The Super Six and boxing needs the fantastic Froch

Boxing’s innovative Super Six tournament returns this Saturday as Nottingham’s Carl Froch has the opportunity to regain his former but now vacant WBC super-middleweight title in Helsinki when he takes on tough Armenian Arthur Abraham.

The 33 year-old Froch boasts a record of 26-1 and is renowned for being a ring warrior who loves putting it all on the line but has his work cut out to see off Abraham who has equally impressive ring statistics at 31-1. And with some 45 stoppages between them both men are capable of winning inside the distance so fireworks are expected.

Froch has faced four consecutive world class opponents in his bid to prove himself as the 12st leader and this tournament was designed to find one man to crown as ‘the unified champion of the super-middleweight division’ although it has faced difficulties in sustaining momentum following several withdrawals.

It set-out boasting an impressive line up of WBC champion Froch, WBA ruler Mikkel Kessler, former undisputed middleweight king Jermain Taylor, the then IBF middleweight holder Abraham plus hotly touted and undefeated American prospects Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell.

A scoring system was devised offering two points for a win, one point for a draw and a bonus point for a knockout and they were all proposed to fight three bouts with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals.

Froch has had two close bouts, beating Dirrell on a split point’s decision in October 2009 but lost his title to Kessler earlier this year in what he described as an unfair decision.

The casualty list commenced with Jermain Taylor who withdrew following health concerns after suffering a heavy knockout defeat to Abraham and he was replaced by respected but not top notch Allan Green. Other pullouts include Dirrell who was hit on the canvas and knocked out by Abraham who was subsequently disqualified and Kessler through an eye injury making the WBC title vacant.

Henceforth the ‘Super-Six has been reduced to four prior to the semi finals but despite the teething problems credit goes to both the organisers and contestants for their ambition to simplify boxing during a time when TV and alphabet belts can dictate much of current schedule without always delivering quality and even matches.

Veteran 41 year-old campaigner Glen Johnson, a former world light-heavyweight champion, came in for Kessler and knocked out Green earlier this month. But despite all their gallant efforts, by stating the event is for the WBA and WBC titles, this meant the non inclusion of undefeated IBF title holder Lucian Bute. It also further suggests that whoever wins the tournament will still have to defeat him and WBO ruler Robert Robert Stieglitz to hold up their claim of being the 168lb king.

Remarkably Froch and the tournament have both been ignored by major TV outlets in Britain and he will once again line up against Abraham on pay channel Primetime which is an astonishing snub considering his captivating ITV displays against Jermain Taylor and Jean Pascal.

The ‘Cobra’ and his army of fans have also had the added frustration of not securing home advantage for this bout and subsequently a compromise was reached between his and Abraham’s promoters by selecting the neutral Finland capital as host.

Fighting Abraham will again bring out his natural ‘stand and trade tendency’ but he would be wiser to box with his head more than his heart this time though I don’t anticipate him doing so. On the off chance he boxes and moves, Froch will frustrate Abraham as Andre Dirrell did and run out victorious, while an all out war could see the pendulum swing Abraham’s way.

Abraham was my pre-tournament tip for outright victory but on current form Ward, who leads the current standings with six points after impressive wins over Kessler and Green, looks the prize pick. He was also awarded the points after Dirrell pulled out before their clash in September.

Whatever the outcome this weekend, both Froch who currently trails in fourth position with two points and Abraham (three points) will join Ward and Johnson (also three points) in next year's final four.

The first and fourth placed boxers meet in the first semi-final number while the second and third placed fighters square off in the second semi before the winners meet in next summer's final.

But win or lose, Froch is always value for money as he comes to the ring in tip top condition, a testimony to his rigorous training and disciplined lifestyle.

The Super Six and boxing as a whole needs the fantastic Froch!