The Super Six World Boxing Classic semi-finals are over and in the record books. Undefeated WBA Super Middleweight Champion Andre Ward (24-0, 13 KOs) is set to fight WBC World Super Middleweight Champion, Carl Froch (28-1, 20, KOs) later this year to crown a winner of an at times troubled tournament.
Carl Froch defeated Glen Johnson (51-15, 35, KOs) Saturday night by majority decision. Although the fight was by no means a disappointment the Cobra’s victory went the way many expected, with the younger man outworking and wearing down the big punching veteran. This fight paves the way for what should be an exciting night between Ward and Froch resulting in the unification of the WBC and WBA belts, bringing a close to a competition that began in 2009.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, the man initially favored to win the tournament made his return to ring in style. Mikkel Kessler (43-2, 32 KOs), who was replaced by Johnson after a serious eye injury forced him out of the Super Six competition, fought Mehdi Bouadla (22-3, 10 KOs) in Copenhagen this week. Kessler showed little, if any, ring rust after the 14 month layoff. He put on a great show against Bouadla who was dominated by the returning Champ. The fight ended in the sixth round by TKO with Kessler working the body hard.
This week’s bouts between Kessler and Boudla and Froch and Johnson have set the landscape for an exciting 2012.
Kessler looks fit and ready to make a challenge for the IBF or WBO title by the end of the year. Kessler in a post-fight interview let it be known that his eye is doing great, he has no problem with his hand and that he’s is ready for any fight as long as it’s a title fight. Should Kessler make a successful bid for the title, it would setup a huge unification bout, possibly uniting the WBA, WBC and either the IBF and WBO titles.
Many believe that Kessler’s next fight will be against IBF titlist Lucian Bute. Based in Quebec, the Romanian silenced critics when he stopped Andrade with a dominating performance in the 4th round. While he has to face his mandatory challenger Jean Paul Mendy next month, it’s an open secret that Showtime is looking to match him up against either Kessler or former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik this fall. Either way it will most likely set up a blockbuster unification bout with the winner of the Super Six, uniting the WBA, WBC and IBF titles. Having been the one world class super middleweight to never enter Showtime’s innovative tournament, Bute will surely be looking to prove himself by defeating the winner of the Super Six.
Boxing fans have much to look forward to from the 168Ibs division The upcoming America vs. Britain match-up between Andre Ward and Carl Froch is a fight two years in the making and will decide who wins the Super Six World Boxing Classic. But whoever emerges the victor will be just one player in perhaps the deepest weight class in boxing. By 2012 at least one of Mikkel Kessler and Lucian Bute should have staked their claim to be one half of 2012’s first super middleweight super fight.
