Showtime Exec 'Thrilled' After Early Bouts

Showtime's Sports general manager, Ken Hershman, said that he is "thrilled" concerning the success of last weekend's two super middleweight bouts of the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament, even as he expressed concern and well-wishes toward Jermain Taylor, who was diagnosed with a concussion following his 12th-round knockout loss to Germany's Arthur Abraham.

After losing to Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) in a clash of former middleweight (160 pounds) champions, Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KOs) was hospitalized for a few days in Germany following their 168-pound battle.

Taylor received a CT Scan and an MRI as well as other testing, his promoter, Lou DiBella, told FanHouse on Monday evening.

"Jermain is still contracted to this tournament, and he's traveling Europe with his wife, and nothing's going to be decided [about Taylor's further participation] for a few weeks," said DiBella. "He's not going to fly back for around a week. I want him to be able to have some time away and to get some peace."

In Saturday night's other bout, England's Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KOs) earned a split-decision over former Olympic bronze medalist Andre Dirrell (18-1, 13 KOs) of Flint, Mich., in defense of Froch's WBC title.

The tournament continues on Nov. 21, when Denmark's Mikkel Kessler (42-1, 32 KOs) puts his WBA crown on the line opposite former Olympic gold medalist, Andre Ward (20-0, 13 KOs) in Ward's hometown of Oakland, Calif.

For Taylor, the loss was the fourth in his last five bouts, and his third by knockout during that stretch. "The man's been a warrior in this sport, and he's been nothing but a gentleman," DiBella said of Taylor, who has faced 12 world champions in his last 13 bouts.

The owner of two victories over Bernard Hopkins, and another over former champion, Winky Wright, Taylor was coming off of April's 12th-round knockout loss to Froch, which he led on two of the three judges cards before being stopped cold with 14 seconds left.

In September of 2007, Taylor was 27-0-1, with 17 knockouts before being stopped in seven rounds by Kelly Pavlik.

"I've checked in on him and I heard that he's well. He did suffer a concussion. They observed him, which is protocol and safe and important to do. Now, he's got to take stock of his situation. The only thing that we want him to do is to make a decision that is in his best interest from a health and safety standpoint," said Hershman.

"I think Jermain, coming off of a very tough fight and a tough defeat, he's obviously spending some time with his family and enjoying Europe for a little while," said Hershman. "I think that he'll sit down with his manager to make some decisions about what he wants to do, but as far as we're concerned, he's an integral part of this tournament until he makes a decision otherwise."

As far as speculation that either Allan Green (29-1, 20 KOs) of Tulsa, Okla., or Colombian contender Edison Miranda ((32-4, 28 KOs) could replace Taylor should he opt out of the tournament, Hershman said, "there's a lot out there being read [on the internet,] but absolutely none of it has come from, or been discussed by, or even been remotely agreed upon by Showtime."

"There has always been a mechanism to replace a fighter, and we hoped that we wouldn't have to use that mechanism. But if we did, it's built in and we're prepared to do it," said Hershman. "We'll be ready if and when that ever becomes an issue either for Jermain or any other fighter at this point."

In the next group stage, Taylor, 31, is scheduled to fight Ward, Abraham is slated to meet Dirrell, and Froch, to face Kessler. In the third and final group stage, it's Abraham-Froch, Dirrell-Ward, and, Kessler-Taylor.

When the three group stages are completed, the top four point-earners will be seeded to comprise the semifinals, from which the two finalists will be determined. The tournament is not expected to be completed until 2011.
The hard-hitting Froch, 32, won a foul-filled matchup over Dirrell before his hometown fans in Nottingham, England's Trent FM Arena.

"Carl, I thought, showed why he's so difficult to fight, and why he's a legitimate champion. He's a very tough, very motivated kid who never gives up. Carl wants to cut off that ring and just fight," said Hershman. "That's what he's about and that's what his style is. He's going to make for some very compelling television in the coming months of this tournament."

Dirrell, 27, "proved that he deserved to be in this tournament in only his 19th fight," Hershman said.

"Going overseas into the hostile territory of the champion, I thought that he acquitted himself extremely well and showed a lot of what is going to make him so difficult to deal with as he progresses through this tournament with his speed, power, punching combinations, his stamina and his youth," said Hershman.

"Maybe his youth showed up a little bit as relative inexperience in what turned out to be a rough and tumble fight, and he may not have necessarily known how to deal with it," Hershman said. "But even Carl Froch, at the end of the fight, indicated that this kid is going to learn from it and is going to be very difficult to deal with."

Abraham, 29, who idolizes the explosive style of Mike Tyson, "showed you why he came into this tournament as a favorite."

"Arthur Abraham is an incredibly difficult fighter to take on and to beat, and somebody in this tournament is going to have to figure him out if they're going to want to win this whole thing," said Hershman of Abraham.

"That's a very tough task because he hits very hard, he's very determined, and he's very good defensively," said Hershman. "He's brought all of his power and more up to 168, so if there were any concerns about that going into the fight, those concerns about Abraham have been answered."

Hershman said that the two fights showed that "there are no easy fights in this tournament," and, "You're at risk at any moment in any of these fights."

"Now, you have two Americans who have lost, which may put extra pressure on Andre Ward representing the American side of this. He's got to perform and stand up for the United States' side. Kessler is a proven veteran, and I don't think he's fazed by any of this," said Hershman.

"The launch was great. The production was great. Carl Froch sold more tickets than he had ever sold with over 10,000 people in Nottingham, and Arthur Abraham sold out his arena with over 14,000 people," said Hershman. "These events have been spectacular, so we're really, really thrilled with how things are going so far."