Other than the inevitable screaming of "Exposed!" here on ESB, how will it affect the tournament? If the heavy favorites are brought down right off the bat, will it deflate things, cause people to lose interest? Will they attempt to bring in some other fighters, like Bute or Pavlik (Calzaghe? I know, a very long shot), to keep people interested?
No. They'll all have a chance to make it up in the second and third round of the prelims. It's not single elimination...
Since when would the favourites losing diminish interest in a tournament, especially one of that format? It would throw the whole thing wide open. You might have more of a point if you were asking what happens if Dirrell, Ward and Taylor all lost in the first round, especially if it were in a convincing manner...
with some promotion in the coming months, thi is going to be a popular venture in america, we love tournaments!!! lol, it's true.
'Lose interest' in the sense that with all the top guys being brought down a peg or two, the tournament won't have the same significance as far as establishing the heir to Calzaghe's crown. They'll all look kind of average. That is, assuming Ward or Dirrell doesn't just destroy their competition. That'd change things dramatically.
So what if they lost?, things remain interesting. You have Dirrell, Ward and Taylor going at it in round 2. Don't expect Pavlik to make any move. There's unfinished business for Pavlik at Middleweight, guys like Lockett, Mora and Rubio.
No, the implication is that none of them is considered a favorite, not by a long shot. Ward and Dirrell because of lack of pro experience; Taylor because of his recent performances.
Pavlik's catching all kinds of hell on ESB lately. Anyway, I only posted the thread to get opinions about a 'what if'. I'm not saying that I'd lose interest. Hell, I picked Ward to win the thing.
If all of them lose - that means all the Black Guys won - but not only that - all the Americans won. This will - imo - help with the ratings in America. If that happens - it will only help the tournament. This will get more people to watch - but all the losers will have a chance to redeem themselves with the next fight.
Froch is a favorite to win the tournament? Interest in the tournament will depend on how exciting the fights are, not who wins. If these three fights are boring close decisions (unlikely) no matter who wins, it would diminish interest.