Famed Oddsmaker Picks Super Six Favorites

RENOWNED SPORTS ANALYST DANNY SHERIDAN

WORLD BOXING CLASSIC

The Veteran Handicapper Has Abraham and Kessler As Favorites To Win the Super Middleweight Tournament

NEW YORK (Oct. 14, 2009)–-Renowned sports handicapper Danny Sheridan has set the odds for each fighter to win the inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic, the groundbreaking six-fighter tournament from SHOWTIME Sports®.  Sheridan, USA Today’s sports analyst, also set the line for Group Stage 1 matchups that begin Saturday, Oct. 17 on SHOWTIME®.

At the outset, Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs) of Berlin, Germany, and Mikkel Kessler (42-1, 32 KOs) of Copenhagen, Denmark, are 1:1, the co-favorites to capture the inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic Cup.

Carl Froch (25-0, 20 KOs) of Nottingham, England, has 2:1 odds against winning the tournament while Americans Andre Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) of Flint, Mich., and Andre Ward (20-0, 13 KOs) of Oakland, Calif., face 5:2 odds.  Former undisputed champ Jermain Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) of Little Rock, Ark., faces the toughest odds to win the tournament at 10:1.

The unprecedented tournament, which features six of the best super middleweights in the world, begins with two Group Stage 1 matchups on Saturday (SHOWTIME, 8 p.m. ET/PT), with the third Group Stage 1 bout on Saturday, Nov. 21 (SHOWTIME, 9 p.m. ET/PT).

Sheridan has the undefeated former middleweight champion Abraham as a 13:5 favorite over Taylor, the former undisputed middleweight titleholder, when the two square off on Oct. 17.  The odds against a draw are 25:1.  Abraham will be fighting in front of a hometown crowd at the famous o2 World Arena in Berlin.

Froch, the undefeated World Boxing Council (WBC) champ, is a 3:2 favorite over unbeaten, 2004 Olympic medalist Dirrell with 20:1 draw odds.  Froch will defend his title against Dirrell this Saturday in Froch’s backyard at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, England.

For the third fight of Group Stage 1, Sheridan has Kessler, the World Boxing Association (WBA) champion, as a clear 3:1 favorite over unbeaten 2004 Olympic gold medalist Ward for their fight on Nov. 21.  The draw odds for Kessler vs. Ward are 20:1.  Kessler is the favorite even though the fight will be held in Ward’s hometown of Oakland, Calif., at the Oracle Arena.

Sheridan is one of the most respected handicappers in sports and has written exclusively for USA Today since the paper’s inception in 1982. He sets the daily odds for every sport listed. Sheridan is also well known for his annual preseason college and pro football, NBA and baseball previews that have been featured in renowned magazines such as Playboy, Penthouse, Maxim, FHM and Cigar.