GROWING PAINS
Elliot Worsell examines the dif culties facing the WBSS format as another stellar line-up is con rmed for the second season
WITH the two finals from season one of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) still to take place, you could argue a 43-minute delay to a season two press conference, one that involved only two of the eight participating bantamweights, acted as a perfect summary of the whole boxing tournament idea. To call it organised chaos would be both kind and correct.
But that’s not to say the delay or the confusion was the fault of the promoter. In fact, the reason Wednesday’s (May 9) press conference was so late in starting was because the men behind the WBSS, one of whom is promoter Kalle Sauerland, were desperately trying to thrash out a deal to get Ryan Burnett involved in the bantamweight tournament they were just about to announce.
As they sweated behind closed doors, journalists waited patiently in their seats, and Zolani Tete and Emmanuel Rodriguez, the two bantamweights who showed up, sat at the top table and wondered if the presumed number one seed would even be involved. Nobody’s fault, this is boxing, we told ourselves. And the only thing more complicated and unpredictable than boxing is tournament boxing.
“We’re delighted to have three champions agree to go into the tournament,” said Sauerland. “We have agreed terms with the two gentlemen here, the WBO champion from South Africa, Zolani Tete, and Manny Rodriguez, who won the IBF title in London on Saturday, and also Ryan Burnett, the WBA champion.
“He is unable to join us this morning. The deal was only agreed this morning. That’s why there was a small delay to the press conference. But I’m very happy to have reached terms with Matchroom [Burnett’s promoter] and Adam Booth [Burnett’s manager].”
A wonderful concept, in theory at least, tournaments in boxing have an equally wonderful way of falling apart just as everything looks to be going swimmingly. Season one of the WBSS, for instance, was illuminated by incredible cruiserweight fights and fascinating all-british super-middleweight fights, but today, as it stands, neither
‘WE’RE DELIGHTED TO HAVE THREE CHAMPIONS AGREE TO ENTER’
tournament has a final scheduled, much less an anointed champion. The cruiserweights have been delayed by an injury to Oleksandr Usyk, while the super-middleweight final between Callum
Smith and George Groves hinges on Groves’ shoulder injury healing before the start of season two.
It’s hardly ideal. But, once again, it can’t be helped. Groves’ shoulder isn’t to blame, nor is Usyk’s elbow. With a tournament you’re always tiptoeing that fine line between genius and crazy. Here, genius is Usyk and Maris
Briedis playing Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots one weekend and then Murat Gassiev and Yunier Dorticos doing the same seven days later. It is George Groves and Chris
Eubank Jnr engaging in a domestic showdown for the ages, one that wouldn’t have even been a possibility without the fairy dust provided by the WBSS. It is the simplicity of it all; the easily understood process of winner stays on.
But there’s also craziness on every corner. Groves dislocating his shoulder, for example, in round 12 of a fight he was comfortably winning, was a crazy turn of events that unsettled the status quo and put his own spot in the final in jeopardy. This means the super-middleweight tournament, should it continue without its finalist, loses all sense of authenticity and purpose. It’s a shame. But it’s the truth.
Before that, Juergen Braehmer, the German set to box Callum Smith in the second semi-final, withdrew during fight week and was replaced by a Dutchman,
Nieky Holzken, best-known for his kickboxing exploits.
Moreover, a lot of the momentum built by Usyk and Gassiev stealing the hearts of the boxing world in the space of seven days has been slowed, if not lost, as a result of Usyk’s injury, and the initial announcement that their final would go down in Saudi Arabia of all places served only to confuse. It sounded crazy at the time. It probably was crazy.
So what we have now is this: We have a super-middleweight final between Callum Smith and George Groves that may or may not happen this summer (within the tournament’s allotted timeframe). If it doesn’t, the final will still go ahead but Groves, the injured party, will be replaced by a substitute opponent, now likely to be the man he defeated in the semifinal, Eubank Jnr. That will still be a good standalone fight, but people will moan, and they’ll be right in one respect: it hardly feels like a final.
As for the cruiserweights, their path, thanks to Usyk’s powers of recovery, is a bit clearer. They should sort that situation out this summer without any further difficulty. The final’s also likely to be a classic – another one.
The bantamweights, meanwhile, the latest additions to this refreshing and exciting tournament brand, currently stand at three but will eventually become eight by the time the draw is made in July (certainly by the time the first bout happens in September). Not only that, the 118-pounders, we’re told, will be joined in season two by another two weight classes, one of which is super-lightweight, with the cruiserweights likely to play host again.
There’s also every chance none of the above happens the way it’s supposed to happen. But don’t blame me. And definitely don’t blame the promoters.
We all signed up for this. What’s more, we all probably need this. Because amid the craziness, and the inevitable disappointments, you will find moments of magic, purity and simplicity – like the cruiserweight wars, like Groves vs. Eubank Jnr – that can’t be found anywhere else in boxing.
Patience, in this case, truly is a virtue.
THE FINAL LOSES ALL SENSE OF PURPOSE WITHOUT GROVES