Two of the world’s greatest current fighters step into the big arena at Boardwalk Hall for the Showtime Super Six Classic Finals on Dec. 17. Excerpts of interviews with both fighters.
ATLANTIC CITY — Tournaments and round robins in boxing aren’t everyday occurrences. In fact, efforts to truly determine the very best in the sport’s varied weight divisions, on the surface, have become extraordinarily rare.
In what now seems like long-gone eras, fighters of yesteryear met one another for the sheer challenge and the inner desire to be the legitimate “best.” Boxing’s modern-day reputation has, however, become less and less about who’s the greatest fighter in the world.
On Saturday night, Dec. 17, however, Atlantic City will be the beneficiary of history repeating itself, as the Showtime cable network brings the much-anticipated Super Six World Boxing Classic Finals to the famed Boardwalk Hall.
The slick and talented WBA (Super) World Super Middleweight champion, Andre “S.O.G” Ward (23-0, 13 KOs) of Oakland, Calif., takes on the tough, hard-hitting WBC Super Middleweight champion, Carl “The Cobra” Froch (28-1, 20 KOs) of Nottingham, England in the final bout of what should be an exciting conclusion to a tournament that has brought a breath of fresh air to the sport.
It’s a showdown between two determined warriors that was to originally have taken place back on Oct. 29. An unfortunate cut, however, sustained by Ward during a sparring match, required seven stitches and caused the bout to be postponed.
Ward, a 2004 Olympic Gold medalist, has since recovered and is more than eager to pick up where he left off and finally get back in the ring and compete. The reigning two-time WBC champion, Froch, who has been waiting in the wings since earning his entry into the finals with an impressive unanimous decision victory over Glen Johnson this past June in Atlantic City in the smaller Adrian Phillips Ballroom inside Boardwalk Hall, says he looking forward to both champions finally getting it on as well.
Along with the Coveted Super Six Classic cup and their respective championship belts, Ward and Froch will also be competing for the vacant Ring magazine Super Middleweight championship.
It’s said, “seek and you shall find,” and with the skills and determination that both Froch and Ward have shown, along with their immense desire to be considered the very best in boxing, it would be wise to put your pennies together and come see this event, because the Super Six World Boxing Classic Finals will no doubt be worth the price of admission.
(Note: Tickets purchased for the original Oct. 29 date will be honored, but if anyone is unable to attend the fight at the new time, refunds will be given at the place of purchase. The bout will also be aired live on Showtime at 9pm ET/PT.)
Atlantic City Weekly had the opportunity to interview both fighters, as well as fighters Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham, both of whom were early favorites in the tournament, but lost their spots earlier this year (Kessler due to an eye injury, but not before a victory over Froch, handing the Brit his first loss and lifting the WBC belt; and Abraham, who lost to both Froch and Ward). Both Kessler and Abraham are common opponents of both Froch and Ward. You can read the full interviews with all four gentlemen at acweekly.com. Here are some excerpts from the interviews.
Carl Froch: I will hit Ward very hard and very often; he’s not going to be able to take my consistent heavy shots which will be coming for 12 rounds if necessary.
Andre Ward: My father raised me to always be confident, but always humble. I’m far from a pushover, and always firm, but there is no need to go around tooting your own horn for every little thing you do. I believe in the abilities God has blessed me with, and I believe I’m one of the fiercest competitors in the sport of boxing and that’s enough for me.
There are so many belts out there, but in winning the tournament, anyone who doesn’t think of you as the very best would be doing you an injustice. Would you be content on just the WBA, WBC, Ring magazine and Super Six cup being in your trophy case, or would you want to add the other hardware out there?
AW: I would love to have all the belts in the division, that’s been the goal from day one. But either way the winner of this fight has to be considered the best super middleweight in the world.
Froch has downplayed Ward’s power, especially in comparison to his. Give us an overall comparison of these two when it comes to their positives and negatives.
Arthur Abraham: Ward has better tactical skills. His style is hard to fight against. I think he will beat Froch. Ward is also the dirtier fighter. Froch fights clean.
"On Saturday, June 2, we're going to have an all-star boxing legends tribute. What we're trying to do is get together all of the boxing personalities. Whether they are boxers, managers, promoters, ring announcers, referees, you name it, we're trying to get together everybody to celebrate the contribution that they have made in making Atlantic City the boxing mecca that it is."
"My father raised me to always be confident, but always humble. I’m far from a pushover, and always firm, but there is no need to go around tooting your own horn for every little thing you do. I believe in the abilities God has blessed me with, and I believe I’m one of the fiercest competitors in the sport of boxing and that’s enough for me."
"I will hit Ward very hard and very often; he’s not going to be able to take my consistent heavy shots which will be coming for 12 rounds if necessary."
Day Two - Interview with fighter Mikkel Kessler, who was forced to end his bid for the Super Six Classic Cup because of an injury, but not before handing finalist Carl Froch a defeat he’ll never forget.
Day One: Germany's Arthur Abraham on the Carl Froch vs. Andre Ward Super Six Classic Finals showdown.
Ward-Froch Reset for Dec. 17 The highly anticipated boxing event of late 2011, the Super Six World Boxing Classic Final, featuring Andre Ward vs. Carl Froch, and slated for Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall on Oct. 29, has been rescheduled for Saturday, Dec. 17. Andre Ward, the WBA Super Middleweight World Champion and Super Six finalist, was injured (a cut above his right eye) during a recent sparring session, forcing the postponement of the world title unification fight. The announcement came last week from Ward’s promoter, Dan Goossen, of Goossen Tutor Promotions; Froch’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport; and Ken Hershman of SHOWTIME, following a tweet by Ward that read: “Bad News: I sustained a cut in sparring a few hours ago…flew...
A comprehensive schedule of upcoming fights in Atlantic City with all the details on every fighter stepping into the ring. Upcoming boxing events include Joe Deguardia's Star Boxing, Yuriorkis Gamboa vs. Jorge Solis, Sergio Martinez against Darren Barker, and the Super Six World Boxing Classic.
Atlantic City's boxing days are back and Atlantic City Weekly is proud to bring our readers a brand-new column by boxing guru Rob Scott. Here is the first installment of 'Boxing Notes: In the Ring with Rob Scott.'
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1. Anonymous said... on Dec 15, 2011 at 11:31AM
“this is gonna be the best fight we've seen in AC in a long time. Great interviews.”
2. Sportsbun said... on Dec 15, 2011 at 11:41PM
“Watch Andre Ward vs Carl Froch live online Boxing Streaming Free. Carl Froch vs. Andre Ward is the upcoming Super Six World Boxing Classic Final championship fight for the WBC & WBA (Super), & vacant The Ring super middleweight titles.
http://www.sportsbun.com/boxing/andre-ward-vs-carl-froch-live-stream-online-super-6-final-boxing/
”
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