By Ronnie Jordan: So the Super Six final is almost upon us. For those of you who were there at the birth of this showtime Super Middle weight tournament, the prospect of finally seeing the winner is probably a welcome relief. Its the final everyone wanted after the withdrawals of Mikkel Kessler and Andre Dirrell and it could be argued the most exciting prospect for a final shoot out even if those two were still included.

Two years is a significant period of time in anyone’s life and the world has changed dramatically in those 24 months. So much so that the announcement of the Super Six seems like a distant memory. Before the numerous flooding, earthquakes and revolution, Showtime first revealed there plans to get 6 of the top 168lb fighters together in an unprecedented tournament format. In fact it’s this 2 year time span that some people blame for the perils this tourney has faced. Too much time for things to go wrong (and in a sport like boxing things inevitably do go wrong) it’s all the more easy for fans to lose interest. But the boxing community has stuck through it thick and thin and although it’s had it’s detractors we now find our selves with the luxury of witnessing an evenly matched contest between the two most deserving fighters of the tournament.

The qualities in a fighter the Super Six has rewarded above all else is dedication and determination. That’s what these two warriors have in abundance. While others have fallen by the way, these two have proven they’re worth and gained the respect of the boxing world.

Andre Ward has arguably benefited the most from this experience, he’s shot to stardom in the space of 4 fights going from being a great prospect and Olympic gold medallist to flying high with the top p4p fighters of the world. His status before the tournament was relatively low which is something Ward himself feels was wasn’t right. He believes he was unfairly dismissed by some fans/writers, and of course this is true. But the lack of hype around the Oakland fighter was largely to do with his fighting style. He was convincingly beating fighters but rarely did he look spectacular. Not especially explosive or slick. What many of us missed though is his all round game, he is good at every discipline you can teach in the sweet science. He can box you from range with his jab, he can pot shot you, he has good lateral movement, head movement, footwork, he hits you out of the break and he is probably one of the best inside fighters in the world today. Its not until we saw him against elite opposition that this was so apparent and the opening match against the pre-tournament favourite Mikkel Kessler, revealed how deceptively good Andre ward is. He dominated the Dane in every area, boxing intelligently with great skill and variety leaving Mikkel bloodied and beaten. He even uses Bernard Hopkin-esque tricks of holding and headbutting usually only reserved for veterans of the sport. Some people do label him as a dirty fighter but not even these people would suggest he isn’t a world class one.

Carl Froch has also had a meteoric rise in status and popularity throughout these 2 years. the “cobra” from Nottingham England was also written off by many and certainly wasn’t held in high esteem by the boxing purists. Slow crude slugger and unskilled plodder are some of the descriptions that come to mind. Very much an unpopular fighter especially in America where he was only really respected for his toughness and heart but never for his skill. It’s great to make people eat there words sometimes. Froch has proven himself time and time again to be not only courageous and tough but also a boxer with real ability. Again like ward, Froch is some what deceptive. He can look awkward and uncoordinated at times but he fights with measured aggression and real purpose. He isn’t as easy to hit as it would seem and he’s able to counter fighters who are lured in by his exposed chin. Of course Froch wouldn’t be quite the same fighter if that chin wasn’t made from some form of yet undiscovered granite like substance, but he certainly doesn’t rely on toughness alone.

What is probably true however is Froch has continuously overachieved by beating fighters most considered more rounded and better technically. I think he’s an inspiration to every boxer and even sportsman in the world, proving that working hard and having that inner belief makes anything possible. Being written off early in your career doesn’t mean you won’t make it.

Its now the American media even more so than the British who regard Froch as a real treasured asset to the sport and many American fans have also now begrudgingly recognized Froch as the elite fighter and true warrior that he is.

The winner of this fight is no foregone conclusion. Andre ward being the bookies favourite is probably a fair guess, but that’s all it is, a guess!. Froch doesn’t care about odds or so called expert analysis, he’s proven in his recent fights against Abraham and Johnson that he has the boxing ability to cause anyone problems and all he thinks about is beating the opponent in front of him any way possible. The trouble is Andre Ward has similar qualities. A will to win at all cost type attitude! Sometimes It may even look ugly, but it doesn’t matter to him as long as he gets the W. Ward is a reactor inside the ring, he changes his style to capitalize on his opponents weaknesses. He always seems to have an answer and logic would suggest that he may have answers to what ever Froch throws at him.

What I’m certain about though is it will be competitive through out and probably end up a very close decision which really could go either way. After all Froch has shaped a career out of defying logic.