Organizers of a new $50M boxing tournament on Thursday "unveiled plans for the World Boxing Super Series, a September-to-May event with two weight classes of fighters chasing the Muhammad Ali Trophy," according to the AFP. While developers were "hopeful of a Champions League-style event, using top talent to produce global attention and an ultimate winner," they have "no deals with promoters or fighters and aren't certain what divisions will be featured when brackets are revealed in June." Super Series Chair Richard Schaefer said, "The goal, really, is to try to attract at least two champions from each weight class." He added that "advanced talks were underway" with Showtime, but a final deal "would depend on the weight classes involved." The two weight classes and boxers slated for the inaugural season "will be revealed in June at a 'Draft Gala' in which four top-seeded rivals will select their quarter-final foes from the other fighters." It would "set the stage for quarter-final bouts next September and October, semi-finals next January and February and championship bouts" in May '18, with fights "staged mainly in U.S. and European venues, each headlining a card of its own." Berlin-based Sauerland Promotions, Swedish media company Modern Times Group and Swiss-based event marketing firm Highlight Event & Entertainment have "united behind the project," forming Swiss-registered entity Comosa AG (AFP, 3/9). The promoters said that the plan is to "hold half of the 14 cards in venues" in the U.S., with the other half "taking place elsewhere in the world, though Europe will be the focus." ESPN.com's Dan Rafael notes each fight would "take place in a major arena" including MSG, Barclays Center, Staples Center, T-Mobile Arena and other venues in the U.K. and Germany. Schaefer: "We want to focus on classes that might've been a bit ignored. We want to bring those fighters to the forefront and expose them" (ESPN.com, 3/10).
