Abraham, Kessler co-favorites in Super Six
Posted Oct. 14, 2009 at 11:43am
By Michael Rosenthal
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Sports handicapper Danny Sheridan has made Arthur Abraham and Mikkel Kessler co-favorites to win the Super Six Boxing Classic on Showtime but five of the six are given a good chance of being the last man standing.
Abraham (30-0, 24 knockouts) and Kessler (42-1, 32 KOs) are 1-1 favorites to win the super middleweight tournament, which begins Saturday. Carl Froch (25-0, 20 K0s) is 2-1, Andre Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) and Andre Ward (20-0, 13 KOs) are 5-2, and Jermain Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) is 10-1.
Doug Fischer and I, co-editors of RingTV.com, have picked Abraham to win the competition.
It seems obvious that Abraham, of Berlin, Germany, and Kessler, of Copenhagen, Denmark, are favored because they are proven commodities. They’re skillful, tough and have survived numerous tests in their careers. Froch, from Nottingham, England, also is experienced but isn’t as polished as his counterparts.
Dirrell, from Flint, Mich., or Ward, from Oakland, Calif., aren’t as experienced as the others on the professional level but have vast amateur experience and probably have more innate talent.
Taylor, from Little Rock, Ark., is the longshot for a reason. He has had a good career but has lost three of his last four fights, the last by knockout to Froch.
The tournament kicks off Saturday, when Abraham faces Taylor in Berlin and Froch fights Dirrell in Nottingham. Sheridan has made Abraham a 13-5 favorite to beat Taylor and Froch a narrow 3-2 favorite over Dirrell.
Kessler will be a 3-1 favorite over Ward when they meet on Nov. 21 in Oakland.
The Froch-Dirrell and Abraham-Taylor fights will be televised back to back at 8 p.m. on Showtime, the former live and the latter delayed.
Here is how the tournament is set up:
Each boxer fights three bouts against different opponents in the points-based group stage of competition. A victory is worth two points, with a one-point bonus for a knockout or TKO; a draw is worth one point; and a loss is worth no points. After the group stage, the four fighters with the highest point totals will advance to the single-elimination semi-finals. The winners of the semi-final bouts will advance to the final.
Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor.com
Abraham (30-0, 24 knockouts) and Kessler (42-1, 32 KOs) are 1-1 favorites to win the super middleweight tournament, which begins Saturday. Carl Froch (25-0, 20 K0s) is 2-1, Andre Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) and Andre Ward (20-0, 13 KOs) are 5-2, and Jermain Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) is 10-1.
Doug Fischer and I, co-editors of RingTV.com, have picked Abraham to win the competition.
It seems obvious that Abraham, of Berlin, Germany, and Kessler, of Copenhagen, Denmark, are favored because they are proven commodities. They’re skillful, tough and have survived numerous tests in their careers. Froch, from Nottingham, England, also is experienced but isn’t as polished as his counterparts.
Dirrell, from Flint, Mich., or Ward, from Oakland, Calif., aren’t as experienced as the others on the professional level but have vast amateur experience and probably have more innate talent.
Taylor, from Little Rock, Ark., is the longshot for a reason. He has had a good career but has lost three of his last four fights, the last by knockout to Froch.
The tournament kicks off Saturday, when Abraham faces Taylor in Berlin and Froch fights Dirrell in Nottingham. Sheridan has made Abraham a 13-5 favorite to beat Taylor and Froch a narrow 3-2 favorite over Dirrell.
Kessler will be a 3-1 favorite over Ward when they meet on Nov. 21 in Oakland.
The Froch-Dirrell and Abraham-Taylor fights will be televised back to back at 8 p.m. on Showtime, the former live and the latter delayed.
Here is how the tournament is set up:
Each boxer fights three bouts against different opponents in the points-based group stage of competition. A victory is worth two points, with a one-point bonus for a knockout or TKO; a draw is worth one point; and a loss is worth no points. After the group stage, the four fighters with the highest point totals will advance to the single-elimination semi-finals. The winners of the semi-final bouts will advance to the final.
Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor.com
