World Boxing Association (WBA) super middleweight champ Andre Ward (24-0, 13 KOs), trainer Virgil Hunter, and promoter Dan Goossen hosted members of the media at King’s Gym in Oakland, CA on Friday to discuss how his training camp has been going in preparation for his upcoming SHOWTIME Super Six World Boxing Classic Final and world championship unification bout against World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Carl Froch (28-1, 20 KOs).
Many were interested in how Andre was doing after the accidental cut he sustained in training camp that forced the postponement of the original October 29 meeting.
“(Froch) targeting the cut is a non-issue for us. It’s not something we talk about. Its not something we think about. We need to go in there and do what we’ve got to do and execute our game plan.”
“As the opponent, he is supposed to try to target the cut, but I think he’ll get himself into trouble if he tries to focus too hard on trying to open up an old cut.
“He’s been cut before too, like when he fought Pascal, and he puffs up and bleeds, so we’ve got a lot of spots we’re gonna be targeting too.”
Andre didn’t shy away from discussing the game plan he had in store for his Dec. 17 opponent. “I try not to fight with any one style. At this level, eventually enough people are going to watch tape of you, and they’ll take advantage of a one dimensional fighter.”
“These are the type of fights that you need to win, and win convincingly in order to cross over to the higher levels. This is huge in terms of stakes that are on the line, but we train hard, as we do for every fight. This one is no different.”
VIDEO: FIGHT CAMP 360° Returns Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME
NEW YORK (Nov. 21, 2011) — Beginning with the return of FIGHT CAMP 360°: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, SHOWTIME® will air a bevy of programming in support of The Final of the Super Six World Boxing Classic between Andre Ward and Carl Froch. The network will introduce a new boxing program titled Staredown: Ward vs. Froch, premiere the three final installments of FIGHT CAMP 360° and replay the storied tournament’s Semifinal bouts on SHOWTIME EXTREME®.
Episode 10 of FIGHT CAMP 360° brings viewers back to the tournament’s kickoff photo shoot in 2009 where the six original participants speak to the magnitude of the Super Six and offer some early predictions. Fast forwarding to 2011, the FIGHT CAMP 360° crews reveal the inner workings of fight week for both Semifinal bouts. Arthur Abraham and Glen Johnson share their disappointment as their respective Super Six hopes fall short. Ward and Froch, however, relish the opportunity to move forward and discuss the road ahead.
All nine previous episodes, as well as bonus features, of FIGHT CAMP 360° are available for free online at: http://sports.sho.com/#/boxing/fightcamp360/super-six.
The FIGHT CAMP 360°: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic camera crews continue to shadow Ward and Froch along their paths to The Final – from this summer’s international press tour to the fighters’ return to training camp and the cut Ward suffered during sparring that forced the postponement of the world championship unification.
For two years, FIGHT CAMP 360° has elevated behind-the-scenes sports dramas to a different level. The tireless SHOWTIME crews have revealed the most intimate moments in the lives of these boxers both in and out of the ring. As the stakes couldn’t be higher for Andre, Carl and their respective teams entering The Final, show producers indicate that the final episodes will deliver even more intensity.
To maximize viewership for the series and exposure for The Final, SHOWTIME has programmed the upcoming two episodes to immediately follow the Emmy® Award-winning premium cable staple Inside the NFL. The next edition of FIGHT CAMP 360°, Episode 10, will premiere on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. Episode 11 premieres on SHOWTIME on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, just 10 days before The Final of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.
The series finale—reliving The Final of the Super Six and capturing the tournament’s aftermath – will premiere Saturday, Dec. 31 at 8:15 p.m. ET/PT. For updates from the camps of Ward and Froch, fans can follow @FightCamp360 on Twitter.
FIGHT CAMP 360°: Inside the Super Six World Boxing Classic – EVENING REPLAY SCHEDULE:
DATE TIME CHANNEL EPISODE #
Wednesday, Nov. 30 10 p.m. ET/PT SHO (PREMIERE) 10
Thursday, Dec. 1 10 p.m. ET/PT SHO EXTREME 10
Wednesday, Dec. 7 11 p.m. ET/PT SHO EXTREME 10
Wednesday, Dec. 14 11 p.m. ET/PT SHO EXTREME 10
Friday, Dec. 16 11 p.m. ET/PT SHO EXTREME 10
Wednesday, Dec. 7 10 p.m. ET/PT SHO (PREMIERE) 11
Wednesday, Dec. 7 11:30 p.m. ET/PT SHO EXTREME 11
Wednesday, Dec. 14 11:30 p.m. ET/PT SHO EXTREME 11
Friday, Dec. 16 11:30 p.m. ET/PT SHO EXTREME 11
Premiering Saturday, Dec. 3, immediately following Abner Mares-Joseph Agbeko II on SHOWTIME, Staredown: Ward vs. Froch will invite fans to witness an intense conversation between the Super Six finalists. Moderated by Emmy® Award-winning, hard-hitting sports reporter Jim Gray, the short-form program will reveal the underlying tension between the world’s most talented 168-pounders as they discuss their preparations for The Final, opinions on one another and a host of other topics. In addition to multiple replays on SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME EXTREME, the program will be available on SHOWTIME On Demand from Dec. 4 through Dec. 18.
In conjunction with its nightly SHOWTIME Sports® block at 10 p.m., SHOWTIME EXTREME will replay both Semifinal matchups of the Super Six World Boxing Classic, including Ward’s dominant title defense over early tourney favorite Arthur Abraham and the Atlantic City slugfest between Froch and Glen Johnson.
SHO EXTREME – SUPER SIX SEMIFINAL REPLAY SCHEDULE:
DATE TIME FIGHT
Thursday, Dec. 15 10 p.m. ET/PT Ward vs. Abraham
Thursday, Dec. 15 11 p.m. ET/PT Froch vs. Johnson
Saturday, Dec. 17 2 p.m. ET/PT Ward vs. Abraham
Saturday, Dec. 17 3 p.m. ET/PT Froch vs. Johnson
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ABOUT SUPER SIX WORLD BOXING CLASSIC
The inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic is a ground-breaking, six-fighter tournament from SHOWTIME Sports® featuring the class of the super middleweight (168-pound) division from around the world. All bouts in the Super Six tournament will be contested under the Unified Rules of Boxing. Each boxer fights three bouts against different opponents in the field in the points-based Group Stage of competition (Win – 2 pts with a 1-pt bonus for KO/TKO; Loss – 0 pts; Draw – 1 pt.). After the Group Stage, the four fighters with the highest point totals will advance to the single-elimination Semifinals. The winners of the Semifinal bouts will advance to the Final and fight for the inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic Cup.
Khan crowned ‘King’ as he scoops British Boxer of the Year gong
LONDON, England (November 21, 2011) – Unified World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) light-welterweight world champion Amir ‘King’ Khan has scooped the 2011 British Boxer of the Year gong at the annual awards ceremony held by the British Boxing Board of Control on Sunday.
The event saw the Bolton star shake-off stiff competition from contenders such as Ricky Burns, Tyson Fury and George Groves, all who have enjoyed a fruitful year.
Khan, though, has had a highly successful 12 months, having beaten Argentine bruiser Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas last December before his homecoming to England in which he saw off the challenge of undefeated European champion Paul McCloskey at the M.E.N Arena in Manchester.
The highlight of the year, however, came against tricky New Yorker Zab Judah in July, when he unified the 140 pound division after a sensational performance in which he stopped the IBF world champion in the 5th round.
“I’m very proud to have won the British Boxer of the Year Award,” said Khan. “It means a lot to me to be recognised with this award and gives me the motivation to strive for even more success in my career,” he said.
“I would like to thank my team and fans for helping me pick up this award, without their help I would not be able to reach the levels I have over the last year. Freddie Roach, my trainer, has been a key figure in helping me become a unified world champion and I’m sure that the next 12 months will get even better for me,” said Khan.
“Thank you to the British Boxing Board of Control for this and I hope to continue to make British boxing proud,” added Khan.
The Olympic silver medallist was unable to make it to the event as he is currently in training ahead of his December 10th showdown with Lamont Peterson in Washington.
Speaking from his Los Angeles camp, Khan is confident ahead of a bout that he hopes will kick-start a big 2012.
“Training is going great and I feel ready to do the business on December 10th. Lamont Peterson is a tough opponent and is a fighter with a very big heart, which showed in his comeback against Victor Ortiz,” Khan said.
“But I’m confident, the hard work is nearly done and I’m ready to put on another show come fight night – it will definitely not be one to miss,” he said.