411 Boxing Fact or Fiction 10.27.09: Super Six World Boxing Classic Edition
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 10.27.2009
Should Jermain Taylor retire? Was Andre Dirrell robbed against Carl Froch? Is Abraham now the favorite to win the Super Six World Boxing Classic? Will Mikkel Kessler beat Ward? 411's Matt Knowles and Patrick Cassidy debate these topics and more in a special Super Six edition of 411 Boxing Fact or Fiction!
Original image by Rafael Rivera
Ring the bell because it's time for another edition of Fact or Fiction. This week, Matt Knowles, our resident preview master awaits in the red corner to take on Patrick Cassidy of the popular 'Showdown' column. After getting a little more comical last week we now turn our attention back to the Super Six World Boxing Classic.
I'll be your third man in the ring for this one so let's get it on!
Round 1: Given the outcome of his fight with Arthur Abraham, Jermain Taylor should retire.
Matt Knowles: FICTION - When Ricky Hatton got annihilated by Pacquiao earlier this year, everybody and their mother cried-out for The Hitman to immediately retire. My reaction to that feeling was this: he doesn't need to retire, but he should definitely stop competing against the A+ fighters in his weight class, and attempt to make a solid living against the mid-range contenders at 140. Losing to one of the best athletes on the planet is no disgrace, as it only clarifies where you stand in the grand scheme of the sport.
I have these same exact feelings about Jermain Taylor at this point. I believe he has no business in the ring against Arthur Abraham or any of the other elite combatants at 168 (which means he should probably leave the Super Six tourney, mind you), but he can still make good money and earn some solid W's against other fighters in the top 10-20 of the super middleweight division.
Patrick Cassidy: FACT - Can Jermain Taylor still be a legitimate contender at both Middleweight and Super? Yes, I think he can but it's unlikely he'd be anything more than that. So what's the point of staying in the sport if you're not going to be champion? He's made great money, built an impressive career resume, and is the type of guy who has opportunities outside the ring. Do the right thing and protect your health.
Scorecard: 0 for 1 - Perhaps we'll know for sure after the fight with Ward, if he continues.
Round 2: You feel that Andre Dirrell was robbed against Carl Froch.
Matt Knowles: FICTION - If Andre Dirrell thinks he was robbed, he really needs to pay greater attention to how the scoring system in boxing works. You can't intentionally hold your opponent on a consistent basis and expect to win rounds. Let's keep in mind that the objective during each round is to impress the ringside judges to the point that they feel that you were the superior athlete over that particular 3-minute timeframe. Was Oscar De La Hoya impressing the judges during the final three rounds against Tito Trinidad by running away? Did Jose Luis Castillo impress anybody by virtually handing Money Mayweather the first 3-4 rounds of their first bout on a silver platter? How impressive was it when Juan Manuel Marquez was crashing to the canvas against Pacquiao in both of their fights? Okay, I think I made my point….
Patrick Cassidy: FACT - Both on the scorecards and the officiating within the ring were at a clear advantage to Carl Froch. Maybe it wasn't as bad as Andre would like to make it out to be but he's not far off.
Scorecard: 0 for 2 - I'm on the fence too...I gave it to Dirrell 114-113 but not sure I'd call it a robbery.
Round 3: It's safe to say that unless Kessler or Ward knock the other out, Abraham has just become the odds on favorite to win after the first round.
Matt Knowles: FACT - I'm glad that Ramon added the knock-out stipulation to this question, otherwise I may have gone the other way. Abraham's performance was easily the most impressive ("…the word of the day is….") of the four contestants last weekend, and I expect him to continue his winning ways in round two of the tourney against Andre Dirrell. Frankly, I never thought much of Abraham during his run as IBF middleweight champ, but I became a fan of his last weekend due to his persistence, aggression, and bone-crushing power. If Ward KO's Kessler, or vice-versa, I'd call them the favorite of the Super Six, but otherwise Abraham is currently the man to beat.
Patrick Cassidy: FICTION - Their's a difference between Mikkel Kessler and Jermain Taylor, Kessler's offense isn't going to sputter out after six rounds. It's not fair to make Arthur Abraham out to be some type of monster simply after one fight against a fighter who may or may not be shot. Kessler has the type of in your face offense that will give Abraham's selective offense fits. He also has fought the best at 168 and has looked great in every fight he's been in and that includes his bout with Calzaghe. Kessler is still the favorite to win this thing.
Scorecard: 0 for 3 - Two different perspectives this week, clearly!
AND NOW FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS!!!
Round 4: You were miffed that Carl Froch was never penalized for his rabbit punches.
Patrick Cassidy: FACT - Can't say I was surprised but I was certainly annoyed by the lack of penalty. I understand Dirrell is an awkward fighter but punches to the back of the head are illegal for a reason, it offers a heightened chance of injury.
Matt Knowles: FICTION - I was not surprised in any way, for two specific reasons:
1) The fight was in Froch's hometown, and no referee in their right mind will penalize the hometown fighter in a close contest of this nature
2) It was Dirrell who was instigating the clinches, and when that occurs, the "clinched" fighter is basically given a free pass to foul, since the aforementioned clinch is also technically a foul by the Queensbury rulebook (reference: any Kostya Tszyu bout where he was being clinched)
If the bout were on neutral ground, the ref may have handled the clinch-to-rabbit-punch pattern differently, but it "was what it was" and Froch is still the WBC champ, and as much as I liked Dirrell before this tourney, Froch did what he had to do to remain unbeaten.
Scorecard: 0 for 4
Round 5: Edison Miranda would be a good choice to replace Taylor.
Patrick Cassidy: FICTION - He's been defeated by two of the five combatants including lopsided losses to Ward and Abraham in their second match. Plus it's been over two years since he's defeated a meaningful opponent, why would you possibly let him in? If the winner of Bute/Andrade is not available I'd hope Sakio Bika would be the next choice.
Matt Knowles: FICTION - Take everything Patrick just said, highlight it, right-click, hit copy, put the cursor near my name, right-click, then paste, and you will have my answer as well.
Scorecard: 1 for 5 - And they finally agree!
Round 6: Mikkel Kessler is your pick to win on Nov. 21 (against Ward).
Patrick Cassidy: FACT - He's not only my pick to defeat Ward but to win the entire tournament. Ward is certainly gifted but I doubt he's going to be able to match Kessler's offensive output and is not yet skilled enough to effectively counter punch Kessler's offense. I expect Ward to keep it close until the 8th when we'll see Kessler pull away.
Matt Knowles: FACT-ION - Sorry for the cop-out, but I honestly can't call this one. As much as I agree with Patrick that Andre will have a tough time keeping up with Kessler's pace, we also must keep in mind that Mikkel is an offense-to-defense fighter, meaning he doesn't really counter-punch or mix-it-up on the inside. He's basically a bigger, better version of guys like Ike Quartey and Winky Wright, who are either punching, or blocking, but can't play "O and D" all at once. If Ward can keep up with Kessler, but also mix-in some counter shots along the way, he'll "steal" a bunch of rounds, and the scorecards will be all over the place. Then again, if Kessler does show some counter-punching ability, he may dominate from start to finish. I'm ever-so-slightly leaning towards Kessler in this one, as he is also my choice to win the whole thang, but a razor-thin W for Ward wouldn't shock the boxing world.
Final Scorecard: 1 for 6
Ok, it's now time to turn things over to you guys. Let us know your thoughts; Fact or Fiction?
Matt Knowles: FICTION - When Ricky Hatton got annihilated by Pacquiao earlier this year, everybody and their mother cried-out for The Hitman to immediately retire. My reaction to that feeling was this: he doesn't need to retire, but he should definitely stop competing against the A+ fighters in his weight class, and attempt to make a solid living against the mid-range contenders at 140. Losing to one of the best athletes on the planet is no disgrace, as it only clarifies where you stand in the grand scheme of the sport.
Matt Knowles: FACT - I'm glad that Ramon added the knock-out stipulation to this question, otherwise I may have gone the other way. Abraham's performance was easily the most impressive ("…the word of the day is….") of the four contestants last weekend, and I expect him to continue his winning ways in round two of the tourney against Andre Dirrell. Frankly, I never thought much of Abraham during his run as IBF middleweight champ, but I became a fan of his last weekend due to his persistence, aggression, and bone-crushing power. If Ward KO's Kessler, or vice-versa, I'd call them the favorite of the Super Six, but otherwise Abraham is currently the man to beat.
Patrick Cassidy: FACT - Can't say I was surprised but I was certainly annoyed by the lack of penalty. I understand Dirrell is an awkward fighter but punches to the back of the head are illegal for a reason, it offers a heightened chance of injury.
Patrick Cassidy: FACT - He's not only my pick to defeat Ward but to win the entire tournament. Ward is certainly gifted but I doubt he's going to be able to match Kessler's offensive output and is not yet skilled enough to effectively counter punch Kessler's offense. I expect Ward to keep it close until the 8th when we'll see Kessler pull away.
