It?s quite easy to fall into the trap of being accustomed to seeing the best face the best. In various sports, the effort given by athletes and teams, respectively is more than enough to please the average fan. It may not always be our side of choice playing for championship, but there?s at least the slight satisfaction in knowing the road taken to reach the pinnacle was not an easy one. The BCS has nothing on the aggravation heaved upon the sport of boxing and by far most importantly, its fans. Those who pack the stands, crowd the couch and so forth are the lifeblood of a pastime that has faded increasingly over the years. Networks often blow their budgets on fights that are less entertaining than watching paint dry and what we?re often left with is having to shell out even more of our earnings on Pay TV bouts. Whoever is in charge has perfected the art of selling you much more than what you are expecting to receive. In the meantime, the rest of the sports world seems to only care about the fight to end all fights. Fight, already, but it may never happen. The preoccupation with only two stickers on the Rubik?s Cube of boxing is much like whipping a dead mule. Somewhere along the line, perhaps it became apparent that some change would not only help boxing, but also come to its rescue in some small way. It?s not exactly known whether or not a fighter is schooled on how to answer questions in an interview, whether it is conducted before or after a match. Too often, the norm is for the victorious pugilist to defer the inquiry to his promoter in regard to who the next opponent should be. That?s always the easiest answer, but it?s never the best one. It may be a confounding sense of freedom which causes a fighter to respond in such a nonsensical manner. Then came the Super Six World Boxing Classic.
Throughout the past two years, we have treated to a magnificent display of match ups. The differences in fighting styles, countries of origin, background and so on have all calculated into the blueprint for how things should be handled. This tournament has guaranteed that the conquering hero will be universally recognized as the undisputed king of the Super Middleweight division. The contest has thrown the WBA, WBC and best of all the linear (Ring Magazine) titles into one giant championship bin and it?s all up for the taking. The current holder of the IBF belt was clearly too busy to get involved. Fighting the ?B-Listers Association? is without a doubt time consuming and potentially exhausting. Pay no mind to this. We didn?t need him in the mix. The Super Six has given us interesting plots, subplots and situations. The Showtime network has expertly crafted its reality series, ?Fight Camp 360? into a fine set of programming for the boxing nation to enjoy. It?s nowhere near as mind numbing or repetitive as their main rival?s sales pitch for high profile bouts. Rather, it has allowed us to view various boxers in superb form. Of course, a few of the original six competitors (Mikkel Kessler, Jermain Taylor and Andre Dirrell) withdrew from the tournament for various reasons. Dirrell and Kessler for neurological and optical issues, respectively. Taylor for just plain issues, as in one too many evenings ending flat out on the canvas. Regardless, the contention for the top spot became all the more coveted and next Saturday?s final is a must-see.
There has been at times more drama than a midday telenovela. We witnessed the humbling of some and the clear blossoming of others. The action commenced in October of 2009. ?King? Arthur Abraham of Germany (by way of Armenia) met up with Jermain Taylor of Arkansas in Berlin. Taylor was beaten into retirement, although he couldn?t stay away for very long as he recently announced his ill-conceived intention to return to the ring. Skip over Gaul and hop across the pond to England. In the second bout of a split-site telecast, Carl ?The Cobra? Froch of Nottingham, UK faced off with Andre Dirrell of Flint, MI. Froch prevailed in a very close contest by way of a split decision which when examined closely offered a possible whiff of a home cooked English breakfast. Those of us who watched this fight should remember one of our first introductions to the only sound more irritating and deafening than a bullhorn at close range in the form of Froch?s girlfriend. Dirrell withdrew from the competition following his second bout of the tournament (with Abraham) that ended with the adopted German ?hitting? him while he was still somewhat on the ring apron. Abraham lost by disqualification. Not long after all of this, we were beginning to see the wizardry of Oakland, CA native Andre Ward as he carved through Mikkel Kessler, replacements Allan Green and Sakio Bika and finally, Arthur Abraham. This isn?t meant by any means to be a summation of the entirety of the tournament. Still, it would be unfair to not recognize the flash in the pan resurgence of the timeless Glen ?Road Warrior? Johnson, who was a replacement fighter himself. He knocked out another fill-in, Allan Green. The 42 year old Johnson didn?t make it to the final, but his effort, will and determination are why we watch. All in all, the Super Six has at times been more compelling than a game of Clue. There was never any real cause for concern in terms of the system falling into jeopardy any more than our knowledge that the butler committed the crime.
The final four, so to speak pitted Glen Johnson against Carl Froch and Andre Ward against Arthur Abraham. Most of the fight world predicted a Froch/Ward final and likewise hoped for such an outcome. Of course, that?s exactly what happened. The finished product is to be showcased in Atlantic City, NJ next weekend. The victor walks away with all the proverbial marbles. All of the aforementioned championship titles will be theirs, as well as the actual tournament trophy. The best part of the last two years has been knowing that there would be no funny business in the upper echelon of the 168 pound weight class and that in itself has been beautiful. Just what boxing has needed for quite some time. There is no greater form of athletic engagement than the bracketed style of tourney. It usually ensures that the best face the best and with a little stroke of luck, the Cinderella sleeper can become a legend. So, as we move toward the summit of this amazingly successful experiment, we can only hope the other divisions take notice. Rather, we long for the day where no one stands in the way of the fights we as consumers pay to see and that we come first for a change. This time it?s swine before pearls.
