by Dan Rafael
Showtime super middleweight tourney in works
Arthur Abraham Carl Froch Mikkel Kessler Jermain Taylor Andre Ward Andre Dirrell
Since
Joe Calzaghe left the super middleweight division at the end of 2007 for two fights at light heavyweight and then retirement, the 168-pound division has been without a king, although there are several interesting and exciting fighters and potential matches in the weight class.
Showtime, of course, has been heavily invested in the division, broadcasting a number of significant bouts at 168 over the past year or so. It has also looked to the future of the division, which is one of the reasons it televised last week's
Arthur Abraham middleweight title defense from Germany knowing full well that Abraham is on the verge of moving up in weight.
Now, Showtime is taking an even bigger plunge, and if the network's boxing chief,
Ken Hershman, pulls off an audacious and ambitious plan, we will see the crowning of a new king in the division after a series of high-profile bouts between the fall and mid-2011.
Hershman is working hard to finalize a stunning six-man round-robin tournament involving most of the key fighters in the division:
Carl Froch,
Mikkel Kessler,
Jermain Taylor,
Andre Ward,
Andre Dirrell and Abraham, who would move up in weight.
Showtime didn't respond to requests for comment, but I've been doing my own digging and have talked to multiple sources involved in what will be one of the most significant events in boxing in recent years.
If this thing comes off -- a big if -- it could be spectacular.
Keep in mind that tournaments are awfully hard to keep together. Anyone remember HBO's 1980s heavyweight tournament? But if everyone signs off on this one, they'll be committed on paper to a series of fights against predetermined opponents (except in the semifinals and finals).
The beauty of this tournament is that it's not an elimination tournament. Just because a fighter loses does not mean he is out of the competition. On the contrary. His career will go on and he will have a chance to regenerate himself for good money against another fighter in the round robin. Win or lose, each fighter will fight on, collecting points based on how their fights go. I'll get to the particulars on that in a minute.
Here are the details as I know them, and keep in mind that not all of the promoters involved, including
Gary Shaw,
Lou DiBella,
Wilfried Sauerland,
Dan Goossen and
Mick Hennessy, have officially signed off yet.
The first two bouts are tentatively scheduled for Oct. 10 with Froch, of England, defending his belt in the United Kingdom against American rising contender Dirrell. There has been some talk of a Froch-
Kelly Pavlik fight on HBO in the fall, but that seems unlikely now. Entering the tournament makes a lot of sense for Froch, who has been unable to attract big TV money in his home country.
On the same telecast, but in Germany, Abraham is supposed to move up in weight to face former middleweight champ Taylor, who was knocked out by Froch in the 12th round of an April super middleweight title challenge. It's a tough way for Taylor to make his return, but he can make a statement by beating Abraham.
The third fight in what is supposed to be a 12-bout tournament would see titleholder Kessler, who has been bogged down in a dispute with promoter
Mogens Palle, come to America and defend against Ward on Nov. 7. Presumably, that bout will take place in Ward's hometown of Oakland, Calif., or in that region. Presumably, Kessler will have settled his differences with Palle or gone to another promoter.
The fourth bout is supposed to take place Jan. 30 in America with Abraham facing Dirrell. Abraham has long wanted to campaign in America, so this also makes sense.
The next fight, taking place in March 2010, would be Froch against Kessler in either the U.K. or Kessler's native Denmark.
The sixth fight would match Ward and Taylor in the United States in April or May 2010. There is also a possibility of Ward-Taylor and Froch-Kessler taking place on the same date with Showtime doing a split-site show.
Fight No. 7 would pit 2004 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Ward against teammate and bronze medalist Dirrell in July or August 2010 in the United States.
The eighth fight of the tournament would match Froch and Abraham, also in July or August 2010 in Europe. It also might be paired with Dirrell-Ward on another split-site show.
In September 2010, Kessler would face Taylor in the U.S. in the final bout of the preliminary matches.
The semifinals are slated for January 2011, with the final, to be held in the U.S., penciled in for May or June 2011.
The way fighters will advance to the semifinals is by collecting points. A fighter will get two points for a victory, with an additional point given for a knockout. One point is awarded for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss.
The four fighters with the highest point totals advance to the semifinals and will be seeded based on who has the most points. The fighter who has racked up the most points faces the fighter among the four semifinalists with the fewest points. The No. 2 and No. 3 point earners face each other in the other semifinal.
And what if there is a tie in points at the semifinal stage? Easy. If two fighters who have already faced each other are tied, the winner of that bout will be the one to advance to the semis. If there is a tie between fighters who have not fought, the guy with the most stoppage wins in the tournament advances. If there is still a tie, they'll go to the official scorecards of each fighter's tournament bouts and add them up, with the leader advancing. If the ties continue, the ultimate decision will be made with a coin flip.
Hershman has been very thorough -- and secretive -- in this whole process. But, from what I understand, he made at least one trip to Germany to meet with Abraham's handlers. He also worked closely to get
Al Haymon, the adviser of Taylor and Dirrell, on board before getting their promoters involved.
Hershman has come up with contingencies in the event of a no contest, a positive drug test and even if a fighter fails to make the 168-pound limit. There are also contingencies in the event of a draw in the semifinals, not to mention language in the contract that addresses everything from sponsorship revenue sharing to ticket allotments.
Hershman has also covered himself in another critical area, that of mandatory obligations of the titleholders. They won't get in the way. By entering the tournament, the fighters and their promoters expressly agree that the tournament takes precedence over a mandatory bout, although a mandatory could take place if it's within the context of the tournament.
If it all comes off, it will be a miracle. But the concept is exciting and you have to figure we'll see some good fights before somebody inevitably falls out. Showtime, of course, has a mechanism in place to replace a boxer who falls out of the tournament.
Showtime is going to play this up big, which it should. There will be at least four kickoff news conferences scheduled for New York, London, Copenhagen and Berlin. Los Angeles might also be added. While the fighters are in New York for that media event, they are obligated to participate in a Showtime video and photo shoot in order for the network to assemble what it needs for what figures to be a heavy marketing and promotional campaign.
By the way, there is one glaring omission from the tournament: titleholder
Lucian Bute of Canada. He's scheduled to face top contender
Librado Andrade in a fall mandatory fight, a bout that Golden Boy won the purse bid for last week with an offer of $1.211 million, which beat the $1.195 bid from Bute promoter InterBox.
The first time they met, Bute beat Andrade in a controversial fight that Showtime aired. From what I am told, Showtime wanted Bute in the tournament but his handlers wouldn't commit to the tournament format. So be it.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what Golden Boy, which promotes Andrade, is going to do with the fight. It's a bit too rich to be on a pay-per-view undercard, and it also makes absolutely no sense as an HBO fight, given the network's total disinterest in the 168-pound division. Of course, HBO is closely aligned with Golden Boy, so I guess it might do it for that reason.
But Bute-Andrade II is only one fight and, frankly, not really a big one at that.
The big ones would be on Showtime. It's made a serious commitment at 168 pounds. Between the recent bouts it has aired and the plans for this incredible tournament, Showtime has the division locked up, and fight fans will be the happy beneficiaries of its smart game plan.
Dan Rafael Blog - ESPN
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