Dirrell Fought the right fight

By Boxing News - 03/29/2010 - Comments

Image: Dirrell Fought the right fightBy Ronnie Jordan: Having just viewed the first match of the second round of the super six tournament, I’m extremely excited after a terrific bout and tremendous boxing display from Andre Dirrell. He came into the fight with a few question marks about his heart and ability to take a punch and was accused of negativity in the Froch fight. Although in my mind the boring match up was also partly due to Carl Froch who seemed to fear Dirrell’s speed and was reluctant to get in close at times. Against Abraham a Dirrell victory was seen as a real possibility if he stuck to his game plan of hit and move.

I felt however that wouldn’t be enough. It’s very hard to avoid getting hit for a whole fight especially when you’re getting tired towards the latter rounds. I felt, as did many others that Dirrell would win the first half, whilst Abraham was inactive and then become more and more tired and begin to get caught and eventually be knocked out.

In an earlier article I expressed the feeling that the only way I had Dirrell wining was if he was willing to counter in the centre of the ring when Arthur lowers his guard. There had to be some aggression and fight in Andre and not just a display of his superior speed and agility.

What we witnessed was both. Andre was very busy and boxed and moved for 3 rounds with little attacking threat from Abraham. There was a good mix up of head and body shots, and found his way between Abraham’s defense with some hard stinging power shots. Dirrell was being very aggressive and was bringing the fight to Abraham, he was also confusing him with his lateral movement and switch hitting. The aggressive approach was outlined in round four when during one of Abraham’s few sustained attacks Andre held his nerve and kept his eyes solidly on Abraham.

Instead of ducking and diving he countered with a right then left hook to the head and while Abraham was off balance landed a strait left with excellent speed. This sent him to the canvas for the first time in his career and the largely pro Dirrell crowd erupted. It was a tremendous knockout not scored through huge power but with his great countering and commitment to land shots in the face of pressure.

Not many fighters have the speed to land that kind of combination whilst avoiding being hit. This is why I felt Dirrell had it in him to win. He just needed that extra motivation to put himself in the firing line. Andre was always going to have the share of the early scoring but it was that aggressive mindset that enabled him to dominate the way he did.

That knock down set the mood for the rest of the fight and Andre came out looking sharp and focused. He boxed and moved for the next round throwing when Abraham was in his tight defense but also countering very well. Arthur was struggling to land and was being dominated in all areas by the lightening Dirrell.
The danger was not over of course as Abraham was still standing but Dirrell kept composed and continued to exert himself with measured speed, power and aggression.

Round Ten saw the fight turn slightly with Abraham knowing he was well behind on the score cards began to come forward and managed to force Dirrell on the ropes more and more. Although he struggled to connect often there was still signs that the tides where changing. This being the case I still felt Dirrell was in control and had the speed of head and foot to see the victory through. Although there was an obvious change in momentum I don’t believe like some do that Abraham had his number and it was only a matter of time until Dirrell was knocked out.

Dirrell reverted back to his defensive on the move style and showed some tremendous head movement to avoid the hard hooks of Abraham. There can’t of been a super middle weight in history with faster reflexes than Andre Dirrell. A lot of what he did i had to watch over a few times because its impossible to see whether he was hit or not. Even after doing this I still wasn’t sure. Luckily we have replays at the end of the rounds.

Round ten saw the first moment of controversy when the ref ruled a seemingly valid knockout to be a trip. Replays showed that there was contact with the feet but to deny Abraham the knockout was still harsh. Of cause the moment that decided the fight was unfortunate and I’m sure will be debated continuously for some time. For me it was just one of those things that happen in the heat of the moment. I don’t lay too much blame on either guy and I certainly don’t think Dirrell was faking.

It was an excellent fight and the best display by a boxer so far this year. I just hope this fight is remembered for the right reasons and not the controversy. This should surly be a blueprint for the rest of Andres career. He needs to go out and win fights and not run all night. If he’s able to fight like that for the remainder of the tournament he has a great chance of winning the whole thing and becoming a huge box office star.



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