Super Six back on track, or running off the rails?

By Paul Strauss: Maybe Showtime and the promoters know a lot more than they’re sharing with us, or they might just be suffering from a case of catagious communal delusional fantasy. First of all, why in the world would they reschedule the fights between Andre Ward vs Andre Dirrell and Carl Froch vs Arthur Abraham on November 27th? It’s no coincidence that that happens to be the same date as the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Michael Katsidis fight at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV. Was it an oversight? Yeh, about the same kind of oversight as driving by the Grand Canyon and claiming to have never seen it.

In addition, last time anyone checked, the Ward and Dirrell camps and respective promoters still haven’t announced a site for their battle? They certainly have had plenty of time to do so. What’s the problem? Is it “wants and concerns” about hometown advantage? Is it an unnatural concern about governing rules of a particular locale? Maybe one or both don’t want to be too far fron their favorite restaurant? No, that’s an Arreola problem. I’ve got it. They’re holding out for the MGM Grand..

The big question now facing this tournament, “Is there a Joker in the castle?” No, this joker isn’t the highest ranking card in a deck. Nor is this joker a wild card. This joker is more of the laughable type, and that’s not a good thing when you’re making a serious effort at trying to put together a special tournament.

If only the four fighters fighting on November 27th remained, then no problem. But, there’s still Allen Green, and last time I counted, that makes five. That’s odd don’t you think! If Showtime is determined to keep Green on board, whom do they pick to replace Mikkel Kessler and face him? Maybe the Riddler!Apparently they’ve already made it understood that if a newcomer is selected, he will not inherit Kessler’s two points. So, you have two fighters with no points, and unless one or the other scores a knockout, there’s not much chance either will advance. That would be a simple solution, and the joker would be gone.

However life is full of surprises, and it’s not beyond the realm of possibility to envision a couple of upsets on the 27th. For a moment, just think about it. Dirrell beats Ward, and Froch beats Abraham. That would mean Ward stays at 4 pts. and Abraham at 3pts. Dirrell would be at 4 pts., or possibly 5 pts. with a KO. The same would be true for Froch. If Green, or the mystery opponent (there’s always two jokers) managed to score a KO, then that fighter would be tied with Abraham, so there’s that fifth joker again. Would the two of them (Abraham and the joker) be required to have a “box off” to see who would be the fourth fighter to advance? Would the winner of that fight earn points for the additional fight that would count in the overall tournament total?

What if there aren’t any upsets and Ward and Abraham come away with wins? Then Ward would move up to 6 pts., or possibly 7 pts if he scores a KO. Abraham would climb to 5 pts., or possibly 6 pts if he scores a KO. That would leave Dirrel and Froch at 2 pts a piece. Then if Green, or the mystery opponent can only gain a decision, he would also be sitting with 2 pts., and tied with Dirrell and Froch. What then…….a three way “box off”, with the same questions as before? Would the winner of the necessary two “box off” bouts earn points that would be used in the overall tournament totals?

There obviously are a lot of other combinations, but isn’t it laughably intoxicating when the joker (fifth) is poured into the mix? Can’t you just see some poor bespectacled mathematician or actuary sitting in the corner of the office, assigned with the task of calculating results for all of the different scenarios. He can be heard muttering under his breath, “It can’t be done in the time allotted!” In the movies, the mob would just bump someone off to keep it simple, but we’re civilized and at best we might hear a harsh grating sound when someone is “scratched”. That’s what happened in days of old when the joker failed to please the king. In this case just being number five is unlucky for Allen Green. Tournament offcials should face the fact that this is no laughing matter, and forget about searching for that second joker, and simplify things by buying out Green. When it comes to the tournment, fans want things to be precise. Unfortunately for Green that means removing the “odd man” joker out of there before the exploding cigars go off and the BANG flags come out to signify a derailment. Officials had no control over the withdrawals of Mikkel Kessler and Jermain Taylor, but they have to accept responsibility for picking the 27th, failing to pick a fight site in a timely manner, and keeping a joker in the mix.