Undefeated Arthur Abraham showed why he's the early favorite in the Super Six super middleweight tournament with a spectacular KO of Jermain Taylor with just six seconds remaining in the scheduled 12-rounder. Taylor was the busier fighter in many rounds but Abraham's defense and chin allowed him to patiently break Taylor down. The end came with a left jab followed by a huge right hand that had Taylor out before his head hit the canvas.


The referee began to count but stopped before he reached ten.

The fight took place on Berlin, Germany - where Abraham, originally from Armenia, now resides - so it was no surprise to learn that, after 11 competitive rounds, the local fighter was ahead by excessively wide scores of 107-102 and 106-102 on tow cards and a more plausible 105-103 on the third.

The hometown theme would hold for the second-half of Showtime's doubleheader as undefeated Carl Froch retained his WBC super middleweight title with a split decision over previously undefeated Andre Dirrell. Dirrell was slick - using his speed to outbox Froch when the fight was contested in the center of the ring - but also did a lot of holding whenever Froch resorted to brawling tactics. Dirrell was docked a point by referee Hector Afu for holding in round ten. Fighting in Froch's hometown of Nottingham, England, Dirrell's corner told their fighter to go for the KO in the final round "because you ain’t getting no decision here” ... and they were right.

While the decision could have easily gone either way, the two European judges apparently preferred the aggressiveness of the local fighter, scoring the fight 115-112 for Froch. The third judge (from Mexico) had it 114-113 for Dirrell.

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