By Jason Kim: WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (22-0, 13 KO’s) may not get much in the way of a quality opponent in his next Super Six tournament fight on November 27th, according to the latest boxing news.

The fighter that was supposed to be going against Ward on that date, Andre Dirrell, suddenly without warning dropped out of the tournament earlier today due to neurological problems he suffered in his last Super Six tourney fight against Arthur Abraham on March 27th.

The fight between Dirrell and Ward was supposed to have been one of the most competitive matches in the entire tournament and it was looked forward to by a great many boxing fans. Now, however, there isn’t many top fighters to pick and choose from with only a little over a month to go before November 27th.

Dan Rafael of ESPN doesn’t think Ward will find anyone that good because of the shrinking pool from which to pick from in the super middleweight division. Jermain Taylor, Dirrell and Mikkel Kessler all have dropped out of the Super Six tournament due to medical reasons, and it’s going to be tough to find someone that is not only free and willing to take the fight on short notice, but is also willing to risk what will likely be an almost certain loss to Ward.

Given how risk adverse most top fighters are nowadays, it’s likely that Ward will get stuck with either a 2nd tier opponent or a bottom 15 fringe contender. Ideally, it would be nice if someone like Sakio Bika, Marcus Johnson, Librado Andrade, Paul Smith, or Karoly Balzsay stepped up and took the fight. However, the chances of that happening are probably slim and none.

Ward is most likely going to have to take a B level fighter or snatch someone from the light heavyweight or middleweight division if they’re willing to find in the Super Six tournament. It would be a great opportunity for any fighter to take, but there’s little time to get ready for the bout and that alone might be a major turnoff for potential opponents.

Ward has already made it into the semifinals of the Super Six tournament by virtue of his two wins over Kessler and Allan Green. It’s unclear whether his next fight on November 27th with be a Super Six tournament fight or just a normal non-tournament bout.

We’ve already got 41-yedar-old Glen Johnson replacing Kessler after he dropped out recently. If Dirrell gets replaced after two fights, it’s going to make the Super Six tournament look very odd.