by Frakata: After winning Showtime’s Super Six Tournament, Andre Ward has become universally considered the undisputed Super Middleweight Champion of the World. The other champions of the division are WBO Champion Robert Stieglitz and IBF Champion Lucian Bute..
Sometime during the first half of 2012, Andre Ward will most likely take on Lucian Bute which is arguably the second biggest fight that can be made in boxing today. If Ward gets past Bute and obtains the IBF Championship, Ward should then move on to Sergio Martinez if he agrees to moves up to the division after he fights Mathew Macklin.
Two days before the beginning of 2012, Andre Dirrell knocked out Darryl Cunningham in a comeback fight after 21 months of inactivity. That knockout could have Dirrell picking up where he left off at the top of the division better and faster than anyone could have predicted. Dirrell should now take on one of the likes of George Groves, Glen Johnson or even perhaps Carl Froch who is coming off a one sided loss to Andre Ward, in a risky but exciting fight that would launch Dirrell to the top. Assuming he wins his next fight against a top 10 opponent with an impressive display of skill and class, which is very possible, Dirrell could be fighting the winner of Kessler vs. Stieglitz scheduled for this April for the WBO championship in a test of a fight given that Kessler lost to Andre Ward but defeated Carl Froch.
The winner of a Sergio Martinez and Andre Ward bout would be the WBC, WBA, IBF and the Ring Champion. With those four belts in possession and the year coming to an end, many options would be available where at least one fighter not considered today would prove their worth to become an appropriate and eligible challenger for The Champion. Meanwhile, if Andre Dirrell wins the fight against the winner of Kessler vs. Stieglitz, he could be facing the loser of Sergio Martinez vs. Andre Ward. The winner of that fight, being the WBO Champion, could fight the WBC, WBA, IBF and Ring Champion in a unification and possible pay-per-view worthy bout.