The October 29th finale of Showtime’s Super Six super middleweight tournament in Atlantic City has been postponed after top-ranked Andre Ward (right) sustained a cut in training on Thursday.
“Bad News: I sustained a cut in sparring a few hours ago…flew to LA to see the Doc. I got 7 stitches. I will let you know the new date soon,” Ward tweeted after midnight on Friday.
“This is absurd and unprofessional. Ward needs to get his act together,” said his opponent Carl Froch after hearing the news.
Ward said all care had been taken but treated the injury as simply a part of the fight game.
“I’m extremely disappointed about this cut. We used every precaution, including headgear with a face bar and it was just a fluke situation,” Ward added later in a release. “My sparring partner and I were involved in an exchange inside and the next thing I knew, I was bleeding. That is the most frustrating thing about this — I don’t have an explanation for how it happened.”
Froch was less than sympathetic, suggesting Ward is looking for a reason to delay the fight.
“Of course, you’ve got to take the medical advice seriously, but for a cut to put you out of a fight a full five weeks before the event is ludicrous. If it were two weeks out from the fight, maybe I’d understand. But he’s got 35 days to deal with it. To me, he’s showing his weakness. Nothing changes for me. I’ll be ready if and when he shows up.”
“Not much you can say,” said Ward’s promoter Dan Goossen. “Andre was cut, he got stitched up, and he’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“Injuries in boxing are inevitable at this, the highest level of competition,” agreed Showtime Sports president Ken Hershman. “As we’ve done since this tournament’s inception, we’ll forge ahead. We are seeking available dates at this time and hope to have an announcement shortly. Rest assured, we will deliver this dramatic final tournament bout, one that is surely the biggest fight in this division’s history.”
Froch’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sports, said camp had been perfect but Froch will be ready to win whenever the two meet in the ring. Ward has been viewed as a slight favorite going into the fight but we’ve been impressed with the way Froch has conducted himself throughout the tournament and we’re leaning toward picking him to win this showdown, assuming it happens this year as planned.
