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The super middleweight division is a classic European battleground. Or at least it was. Now, the Super Six Tournament has finally come to its conclusion, and the top two 168 pound fighters on the planet are based out of Oakland and Montreal. The rest of the best though still largely hail from Europe. You can also view our entire Super Six Standings & Results homepage to see how all of the action played out over the past two years.

Super middleweight rankings last updated December 2011.

1. Andre Ward – Not only did Ward defeat Kessler, Abraham and Froch (and Bika and Green) but he dominated every one of them, and he used a deep bag of tools to get the job done in different ways as necessary. Ward is the clear top dog in the division right now, and one of the must make fights of 2012 will be Ward vs. Bute.
2. Lucian Bute –  Bute hushed all the critics when he dominated and stopped Andrade in the fourth round, first sending him crumpling to the canvas with a counter left to the chin and then sending him down for good with a crunching body shot. Then he continued his dominant ways when he destroyed Edison Miranda, unleashing his fury per Miranda's own request. Super Six or not, he's one of the top super middleweight boxers in the world right now, now he just needs the chance to try to prove it against Ward.
3. Mikkel Kessler – Kessler hushed his own critics as well when he took the fight to Carl Froch, and won a decisive but close fight in Stage 2 of the Super Six. He was the aggressor between the two, he found his jab once again and he put together some great combinations. In other words, he revived his career, although he had to drop out of the Super Six with an eye injury and relinquish his title. He got back in action against an overmatched opponent, and now it looks like his fight against Stieglitz could be back on for sometime in the beginning of 2012.
4. Carl Froch – His fantastic Super Six run comes with a disappointing close, as he not only lost to, but got dominated by, Andre Ward. Froch has an excellent resume over the past few years though, and is clearly still one of the top dogs in the division. A rematch against Kessler could make a lot of sense for both guys right now.
5. Glen Johnson - Glen Johnson at 168 lbs? A resounding KO win over Allan Green had him legitimately in the mix for the Super Six tournament. He lost to Carl Froch, but put up a spirited battle and made a fight out of it, proving his worth in the division. Age? Weight? Losses? Nothing stops Glen Johnson from showing up and giving an all-out effort.
6. Robert Stieglitz - He's the WBO titleholder with four successful defenses, but he hasn't fought a real, world class, opponent since losing by TKO to Andrade in 2008. At least that's what the critics would say. But he has more quality wins in recent memory than say, Edison Miranda, Allan Green, Sakio Bika, or Jermain Taylor. In 2012, he may get his chance against Mikkel Kessler.
7. Sakio Bika - After the justified but silly DQ loss while seemingly cruising to an early KO victory against Jean Paul Mendy, Bika made a decent account of himself but was outdone by Andre Ward. Make no mistake about it though, Bika is a tough fight and a tough out for anyone. How about Bika vs. Johnson in what would be a mauling, vicious battle between two of the hardest workers in this, or any, division right now?
8. Andre Dirrell – Dirrell was putting it all together against Arthur Abraham, until he was hit and knocked out while down on the canvas. Abraham was applying late effective pressure, but had been thoroughly dominated for the majority of the evening, and the bout was still Dirrell's to win. He dropped out of the Super Six and his fight against Ward, and his career remains in question right now.
9. George Groves - By defeating his rival James DeGale, and following that up with another victory on the domestic scene against Paul Smith, Groves is showing that he's legit and he's ready for the big time. Compared to some of the young American prospects in the division, he's also fighting better opponents as of late.
10. Edwin Rodriguez - La Bomba is on the scene ladies and gentlemen! There might be a few super middleweights with more experience and credentials than him left off this list. But he's on the rise and seems to have the right mix of skills, power, and charisma, to be in the mix for quite some time. After coming back from an injury, let's see what he does in 2012 to make a splash.

More Names:

Don George, Cornelius White, Anthony Dirrell, James DeGale, Thomas Oosthuizen, Arthur Abraham, Librado Andrade, Dmitri Sartison, Jean Paul Mendy, Allan Green

More Boxing Weight Class Rankings:

• 154-160 pounds – Boxing Middleweight Rankings
• 168-175 pounds – Boxing Light Heavyweight Rankings

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