Green replaces Taylor in Super Six event

Daily Post Martin Williams28th January, 2010

ALLAN GREEN will replace Jermain Taylor in the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament.

The super middleweight had been preparing for a February 5 fight against Sakio Bika, a former winner of The Contender reality show, which was supposed to be a box-off to determine who would replace Taylor.

Green had accepted the fight, but it was never finalised after Bika, for undisclosed reasons, elected not to go through with it.

That paved the way for Green (29-1, 20 KOs), 30, to go directly into Group Stage 2 of the modified round-robin tournament that includes five other top super middleweights: titlists Andre Ward and Carl Froch, former titleholder Mikkel Kessler, former middle-weight titlist Arthur Abraham and 2004 US Olympic bronze medallist Andre Dirrell.

Green's first fight will be the one Taylor was scheduled for, a title shot against Ward (21-0, 13 KOs) on April 17, probably in Ward's hometown of Oakland, where he upset Kessler in the opening round of the tournament in November.

"It's a great opportunity for him to be in the Super Six," said promoter Lou DiBella.

"He was ready and willing and able to do the fight with Bika. It didn't happen, and I think there are actually a lot of people breathing a sigh of relief because the turnaround from February 5 to April 17 was very quick considering the nature of how Allan and Bika fight.

"The chances of them coming out of the fight without a scratch was unlikely, which would have messed up the April schedule."

Taylor, the former undisputed middleweight champion, withdrew after losing for the fourth time in his last five fights, including three by crushing knockout.

"It wasn't like it was planned for Allan to take over for Jermain," DiBella said. "Had we not had the tournament available for us, we were in consideration to fight Lucian Bute. Allan would have had other opportunities. That said, I think Allan is the right guy for the spot."