Filling the playoff void

With the Sox out of the playoffs and the Yankees locomotive steaming towards another potential another World Series title, Sox fans have a void that needs to be filled this October. Pre-season basketball sure isn't gonna do it. Footballs great, but what do I do on a Saturday night? Bruins are helping, but I need more to fill the playoff void. Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic should be just the thing to knock me out of my playoff slump. Think of it as a boxing desert after your Bruins entree.

The Classic pits six of the top Super middleweights in world against each other in a round robin tournament. In the first stage of the tourney each fighter will face off against each other, with the victor being awarded two points for a win, and an extra point for a KO(in the case of a draw each fighter will be awarded one point). After each fighter has squared off, the top four points leaders move to the semi-finals. In the Semi's the one seed will face the four seed and two vs. three, then the winners tangle for the first ever Super Six championship.

I will remind you that these are six of the best Super Middleweights in the world! That means that boxing fans will get to see nine excellent match-ups, between top tier fighters...... and that's before the semi-finals of the tournament even begin! Now, seeing six top tier fighters face off against each shouldn't be a big deal, it actually should happen all the time, but it doesn't. That is why this is such a great event for both the fans, and the sport in general. Let's take a look at the fighters involved:

OCTOBER 17th

Carl Froch - United Kingdom (25-0,20ko)

WBC Super-middleweight champion

Age: 32 Height: 6'1" Reach: 74 1/2"

Biggest wins: Jermain Taylor TKO 12, Jean Pascal UD 12

Fact: Has fought twice outside of the United Kingdom.

Knock: Oldest in the tourney, looked beaten against Taylor until the late rounds.

Best Assets: Froch has heavy hands, a heart that won't quit, and a solid chin.

VS.

Andre Dirrell - USA (18-0,13ko)

Bronze medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics

Age: 27 Height: 6'2" Reach: 75"

Biggest wins: Anthony Hanshaw TKO 5, Mike Paschall TKO 4, Victor Oganov TKO 6

Fact: Has never fought professionally outside of the USA

Knock: Has faced the weakest competition of anyone in the tourney.

Best Assets: Dirrell has extremely fast hands, is the only southpaw in the tourney, and has yet to taste defeat (Ward fights southpaw at times, but is primerally an orthadox fighter).

OCTOBER 17th

Arthur Abraham - Germany (30-0,24ko)

Former IBF Middleweight champion

Age: 29 Height: 5'10" Reach: 72"

Biggest wins: Edison Miranda UD 12, Edison Miranda TKO 4

Fact: Suffered a broken jaw in the first Miranda fight, and still took the Unanimous Decision.

Knock: Notoriously slow starter, smallest in the competition.

Best Assets: Abraham has underrated defense, a world class chin, and very heavy hands.

VS.

Jermain Taylor - USA (28-3,17ko)

Former Undisputed Middleweight Champion

Age: 31 Height: 5'11" Reach: 74 1/2"

Biggest wins: Bernard Hopkins SD, Bernard Hopkins UD

Losses: Kelly Pavlik TKO'd 7, Pavlik UD, Carl Froch TKO'd 12

Knock: Has had serious problems fading in the late rounds, which led to his KO to Froch .

Best Assets: Has had some of the best competition of anyone in the tourney, starts fast, and really has nothing left to lose at this point.

NOVEMBER 21st

Mikkel Kessler - Denmark (42-1,32ko)

WBA Super-middleweight champion of the world.

Age: 30 Height: 6'1" Reach: 73"

Biggest wins: Anthony Mundine UD 12, Markus Beyer ko 3, Librado Andrade UD 12

Only Loss: Joe Calzaghe UD 12

Knock: Has not been extremely busy since his loss to Calzaghe.

Best assets: He has fought the best opposition out of the six, has KO power, and one of the best 1-2 combos in the biz.

VS.

Andre Ward - USA (20-0,13ko)

Gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Age: 25 Height: 6'1" Reach: 73"

Biggest wins: Jerson Revelo TKO 8, Edison Miranda UD12

Knockdown: Ward has hit the canvas once, the 4th Rd. of his 7th fight against Darnell Boone.

Knock: Ward was rocked a few times early in his career, some believe he has a suspect chin.

Best Assets: Ward has blazing speed, his 1st fight will be in his hometown of Oakland, CA, and he doesn't know how to lose yet.

I know that in New England nothing replaces Red Sox playoff baseball, but I think a few KO's could be just what the doctor ordered. Take two fights this Saturday, and comment in the morning!

The Bryguy's quick picks: Dirrell with the upset over Froch. I wasn't that impressed with Froch against Jermain Taylor, and thought he was outboxed throughout the fight until Jermain hit the wall. I think Dirrell uses movement, and keeps Froch at bay. Dirrell UD

I'm taking Abraham over Taylor. This is a great fight because both guy are former middleweight champs who stepped up to Super-middleweight. I keep hearing how Taylor's camp has fixed the problem with his fading in fights, but this problem has been going on for too long, I see it haunting him again. Abraham is a tough guy and will keep pressure on Taylor through the whole fight. The other problem, Abraham gets stronger as the fight goes on.

ABRAHAM UD

I will hold off on my Ward - Kessler prediction until later, let me know your thoughts.