Froch favourite with the bookies

Nottingham Evening Post Ray Yeomans25th July, 2009

I must admit, I'm getting quite excited about the proposed Super Six tournament. And not just because our own Carl Froch is 7-4 favourite with the bookies.

I'm just amazed this is all coming together - with five different promoters and rival organisations in three different countries involved - over such a long period of time (12 fights spread over 18 months).

It's not a new concept. Didn't Don King do something similar with heavyweights a while back and the best middleweights in America in the 90's?

Barry Hearn has had a big hit with his Prizefighter tournaments, but they are staged over one night.

It is going to be hard to maintain interest over a period of almost two years. But this could just give boxing - under pressure from MMA - the shot in the arm that it needs - and grab the attentions of the TV companies and the fans again.

If it is picked up by terrestrial TV it could have a potential audience of 120m.

Froch, who will need to win five fights to hit the jackpot, reckons he will be last man standing from Mikkel Kessler, Jermain Taylor, Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell and former middleweight king Arthur Abraham. We will see.

It's a bold boast. Because, under the points scoring system (two for a win, one for a draw and three for a KO) a boxer can lose one of his three fights and still qualify for the final.

Froch knows all about Taylor, of course. He knows he was very, very lucky to hold onto his WBC title.

There are a lot of questions to be answered. Has Mikkel Kessler still got the desire? Has Taylor got anything left in the tank following that shattering Froch defeat?

Just how good are the two Andres, Ward and Dirrell? And can Abrahams successfully move up to super-middleweight?

Froch is back in training after the whistle-stop press tour that took in America, Denmark and Germany?

But why didn't they come to England to promote it? London or Nottingham?

After all, Froch's first fight, against Dirrell, is scheduled for Nottingham on October 17.

And it could be a very late night/early morning for Nottingham fight fans if the American TV companies have their way.

Make no mistake, this is only happening because of American television.

Froch admitted he was shocked when he first got wind of the event.

"I thought it was a bit ambitious," he said.

"But I want to fight the best and this is a great opportunity. It's a big deal.

"Dirrell is my mandatory challenger anyway, after Ward opted out.

"I just hope it gets the TV coverage it deserves in Britain."

Arthur Abraham takes on Taylor, in Germany, on the same night as Froch v Dirrell.

Froch's second fight is likely to be a unification fight against Kessler next year.

The pair got on well on the promotional tour and have even exchanged telephone numbers.

"Kessler has the experience but Dirrell and Ward are unknown quantities," said Froch.

"I met them both on the tour and they are serious athletes who mean business."

Business, of course, is the key word.

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