WBC super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler announced today that he has been forced to pull out of the Super Six Boxing Classic tournament due to a worsening eye injury. It is expected that the injury, a weakness of the superior oblique muscle of his left eye, will keep him out of action until early next year at the earliest. Meaning firstly that his upcoming bout against Allan Green has been canceled, and secondly that the tournament as a whole is now potentially in danger of falling apart.
Kessler said in a press release from his promoter Sauerland Events:
“After defeating Carl Froch, I was on the way to win the tournament, so pulling out now really hurts. The eye problem has bothered me since the beginning of the Super Six in my preparation for the bout against Andre Ward. It also bothered me in the fights against Ward and Froch, and in my training for the fight against Green it has become unbearable. I have consulted leading experts in Denmark and Germany and they have advised me to take a break from boxing so that the problem can heal. I have been assured that it will heal completely and that I will be back in the ring next year. As a fair sportsman, I do not want to delay the Super Six, which is still the best thing that has happened to boxing for a long time. I wish my fellow contestants the best of luck - may the best man win. I will be there to fight the winner in 2011.”
There has yet to be any official word on what the organizers will do with the rest of the tournament, but seemingly there are only two real options before them.
The first option would is to find a late replacement for Kessler, and to continue as planned with the round robin portion of the tournament. This would mean that whoever stepped in against Allan Green would need a knockout to proceed, but then so does Green himself, so this is still a possibility.
The big problem though would be finding a replacement at this late stage. Looking at the current super middleweight rankings though there aren't a lot of fighters that would make a fitting replacement in terms of drawing power and ability, and most of those that would surely wouldn't be interested.
A prudent approach for the promoters might be to find a durable and respectable opponent who isn't likely to knock Green out. That way unless Green himself gets a knockout, which he doesn't tend to against decent opposition, both he and the replacement will be out and the biggest selling fighters making up the remaining four will all go through to the knockout stage anyway.
The other solution if no obvious replacement is found would be to skip the current final round robin stage of the tournament and instead have the remaining two bouts serve as the semi finals of the tournament. The only problem with that idea being that it would mean kicking Allan Green out of the tournament alongside Kessler.
Allan Green better off?
With little chance of Green progressing in the tournament outside of knocking out whoever might replaced Kessler him out though, it might be the better option for him to willingly let himself be removed from the proceedings anyway. While the rest of the tournament plays out, Green could work towards a shot against IBF champ Lucian Bute for example. Furthermore, if Green plays things right then in exchange for him stepping aside, he could ask the associated promoters for a guaranteed first crack at the eventual winner.
Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham set to benefit
Along with the news that he will be withdrawing from the tournament, Kessler has also stated that it is likely he will be vacating his WBC title due to the length of time involved with his recovery. If this is the case, Sauerland have since said that Carl Froch vs. Arthur Abraham, which takes place on October 2nd in Monaco, will be for the title.
Robert Arnold, Pittsburgh: "Ward is going to win either way, him and Froch in the final I'm betting"
Calvin Brown, Philly: "They need to get Bute in there but he's fighting already, Andrade would do though and he isn't doing anything"
Comments
Lucian Bute to join tournament, now!
“It actually bums me out a little bit that Pacquiao agreed to do that,” stated UFC President Dana White, referring to the fact that Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao had agreed to a 14-day cutoff regarding random blood testing in order to make a proposed mega-fight with Floyd Mayweather. According to White, Pacquiao should have stood firm on his original stance that the tests administered by the state athletic commissions, which he has never failed, are sufficient.
“First of all, the sport of boxing and the sport of mixed martial arts are the two sports that are regulated by the government. The government actually regulates the fights. They come in and do the drug testing and oversee everything. No way, shape or form should another fucking fighter ever be pointing out and saying, ‘I want more drug testing,’ or this or that,” White would explain, agreeing with promoter Bob Arum’s previous comments that no fighter, including Floyd Mayweather, is bigger than sport.
“It’s like, ‘Shut the fuck up and fight!’ Do you want to fucking fight this guy or not? He’s going to be drug tested, he agreed to take the fucking drug test, you’re going to be paid a gazillion fucking dollars, so are you one of the best in the world or are you not? Period! End of story,” he continued, expressing the exact same frustrations that many fans are currently feeling about the potential showdown.
As for the reason why a clash between the two best boxers on the planet has yet to happen, the UFC President, who’s worked with his fair share of fighters (the UFC currently has more than 200 fighters signed to their roster), believes that it simply comes down to fear. “Stylistically, Floyd doesn’t like this fight. First of all, Floyd just got clipped by Mosley, which is the first time I’ve ever seen him hurt. The difference between Mosley and Pacquiao is Pacquiao throws his most dangerous punches while he’s getting hit,” White would explain, hinting that the close call Mayweather had in the second round of his bout with Mosley might be giving him second thoughts about stepping into the ring with Pacquiao.
“Floyd is used to fighting these guys where he can counter punch and he’s so fast that when they try to hit him, he hits them. He moves around and does his thing. Pacquiao is so fucking dangerous because he’s so fast, he hits hard too and he throws his best punches while he’s getting hit. I think it’s a very dangerous fight for Floyd Mayweather and I think Floyd knows that and I don’t think Floyd is too crazy about this fight,” White added, reiterating his belief that Mayweather is simply afraid to face Filipino superstar.
toprank please put kelly pavlik in there!
Pavlik or Bute would both make great additions, I think they are leaning towards dropping Green instead though
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