by Cliff Rold

Here we go again.

Jermain Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KO) always seemed short for the field.  Following a knockout loss to Carl Froch (26-1, 20 KO) one fight before entering Showtime’s increasingly chaotic “Super Six” Super Middleweight tournament, the former World Middleweight champion being slated to face hammer fisted Arthur Abraham (31-1, 25 KO) in October 2009 had ‘early exit’ written all over it.

One more knockout loss later, it came to pass.  The assumed ‘player to be named later’ was always Allan Green (29-2, 20 KO) and six became seven.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was all fairly predictable.  From the onset, skeptics predicted far more in the way of obstacles to come but the optimist could hope for the best.

As stage three of the preliminary rounds gets ready to kick off later this year, the skeptics have won.  An eye problem ended the run of former unified Super Middleweight titlist Mikkel Kessler (43-2, 32 KO) run following a rousing decision over Froch and opened the door for the super eighth in the form of former Light Heavyweight titlist Glen Johnson (50-14-2, 32 KO). Now, the field will need yet one more.

Andree Dirrell (19-1, 13 KO), the 2004 U.S. Olympic Bronze Medalist at Middleweight, bounced back from a narrow opening round loss to Froch and picked up the best win of his career in stage two.  Sure, he finished on his back against Abraham, but that was because of a foul.  He won most of the rounds that came before the fateful eleventh round and looked pretty good doing it; he earned his win even before a disqualification made points moot.  A showdown with Olympic teammate Andre Ward (22-0, 13 KO) loomed.

It’s going to loom for awhile.  Perhaps one day those two will lock horns.  It won’t happen in 2010.  It won’t happen in the Super Six.  Lingering concussion affects have sent Dirrell packing, marking a full half of the field that did not make it through three full fights.  Whether or not Ward’s replacement foe is an official part of the tournament field or not (and Ward was already guaranteed a semi-finals slot with wins over Kessler and Green so it doesn’t have to be), the perception will be that the field has a new replacement player.

Of the remaining combatants, two (Abraham and Froch) will be fighting each other off of losses.  Johnson enters off a title-fight loss at Light Heavyweight to Tavoris Cloud.  Green looked awful against Ward. 

Assuming the Super Six can keep what remains intact and make it all the way through a final contest, it begs a simple question.  Does the tournament still matter at this point?

Ultimately, an exclusion from the tournament from its onset that has been, and still should be, seen as a negative allows the answer to be in the affirmative. 

Yes, the Super Six still matters.

When the initial field was announced, it was met with great fanfare and a lingering question: what does any of this prove with Lucian Bute?  Bute (26-0, 21 KO), the IBF titlist, was regarded even before the start of the Super Six as one of the very best at 168 lbs.  He’s gone to scratch twice since and posted knockout wins over Librado Andrade and Edison Miranda to further the argument that no one can be declared the best Super Middleweight in the world without facing him.

That was apparent all along and remains the truth now.  The only fighter in the division at the moment who has a similarly strong argument for division leader is Ward and Ward’s remaining in the tournament is its saving grace.

After upsetting Kessler in the opening round, and seeing Abraham defeated in round two, Ward became the tournament’s unofficial top seed.  He’s the quality control component and, barring a stunning upset to “TBA” later this year, he will be guaranteed at least one compelling opponent in the elimination rounds.  He’ll be defending a WBA belt and have a chance to snare a WBC belt before this is done (as Froch and Abraham will now compete for the belt Kessler vacated upon exit). 

Should Johnson defeat Green, and he should be favored to, both Froch and Abraham will advance and the elimination field will be fairly strong.  If someone beats Ward in the semi-finals or finals, they’ll rocket up the ratings with the Bute argument still out there.

Oh, and if the someone to win the whole thing winds up being Froch or Abraham, there will probably be rematch potential post-tournament with healed versions of Kessler and Dirrell and a Ward looking for redemption.  It won’t have the world any closer to an outright Super Middleweight champion in the short term, but it will leave the Super Middleweight class where it was at the start of the Super Six.

It will leave 168 lbs. healthy and intriguing. 

It’s not perfect, but it’s enough to remain wildly relevant and demand our attention.  If disaster strikes again, maybe that changes.

But not yet. 

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com