Al Bernstein On Boxing: Super Six Will Be Super

OK, this is a little awkward. When the news broke this week that Showtime has created a six man tournament in the super middleweight division I was, well, ecstatic.

I love the talent in super middleweight division, and I think boxing needs something fresh and daring like this tourney. Now those are my honest, gut level reactions to this news.

Here’s the awkward part. Since I’m employed as the lead boxing analyst for Showtime Championship Boxing, it’s just barely possible that some might think that kind of enthusiasm is not arrived at objectively.

They might reasonably assume that I have a more subjective agenda in praising this new venture…like keeping my job. Well, I won’t deny that my 10 year old son’s penchant for purchasing every Star Wars item ever made means I can hardly afford a loss in income.

But, my giddy reaction to the super six tourney is as genuine as could be. You can suggest it’s misguided or even wrong, but you can’t get me for being a total company man.

I could trot out the argument that my track record as a broadcaster suggests fairness, and I could point to the countless times I have praised the product of other networks in columns like this or on my boxing channel.

But I have a better and less narcissistic argument to use—my reaction must be an honest one because it’s the same as everyone else’s. Virtually every boxing writer, broadcaster or fan I have talked to or listened to has said the same thing—this is great.

Perhaps there are a few complete misanthropes intent on concentrating on the potential pitfalls like injuries, mid-tourney retirements, or old fashioned contract breaking. Finding those people is about as hard as finding Miguel Cotto fans in the Phillipines.

You have to really work hard to find any reasons to not like this super six tourney. The fighters are all talented and the match-ups range from good to spectacular.

The six fighters in this tourney are as diverse as they could be, both in and out of the ring. The international flavor of this is part of what makes this so attractive to boxing fans. Three Europeans: Mikkel Kessler, Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham and the Americans: Jermain Taylor, Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell.

There is also a genuine sense mystery. For the most part, these men have never stepped into a ring against one another. Only Taylor and Froch have fought each other in this group—and that match was one of the most compelling and dramatic of this year.

Trying to handicap this round robin tourney is almost foolhardy. In fact, one of the most enticing things about this tournament is that any match that could be made among these six boxers could be won by either man.

We will see these match-ups and find out who is the most super of the super six. I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens. And that’s my real opinion…I promise.

* * *

The attention of most boxing fans is focused on the drama in the 140-147 pound area where Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto and their representatives have all exchanged soundbites in the media.

Only Mayweather’s next foe, Juan Manuel Marquez, has been relatively silent—simply going about his business of preparing for his fight with Floyd. Now that’s a novel approach.

In case you need a scorecard, here’s the essence of what’s going on. Manny does not want to fight Cotto at 145, so Cotto is now balking, Mosley says he has moved on and does not care about fighting Manny, but he really does, Floyd actually kind of said that he would like to move right past Marquez to Manny—even though he has a fight scheduled with Marquez.

Whew, I need to take my breath, and…Manny now says maybe he should fight Mosley instead of Cotto, which might be a negotiating ploy or it may be the truth. And all of this is giving Bob Arum heartburn.

I think that covers everything so far, but only until tomorrow because it seems to change daily. The good part about all this is that the verbal gymnastics going on right now mean nothing. Mayweather will end up fighting Marquez—a good fight—and Manny will end up fighting either Cotto or Mosley—either one an excellent match.

And the winner of those matches is likely to fight—a fantastic match as well. So, if we can all just sit through the media circus, boxing fans will get what they want, some good matches.