By James Slater: After almost two eventful years, the grand final of the largely successful and hugely entertaining “Super Six” is almost upon us. Back in October of 2009, Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch opened the Boxing Classic tournament, with wins over Jermain Taylor and Andre Dirrell respectively. Now, with Taylor and Abraham having exited the tourney along with Mikkell Kessler and late entrants Glen Johnson and Allan Green, 33-year-old Froch and 27-year-old Andre Ward are all that is left of a great field of fighters.
Unbeaten Ward has amazed fans with his ability – ability that has seen him come through all three of his “Super Six” outings with relative ease. While Froch, who struggled against Dirrell in his debut, has bounced back well from his sole loss to Kessler; having out-pointed both Abraham and Johnson. Now the fans are enthusiastically awaiting the final. The word is the final will take place on October 29th, with two venues being looked as: Las Vegas and New York.
Froch favours Las Vegas, and Showtime are reported to also favour having the big fight take place there. A fitting venue any of the top Vegas hotels would certainly be, and such a venue would also produce a neutral sight. Ward has fought many of his pro bouts in California (his last eight fights were fought in CA), and he too will be making his Vegas debut if the final is held there. It seems fair, and Froch has proved many times he is more than willing to travel to another guy’s backyard to fight. Shouldn’t Froch get his wish and have the fight in Vegas?
It is to be hoped Ward, 24-0(13) agrees to the fight being held outside of California. We don’t need any delays due to one of the finalists moaning and groaning over the final’s location. Ward is a terrific talent and he has the look of a future superstar, but he has benefited from home town advantage too many times – with two of his three “Super Six” wins taking place in Oakland.
Wherever the final is held, though, it’s sure to be a big occasion. Let’s also hope Froch-Ward turns out to be a great fight. But will the styles of the two men gel? Froch loves to go to war, yet he can box if he wants to. Ward is a pure boxer, yet he has been accused of using dirty tactics at times. Will “The Cobra” be able to hunt Ward down and force him to stand and trade? Or will the man known as “S.O.G” look to pick Froch off and steal points with a largely defensive approach?
Froch, 28-1(20) is rarely if ever in a dull fight. Hopefully this trend will continue, under the bright lights of Las Vegas, in October.