NEW YORK – Glen Johnson and Allan Green will have at least one thing in common when they meet Nov. 6 in the final group stage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.
Both of them were nowhere to be found when the tournament began.
Johnson officially replaced the injured Mikkel Kessler on Wednesday, and he'll take on Green in the modified round-robin tournament Nov. 6 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Green lost his only previous bout in the event after replacing Jermain Taylor, who also dropped out with injuries.
"I want to thank Showtime for including me in their Super Six tournament," Johnson said in a statement. "Having dedicated so many years to the sport of boxing, it is gratifying to still be considered worthy of competing with some of the top fighters in the world."
The fight has been added to a Showtime doubleheader that will feature Juan Manuel Lopez against Rafael Marquez in the main event. The other two Super Six matchups from the final group stage will be Nov. 27, when Andre Ward faces Andre Dirrell at a venue in the United States and Arthur Abraham faces Carl Froch in Helsinki, Finland.
The six-man Super Six was designed so that fighters earned points based on the outcome of three guaranteed matches in the group stage — two points for a win, a bonus point for a knockout and one point for a draw. The four with the most points will meet in semifinals next year.
Ward leads the standings with four points, Abraham has three and Froch and Dirrell have two points each. That means Johnson and Green, with no points, could mathematically still advance through the group stage, but they would need some help from Ward or Abraham.
Johnson was a somewhat surprise pick to replace Kessler, who backed out of the tournament last month with an eye injury, because he hasn't fought at super middleweight since 2000 — long before his signature victories over Roy Jones Jr. and Antonio Tarver.
"I typically weigh in at 172 pounds for my light heavyweight fights," Johnson said. "I will have no trouble making the 168-pound limit as a super middleweight."
Johnson (50-14-2, 34 KOs) is certainly one of the most experienced fighters who could have been added to the tournament, having appeared in seven world title fights. The Jamaican is coming off a competitive decision loss to Tavoris Cloud in August, Johnson's third defeat in his last six fights, all of which were for titles.
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