Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic super middleweight tournament begins on Saturday evening when former middleweight champs Arthur Abraham and Jermain Taylor step into the ring in what has the early making of a puncher-versus-boxer matchup.Their 168-pound meeting, from the O2 World Arena in Kreuzberg, Germany, will be shown on a tape-delayed basis prior to the second featured bout, which will pit WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch of England and former Olympic bronze medalist Andre Dirrell from the Trent FM Arena in Froch's hometown of Nottingham.
Similar to Abraham (30-0, 24 knockouts), who is nickamed "King," Froch (25-0, 20 KOs), known as "The Cobra," has a reputation for picking the right time to strike with explosive power and possibly, score the KO.
Their American rivals, meanwhile, are Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs), who goes by the name of "Bad Intentions," and Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) is known as "The Matrix." Each is expected to go with his boxing abilities -- jabs, speed and athleticism -- over the course of their performances.
One person who will be watching from ringside in Germany will be WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (42-1, 32 KOs), who will contnue the tournament on Nov. 21 by putting his crown on the line against former Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward (20-0, 13 KOs) at Oracle Arena in Ward's hometown of Oakland, Calif.
"I am looking forward to seeing the Abraham-Taylor fight live in Berlin. The key words for the fight are power vs. intelligence as I see it. Abraham has the raw power, and Taylor is the smart, intelligent fighter," said Kessler, 30.
"Hopefully, the fight will promote the Super Six tournament as it should be promoted. That counts as well for the Froch-Dirrell fight later that night in Nottingham," said Kessler, of Copenhagen, Denmark.
"Froch-Dirrell is experience vs. the eager of youth. Froch is known for his stamina and ability to return when everything is against him," Kessler said of the man who trailed on the cards in April when he retained his crown by stopping Taylor with 14 seconds left in the 12th round.
"Dirrell is a super talent -- he is young, but has already proven his position in the division," said Kessler. "He is difficult to fight because he is changing styles all the time. Again, this is a fight that is hard to predict."
The tournament's youngest fighter at age 25, Ward believes that his countrymen will emerge victorious.
"Overall, of course I'm pulling for the Americans in each bout. I don't think anyone has given any of the three of us much of a chance to get past the first round with a victory," said Ward, a 2004 Olympic teammate of Dirrell's.
"With Jermain Taylor and Arthur Abraham, stylistically, I don't think Abraham is going to put a whole lot of pressure on Taylor in the later rounds," said Ward.
"I think Jermain has worked on his stamina problems, and will be well-prepared for the later rounds," said Ward. "If Jermain fights a disciplined fight, he should also come out of the first round with a victory. I just feel like Jermain is the bigger, stronger man."
Press conferences were held earlier this week, with the one between Arthur and Taylor being less caustic and contentious than that involving Froch and Dirrell.
Taylor downplayed Abraham´s talents during a crowded, promotional gathering at the O2 World Arena, where more than 14,000 fans are expected to be in attendance to witness Saturday night's action.
"There is nothing special about [Abraham.] He has some power, and I know he will be prepared to do battle. But he's just a normal fighter. I would not rank him at the top with some of the other fighters I have fought," said Taylor, owner of two victories over Bernard Hopkins and who has fought 11 world champions over the course of his last 12 bouts.
"I have been in Berlin for about a week, and a lot of people have come up to me on the street and let me know they will be cheering for me. I don't think he is going to have 50,000 people hoping he wins," said Taylor, who at age 31, is the tournament's second-oldest competitor behind the 32-year-old Froch.
"There are a lot of people who want him to lose. I don't think that everybody likes him," said Taylor. "I'm ready to do battle and win by any means necessary. Every fighter has to be ready to do battle and go to war. I'm expecting a war and I'm prepared for it."
Taylor's promoter, Lou DiBella, told Abraham "please don't mistake our confidence for disrespect," adding, "we know you are a very strong fighter. More importantly, we know that you have incredible heart. It's that heart that makes you a great champion.
"We also know that in Jermain Taylor, we bring to Berlin a great champion with tremendous heart and determination," DiBella added. "It is Jermain's heart as a fighter that will carry him to victory on Saturday night."
But the 29-year-old Abraham is being trained by the legendary Ulli Wegner, who guided German world champion and super middleweight great Sven Ottke over a 34-0 record that included six KOs and a run of 22-0 in world title bouts before retiring unbeaten in March of 2004.
And if Abraham was troubled by Taylor's remarks, he did not show it.
"Taylor can say what he likes. But I am sure he will have a different opinion once I have caught him for the first time. I really look forward to Saturday. This is a special fight -- the first of many big fights in the Super Six tournament," said Abraham, who began in boxing as a teenager because he admired Mike Tyson (Abraham even named his dog "Tyson").
"I am ready and prepared and cannot wait to get in the ring with Taylor. I want to be a star in America and the Super Six tournament will help me to accomplish my goals," Abraham said. "I am thrilled to get started. We will find out on Saturday in what shape Taylor will be. There are no favorites in this tournament. There are six great fighters. They will all be in great shape and we can only tell afterwards who the favorite was."
Meanwhile, Froch and Dirrell were often involved in heated exchanges.
"[Dirrell] knows he'll be in deep water on Saturday. He knows that when I start connecting with the bombs, he's going to be in serious trouble. We're looking at a full house of 8,000 screaming people. You all know the script. You know what's coming. I bring it every time, and I'll bring it on Saturday night," said Froch.
"Andre Dirrell certainly talks a good fight, but 25 of my previous opponents also talk a lot of trash and it didn't get them anywhere. The fists are going to do the talking on Saturday night," said Froch. "I've got a feeling that he's going to run, and run scared. But it's 12 by three minutes a round, and I will catch up with him. And when I do, I'm going to do some serious damage."
At one point during their press conference, Froch and Dirrell jawed at each other while literally standing nose-to-nose.
"I'm glad he thinks it's a slight advantage for him being at home because he's going to need it. I'm coming with my 'A' game, and I guarantee you that I will keep that crowd quiet and he will get lost for words by the third or fourth round," said Dirrell, 27.
"I hope that he cherishes the title now, because it will be coming back home to the United States with me. I will prove that I'm the superior being. I'm taking that belt home, guaranteed. I'm giving my word right now," said Dirrell. "The crowd won't get a chance to do nothing. The loudest person in there, no disrespect to Carl Froch at all, will be his mother because she'll probably be crying."
In each location, the American fighter will likely have to endure boos from their rivals' partisan fans should sticking and moving be chosen as his primary strategy.
Taylor would be best to stay off the ropes, keep the battle in the middle of the ring, keep his hands up, jab from a distance, pivot off of his front foot rather than dance actively and hold when necessary -- the better to conserve energy over the later rounds.
The slightly faster Dirrell, who spent much of his training at 7,500 feet above sea level in Big Bear Lake's mountains in Calif., needs to finish where Taylor started against Froch.
Dirrell will need to box, clinch, occasionally stand and fight, and then, move away -- all the while avoiding as many moments where he could be roughed up by his hard-punching, durable adversary.
Conversely, Abraham needs to crowd and apply pressure upon Taylor from nearly the fight's outset, making sure to fire equally to the head and body while also maintaining his peek-a-boo defense -- hands held high in front of his face, arms near his ears.
If Dirrell has on his track shoes and goes mobile, as expected, Froch may feel the heat from his fans to go for broke. To that end, the Englishman will need to relentlessly pursue and likely get physical at times with Dirrell, perhaps even with shoulders and elbows during clinches to see what the referee will allow.
In the end, however, look for Abraham and Dirrell, respectively, to win popular and unpopular decisions -- even if they turn out to be considered controversial.
Air dates for remaining replays of episode 1 of Super-Six reality series FIGHT CAMP 360:
Friday, Oct. 16 – Midnight, Showtime
Saturday, Oct. 17 – 6:40 PM, Showtime
