferocious left hook to the body. A match up with Hatton would see the battle of the body punchers and I believe would be just as thrilling as Gatti/Ward. One of Ward’s proudest nights came against Shea Neary, who was undefeated at the time. Ward stopped him in the 8th round, claiming the WBU world title. No doubt about it, with Micky Ward you are always entertained.

5) Julio Cesar Chavez – simply regarded as “a legendary fighter”. Boxrec considers this man to be the best light-welterweight of all time. His fearsome power resulted in his record consisting of 86 knockouts in 107 wins. After twice defeating Roger Mayweather, Chavez claimed the WBC world title, and went on to be involved in one of the most dramatic fights of all time with Meldrick Taylor. After being behind in the early stages of the fight, Chavez stopped Taylor with 2 seconds remaining of the last round to become unified champion of the light-welterweight division. There is no debating that this man deserves to be in the tournament.

6) Zab Judah – self-proclaimed “Super” Zab Judah. The controversial character is not exactly a fans favourite, but there is no doubt that he has huge boxing talent. Having operated at welterweight also, Judah is a former world champion who never quite made it at the top level. He was knocked out by Kostya Tszyu after impressing the the first round of their fight. He troubled Floyd Mayweather on a number of occasions when the pair meet, involving an embarrassing incident that saw a brawl break out in the middle of the ring between corner men and Judah himself was involved. When it all calmed down Mayweather’s class emerged, and he defeated Judah by decision. Having said that Judah could mix with any other these other competitors in this tournament. And his power is undeniable. So it would be interesting.

Overall, I can’t pick a winner! I would have loved to have seen each and every one of these fights though.