NEW YORK (July 21, 2009)—SHOWTIME Sports® Super Six World Boxing Classic, the groundbreaking six-man super middleweight tournament announced last week, will debut with two Group Stage 1 matchups on Saturday, Oct. 17, with the third Group Stage 1 bout taking place on Saturday, Nov. 21. All three world-class matches will air on SHOWTIME®.
The initial dates in the unprecedented, celebrated tournament were formally announced Tuesday by Ken Hershman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. Venues will be announced soon. The Super Six World Boxing Classic will be contested on both American and European continents.
In a battle of unbeatens on Oct. 17, Carl “The Cobra” Froch (25-0, 20 KOs) of Nottingham, England, will defend his World Boxing Council (WBC) title against 2004 Olympic Games medalist Andre “The Matrix’’ Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) of Flint, Mich.
On the same night, undefeated former middleweight champion “King” Arthur Abraham(30-0, 24 KOs) of Berlin, Germany, will face former undisputed middleweight titleholder Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) of Little Rock, Ark.
The third fight in Group Stage 1 competition will take place on Nov. 21 when Mikkel“Viking Warrior” Kessler (41-1, 31 KOs) of Copenhagen, Denmark, risks his World BoxingAssociation (WBA) belt* against unbeaten 2004 Olympic Games gold medalist Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (19-0, 12 KOs) of Oakland, Calif.
*Kessler will face WBA mandatory challenger Gusmyl Perdomo (16-2, 10 KOs) on Saturday, Sept. 12 for the title.
The tournament will continue in 2010 with Group Stages 2 and 3 with Semi-Finals and Finals in spring 2011.
For more information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic and all SHOWTIME Sports programming, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries from boxing, mixed martial arts and INSIDE THE NFL, please visit the website at http://www.sports.sho.com