WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND: COBRA GETS STUNG

Mikkel Kessler W 12 Carl Froch SCORES: 115-113, 116-112, 117-111

The home team keeps the advantage, Mikkel Kessler keeps it perfect. Every hometown fighter has won when they have had the opportunity. Dumb Out Fight Sports scored the fight 115-113 for Froch. It was a very close contended match with a ton of action, Kessler being the aggressor. Many people are asking why Froch didn't put an exclamation point on the fight so he couldn't win. I think we have to credit Kessler for that. He worked hard, and when the hometown crowd goes crazy it is in your favor, because it can sway judges. Even though Kessler was more aggressive he was often tagged with counter punches. This was a seesaw battle and it could have gone either way, and Froch should have known that. When you are in the other guy's home town you have to take the fight to him. It you don't pitch a shutout, or score a KO odds are you will probably lose a decision. It happened to Dirrell and know ironically it happened to Froch. I think Froch deserved the decision but I wouldn't call it a robbery. If he gets hit as much as he did against Kessler than he will get knocked out by Abraham. On the other hand if he can make King Arthur miss, and make him pay he can win. We know he has power and can hurt Abraham, or anyone in the tournament for that matter. His best asset in the ring however may be his big heart, and belief in himself. He truly believes he can beat anyone in the world, and that alone can carry him to victory. We have to remember Froch comes on at the end of fights so he will be there untill the final bell.

KESSLER OR FROCH?

This should be an easy pic but Froch always seems to find a way to win. No matter how ugly he looks in the ring flailing away with his wild punches, he still get the job done. There are some questions to ask of both fighters before you pick the winner. Many think that Froch talks too much and has his mind on other things (Calzaghe). He always does this before, during, and after a fight. It is part of who he is, it is how he pumps himself up, or tries to sike the other guy out. I would only be worried and think something was wrong if he wasn't talking trash, or being a loud mouth. He is so wild you would think he would get caught by a technical boxer, but he really hasn't, yet. Mikkel Kessler on the other hand looked slow, and old in his last fight against Andre Ward. In the sport of boxing you can get old in one night. Did Kessler get old in the ring on the night he fought Ward? Or, was Ward just that quick, and overall better than him. I'm not sure which one it was, probably a little bit of both. Froch brings tremendous pressure and every swing he takes is with ill intent. If Kessler can get his jab working early and gain Froch's respect early he can win an easy fight by just out boxing the Brit. If he folds however, it wont be pretty for Kessler. Froch will destroy him with his power if he can break the pressure with his jab. I think if Mikkel can resemble his former self even a little he will win. He fought a good fight against Joe Calzaghe, and Froch is no Calzaghe. I know, I know it was a long time ago, but I think he can do it. He is looking to prove himself in there after his last one-sided loss in the tournament. I think he is good enough to KO Froch but he will probably win a decision. Even though Froch got the win in his first fight in the tournament against Andre Dirrell he looked horrible,and most thought he lost. I think Kessler will get back to his original form and win a split decision against Carl. I think this fight can go to either man and it will go to the man who wants it the most. I am going to say that this will be the most action packed fight in the tournament thus far, Kessler will pick up the points in a close and probably close win.

Mikkel Kessler W 12 Carl Froch SPLIT DECISION

SUPER SIX WORLD BOXING CLASSIC : GROUP STAGE 1

Standings after group stage 1
FIGHTER RECORD POINTS

Arthur Abraham 1-0 3

Carl Froch 1-0 2

Andre Ward 1-0 2

Jermain Taylor 0-1 0

Andre Dirrell 0-1 0

Mikkel Kessler 0-1 0

What did we learn after watching group stage one? Who is the favorite after group stage one? We have learned what we already knew that the tournament is good for boxing and fun to watch. A lot of questions have been answered and some verdicts are still out. It seems that the knock out losses, and tough wars with Bernard Hopkins have finally caught up with Jermain Taylor. I thought he could have been the dark horse in this tournament because he had something to prove after losing to inferior opponent Carl Froch. Jermain looked nothing like his former self in the Arthur Abraham fight. He looked old and as we all know you can get old in one night in this sport. Arthur Abraham can hit hard and he did what he had to do against Taylor in winning and getting the KO but I think he has many flaws. If Taylor would have been younger or even threw some punches he could have won. I see many chinks in King Arthur's armor that will be exploited by the Andre Ward and possibly the young Andre Dirrell when they fight. Like I said Taylor is old and should save himself and us from any further embarrassment and get out of the tournament, but he wont. The world saw what I already knew that Carl Froch is just a big puncher with no real skill. He looked like an amature against Andre Dirrell flailing wild punches like a mma fighter. Andre Dirrell got stuck with a horrible refferee and Carl Froch got away with a home town decision. Andre has a tough draw in the second round but if he can box for twelve rounds he can win. As bad as Kessler looked against Ward I'm still going to pick him to beat the unpolished Froch. Kessler was the biggest disappointment in stage 1, by loosing his title and looking bad doing it. He was beaten easy by an unproven young American gold medalist easy, and not really putting up a fight. Andre Ward could be the next big American boxing sensation if he can win this tournament and then beat the winner of the Bute VS Andrade. There are big names at 168 and 175 if he moves up. He has been improving each time out and I knew he would be a problem after he beat Miranda easy. He will now be the man to beat and if he can keep improving and boxing the way he did against Kessler he can win the tournament easy. Expect the standings to change in the next stage but I guess we will have to wait until January to know for sure. I will talk about group stage 2 and there match ups in the coming weeks so be ready for that.


Nick Thomas deathwish72@gmail.com

SUPER SIX TOURNAMENT STARTS OUT WITH A BANG AND A THUD:

Arthur Abraham KO 12 Jermain Tylor

The first round of fights in the Super Six Tournament started Saturday night and it was as good as anticipated. Jermain Taylor looked old and unsure of himself he barely even threw a right hand he is done. Artur Abraham had a hard punch but he also has many flaws that better competition will exploit. When Abraham throws his punches they are wild and he is wide open for a counter, he also has no body defense. I picked Taylor to win but in boxing you can turn old in one night and that is what happened to him. He has had too many wars and it has drained him, he is no longer the Jermain Taylor who was the middleweight champ. The good thing about this tournament is the Knockout bonus, It was evident King Artur was tyring at the end to pick up his bonus points. I don't see either fighter going deep into this tournament especially Taylor.

Carl Froch W12 Andre Dirrell

Froch looked amateurish when he was constantly out of position throwing wild punches at the younger, faster Dirrell. I thought as many did that Andre Dirrell earned the decision for out boxing and landing the cleaner more effective punches. It seemed that Froch got a home town decision, for sure he got home town refereeing. He fouled so many times by holding and hitting, rabbit punching and just plain rough tactics the whole night I can even begin to count. Instead of Froch loosing points for his illegal activity they took a point away from Dirrell. The reff took a point for leaning on Froch which he didn't warn him for, He warned him for holding too much and even thoughts warnings were excessive. If Andre would have been a little more busy and trew more combinations he would have won by a landslide. The scores were off with one judge seeing the fight for Dirrell and the other two seeing it for Froch, it was a 4 point swing in Froch's favor. I was impressed by the young Dirrell and thought he won but that is boxing and you never know how the judges will score the fight especially in Europe. I don't think Froch will hold his title much longer and he wont win this tournament. I think it is funny that he was calling out Super Joe because he isn't even close to his level. Andre Dirrell has a bright future in front of him and he is young so he can learn from this fight.

Over all the fights were fun and exciting and I can wait for the next group to lace up their gloves and start throwing. My final analysis is Abraham is overrated, Taylor is shot, Dirrell got robbed and Froch is just plain wild. Having said that watching a tournament like this brings great excitement with its colorful characters who aren't afraid to put it all on the line.

Nick Thomas deathwish72@gmail.com

DID ANYONE SAY SUPER 6? FROCH, ABRAHAM, TAYLOR, KESSLER, DIRRELL, AND WARD, WOW IT'S SHOWTIME!

This tournament is a dream come true for boxing fans across the globe and I can't wait for it to start Saturday night. I will tell you my picks and who I think will win the whole tournament.

Carl Froch VS. Andre Dirrell for the WBC Championship
I just think that Dirrell is too fast and skilled for the more experienced Englishman. Froch has heart and will bring the heat with his thudding power, but if Dirrell can avoid it he will be able to win. The problem that Dirrell could have with Froch is the experience level and he has a tendency to get board and slick if he does that he will go to sleep. Froch has a lot of power and heart but I don't think it will help him against the young and quick man from Flint.

Andre Dirrell W12 UD over Carl Froch


Arthur Abraham vs Jermain Taylor
I am going to pick an upset in this one, no one has more to prove than Taylor and you never want to fight a man who thinks he has nothing to lose. All the pressure will be on the smaller man Abraham who is moving up in weight. He will be fighting in his backyard and that can added pressure he has never been on the big stage and wants to be known in America. People are quick to forget that he was leading against Froch when he got knocked out. The every fight Taylor has lost he was either leading or very competitive. Abraham has not fought the same level of competition as Taylor and why did he not ever fight Felix Sturm which would have drawn a huge crowd in Germany. I think Taylor will avoid Abrham's power early and out box him to a unanimous decision or a late round stoppage, but then maybe I'm wrong and Arhur is really a king.

Jermain Taylor w12 UD Arthur Abraham


Mikkel Kessler Vs. Andre Ward
This should be a stiff test for "The Viking Warrior" because Andre Ward is young quick and talented. I think if Mikkel can shake the ring rust he will be able to get to Ward with his power and take him out in the middle to late rounds. Ward's weakness is his chin he has been knocked down by lesser opposition. He have to box from the opening bell like he did against Edison Miranda if he has any chance to win.

Mikkel Kessler KO 8 Andre Ward

I think that the winner of the Mikkel Kessler Andre Ward match up will be the front runner to win the whole tournament. The dark horse in this race is defiantly Taylor and maybe that is what he needs to propel him to back to an elite in boxing. If Lucian Bute can beat Librado Andrade convincingly he will also be at the top of the super middleweight division and who ever comes out of this tournament on top will have to face him if they want to be considered the true champ. Either way this is good TV and great for the sport of boxing and I'm pumped to watch it all go down no doubt. When the next set of fights is lined up I will tell you the winners of them so stay tuned dumbheads.


Nick Thomas deathwish72@gmail.com