Andre Ward vs. Andre Dirrell prediction
July 29th, 2010
by Ronnie Jordan: After six close fought contests people are starting to look ahead to the third round of Showtime’s Super Six World Boxing Classic. For me the most impressive fighters so far have been Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell and in my opinion their scheduled fight later on this year is the pick of the third round bouts.
The first round saw Ward out class the pre-tournament favorite Mikkel Kessler in a bout held at Andre Ward’s home town in Oakland California. Along with his offensive tools Ward was elusive and hard to hit keeping low and using his fast foot work and good body movement. The significant quality that Ward posses is his variety. He’s able to do everything well and therefore adapt to different fighting styles. Against Allen Green he found success on the inside time and time again and he resiliently stuck to that game plan all night. His ability to make room on the inside getting his short stinging hooks off is impressive. It may look untidy but its very affective. Again he found a way to win and its an example of Wards ingenuity and dogged refusal to lose.
There were flashes of genius but also a noticeable lack of courage. Against Abraham it seemed the shackles were off and he put together a masterclass of hit and move showing great speed, foot work and agility. The controversy late on spoiled the the fight but for 10 rounds Dirrell looked a class act. Not only did he win the early rounds keeping active with fast combinations and good movement but he kept the fight in the center of the ring and controlled the tempo and when the sporadic Abraham attacks came he not only moved out the way but also countered with stinging hooks and strait rights outlined by the knock down in round four.
Predicting the fight between Dirrell and Ward is proving difficult. Many agree if ward can get on the inside and impose himself then he should win. His keys to victory rely on him keeping busy closing the ring down and trapping dirrell in the corner. Ward is far superior to Dirrell on the inside and if he can get there and stay there the fights won. My thoughts are that Dirrell maybe the only fighter in the tournament who can beat Ward. Ward has a tendency to lean in and lunge when he throws from the outside. He gets away with this against slower opponents but Dirrell can make him pay. His ability to switch hit and avoid shots in one motion using his quick hands and foot speed is what will win him the fight for me.
Green and Kessler were only able to counter ward on occasion but Dirrell will do this far more often. If he can neutralize Wards attacks slipping punches and stepping to the side he can keep the fight in center of the ring. Unlike the Abraham fight Dirrell wont be the aggressor, Ward will be initiating the attacks and trying to press the fight. It may be a cagey affair at first with neither willing to commit to early but unlike some I think this fight will really warm up with Dirrels ability to jab from range Ward may be forced to press and try to get inside. Dirrell needs to ignore his tendency to dance around the ring too much because Ward is quick enough and agile enough to catch him moving backwards. Ward can throw in bunches and would start to find the target eventually. Dirrell needs to jab and counter in the center of the ring which will nullify Wards attack. You cant label this fight as being the outside fighter vs the inside fighter because Ward’s too versatile for that but his only chance of winning is by getting up close. I’m predicting Dirrell has the ability to stop Ward getting close enough to land and with this wining the fight by a close decision.
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Dirrell by K O
He is gonna suprise all the skepts
BY THE WAY WHERE IS THE FIGHT LOCATION
DIRRELL WILL WIN THIS ONE IF 1 HIS PEOPLE WATCH THEM WRAP WARDS HANDS 2 INSPECT WARDS GLOVES TO BE SURE THE PADDING IS LEGAL.THEY LOOKED WAY BIGGER THEN KESSLERS IN THAT FIGHT.3 GET APPROVAL ON THE REF—MOST IMPORTANT—AND THE JUDGES.4 CK OUT THE RING FOR SIZE AND TIGHTNESS OF THE ROPES TO HIS LIKING.GET A LARGE GROUP OF FAN ON EACH CORNPR OF THE RING ALL WILLING TO SCREAM BLOODY MURDER WHEN WARD HEAD BUTTS: HOLDS: LOW BLOWS: PAWLS WITH HIS LEFT ARM.IN SHORT WHEN HE USES THE WOUNDERFULL TRICKS TOUGHT TO HIM BY VIRGIL .LASTLY INSIST ON DRUG TESTING BEFORE AND RIGHT AFTER THE FIGHT.THE CONTE FACTOR.THERES ALOT OF WORK TO BE DONE WHEN YOU FIGHT A CHEETER SOG.
I’d love to see that fight. where do they show it? HBO?
I find it funny how the Euro fans seem to almost ALL be a bunch of hypocrites. They call Ward dirty becuz of a few ACCIDENTAL headbutts, ignoring the fact he was winning the fight WELL before the headbutts even happened. Especially since the only success Froch and Abraham had in their fights with Dirrell was the few punches behind the head, the holding and hitting, the hitting on the breaks, and whatever other little cheap shot they could get away with. Than u guys complain about the AMERICAN REFEREEING as being BIAS, while Froch gets away with all the rabid punches he did from beginning to end, and doesn’t even get a warning for the MMA slam which he clearly did on purpose. In the mean time, Dirrell get’s a point deducted for holding, the simplest of crimes in boxing. And let’s not forget the judging. U guys r convinced the Froch/Dirrell fight was close, while Froch barely pulled out a victory… Based off what. The only punches he landed were the rabid punches. Dirrell even had him hurt and beat him around the ring in rounds 11 and 12.
@COACH-WARD WILL WIN IT ALL. HE HAS GOD ON HIS SIDE.WHICH SIDE IS THAT COACH?HIS RIGH OR LEFT SIDE?YOU DUMB ASS.I SAW YOU ON TV IN WARDS CORNOR BEFORE THE FIGHT STARTED.YOU WERE THE OLD GUY WITH HIS FLYES DOWN PLAYING WITH HIMSELF.YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOUR SELF.I GUESS YOU DONT KNOW ANY BETTER AFTER ALL YOU THINK WARD WILL WIN IT ALL.
@COACH i want to help you with you man love prolbem so i have asked Boxbox to pay you a visit. Koak you might be asked to chip in if she charges.
Coach: God allmighty blessing…Give me a break and leave out the religion. This is boxing not a revival meeting.
Conté has no credibility and if Ward cared about his reputation, he´d find another nutritionist, but he doesnt, so…
Just to get things straigh Coach. I agree that Ward won the fight with Kessler hands down, but he also did alot of dirty work. What bothers me is that pro Ward ppl and ward wont admit he did that. No, Ward just tries to make himself the good guy (SOG) To me he is a hypocrite and a cheater.
I think Dirrell causes an upset here!
Koak:wakeup oak and quit echoing what you hear. Don’t you realize god almighty is blessing this young man in a tremendous way and just like he had to overcome hatred and personal attacks to win the gold in Athens he will do the same in the super six.do you know that conte is now the voice in pro boxing on peds and dr.margerate goodmand has publicly stated that his expertise is crucial concerning the future of the sport.As Christians we are forgiving people and conte has turned a unfortunate time in his life into a time of proving his remorse.Andre has only been in one fight where head butts accidently occurred. Yet when Miranda purposely butted Andre in the first round of their fight Andre overcame digit and put a beat down on edition.don’t make excuses for your fighter it makes him look bad. He is a fighter and that means he is supposed to overcome and not be protected by hurt fans.so love dre or hate him he is a true upright man and any man who doesn’t know another personally has to question himself if he is inclined to pass opinions on matters he knows nothing about.dare to stand alone ko and be free.
One thing Derrell will have to contend with is the versatility of Ward.He will have to be at his best for twelve fleetfooted rounds.,With the matrix showing why he is called just that.
Coach: You are blind if you cant see that Ward was charging in with his forehead first. That had nothing to do with Kesslers movement. Ward´s headbutting was on purpose I have no doubt. In Europe or another state in the US Ward would have been penalized for that. In Oakland he wasnt even warned.
Dont get me wrong, Ward is fast, good reflexes, nice counterpunching and has good technical skills, but he also a dirty fighter. Why cant you admit that? You are trying to build him up as a standup, godfearing do-right and he has shown none of that in the ring. Rather the opposite. His work with Victor Conté is very suspicious and why would he work with a guy who has been jailed for doping up athletes. The Handraps you are reffering to are california rules. Mikkel has never tried to cheat and neither has Olsen. On the other hand Mikkel and Olsen were harrased before the fight by Goosen employees on several occasions. When you say you are “takin this” I have no doubt you mean it. You, Ward and Virgil will stop at nothing in order to “takin this” including cheating.
Koak:your attempts and jealous accusations will never ditto this fine young man from who he is. A standup man with morals,principals,and dedication to his craft. It’s unfortunate that mikkell was accidentally butted in the fight and a lot of that had to do with his robotic movement on the inside. He doesn’t know what to do inside so he caused himself to be in positions to collide with Andre. However I think mikkell is not going to stop trying because he is cut.froch cut him bad and he never stopped trying. On fight camp 360 mikkell after firing Olsen gave his true outlook on the fight. I was frustrated he said and my coach was frustrated and we should have known what to do. So you see my man he was helpless and admitted so. Man up like mikkell did and free yourself okay. It’s time to stop crying and deal with it. By the way olden was ordered to rewrap mikkells hands after he tried to stack wrap his gauze and tape. That is a serious violation of the rules and if they were letting him get away with that in Denmark I see why he had so many ko’s.but in closing I will assure you of this!Andre ward is not going to play with anyone in a boxing ring,he’s not going to cut anyone any slack. Count on that and he is only about70 percent of his growing potential so he will continue to roll and he don’t need Oakland,refs, or anything else that keeps you and your comrades whining. As we say in the gym daily…..we takin this.
Coach: Kessler wanted out because Ward was headbutting, shoulderslamming and holding&hitting with no end in sight and the ref would do nothing about it. Kessler knew he would get nowhere with complaining. Thats the kind of guys he is. He is a fighter not a dirty, PED eating cheater like Ward.
This is for you ko kid.respect your dad and honor him as your father.you said that you boxed and that you were now 19yrs old. Old enough to be your own man and most important be your own fighter because your dad is going to get you hurt and rooting with your dads heart will shorten your career.young man Kessler quit trying against Andre after the 5th round and when it was stopped he made no protest to the referee. I was in andre’s corner young man so trust me kessler wanted out. Granted he did show heart against froch but he was able to hit froch so it gave him hope. Remember Andre beat Kessler with only 20 fights so I ask you who did froch,aa,Kessler fight in their 20th fight? Don’t let anyone tell you to be a face first fighter because the crowd loves it and that’s what the public thirst for. Hit and don’t hit and enjoy your career.
@ COACH i am 19 and asked my dad whoes a big rabid fight fan: would you want me to fight like Dirrell & Ward or AA & Kessler & Froch? He said Dirrells the best boxer but not a figfter .Wards a bum cause he fights dirty.He added i”d like you to box like Dirrell with balls:punch liKE AA & Froch and have the heart of Kessler. I said ‘YA DAD YOU GOT TO HAVE BALLS AND YOU SHOULDNT FIGHT DIRTY.
nice article even if it got a little repetative towards the end. i agree dirrells tactics need to be similar than against abraham but with a bit more countering and he needs to hold the centre of the ring.
wards outside game doesnt compare with dirrells. the trouble dirrell will have is finding ward with his jab because ward stays low and has great rexlexes. dirrell needs to keep his jab pumping and doubling up with it. he has to slip and counter in the centre and not move back to much.
Dirrell does not stand a chance in my opinion, if the ref does let Ward do his game. Kangaroo vs Rabbit
after runnin a while, rabbit will be outjumped.
@WOW Produce a clean victory then we”ll talk!!!!!!!!!!!
This could be a great fight if Dirrell mans up and fights as much as he boxes.If he doesnt he will end up beat up just like Green.Worse yet if he puts on a track meet he will be labeled a coward.Dirrell has more natural gifted ability then any of them.He just has to learn how to turn on his mean side.IM SURE WARD IS PREPARING TO CUT THE RING OFF AND CORNOR HIM.BUT WHATS HE DO IF DIRRELL COMES OUT SLUGGING ROUND#1 AT THE SOUND OF THE BELL?
lets face it dawson is good and cleverly might struggle to beat him and ward and dirrell are gna be tough for degale and groves. jacobs aned williams will probably dominate the middle weights. as for welter and light weletr the uk has gavin, khan and brook. looking at americas best such as mike jones, timothy bradley and devon alexander you could argue the uk are stronger.
ok thats not that impressive realy..
nathan cleverly light heavey age 23 undefeated #3
-super middle. youll have to take my word but degale and grove will be challenging for titles.
-macklin is top 5 middle and could woop pavlik
-brook is better than berto and once mayweather retires he will be world champ.
-khan is arguably better than bradley and we’ll just have to wait and see.
when you talk about the future prospect are worth a mention.
are best are gavin, degale, groves cleverly and brook. were not going to have the same depth as usa but were still looking very strong
Why is it that every time Ward/Dirrell or any other American fighter whoops the Euro asses, the excuse is “Hes boring to watch”, “Hes too defensive” can anyone explain that?
Why do Euro Fans B*itch and Moan about EVERY clean victory!!HUH??
usabigbust . . . . .You make a comment when he lose okay!!! Until then, keep watching. It might be a while mate!!!!LMAO!!!
Khan? . . . . Let him fight a LEGITIMATE division opponent first. PLEASE! He’s done NOTHING! And your list is “C” list fighters at best. None of this cowards can compete with the elite. What So EVER! I suggest you go back to your Boxing Wikipedia for more because it will be a “COLD DAY IN RUGBSY HELL” before any of these fighters become half descent at best!
Williams one loss avenged ranking#1 junior middle weight
Dawson undefeated ranking#1 Light heavyweight
Bradley undefeated ranking#1 junior welterweight
Alexander undefeated ranking#2 junior welterweight
Ward undefeated ranking#1 light middleweight
Mayweather undefeated ranking#1 welterweight and many P4P
Jacobs undefeated ranking#2 junior middle weight
Berto undefeated ranking#3 welterweight
One fighter on this list is above 30 and thats Floyd! You have a LOOOONNGGG way to go!
LMAO!! Tell the other countries to keep accepting ass whoopings!!! There fun to watch!!
@golden boy–ward best fighter.REALLY? boxer mabey.do lack of balls: fighter no way hosay
RORY and Coach! You sound like you should write a book together! Called “The Angry misguided fatherless Euro Boxing Fan” LMAO!!! You say because we focus our money thats why there the best… LMAO!! Your comments have made my day! Again, thank you for your support in this matter. I apologize you grew up without a father. thats more of a personal thing!
I dont even understand the purpose of your comment. At the end of the day, one fighter . . . one win! Training,dedication,determination inside and outside the ring! For example:
Mayweather does not drink or smoke . . EVER! He trains 4 hours a day even without training for a fight. Does not indulge in foods that are unhealthy to the body. Spars sometimes 16 rounds in camp. This are traits that fighters carry to be champions.
Example of Bad training:
Ricky Hatton: Drinks and smokes between fights.
Gains at least 30 pounds in “off-season” and has to revamp back to fight weight.
Eats whatever he wants and does not focus.
Greats fighters are made from HARD WORK! You have to understand this. Mayweather is the best because he treats his mind,body and spirit like hes the best. Nothing personal guys, this is just the truth.
the uk has 7 that are at that level in my view:
khan, brook, groves, degale, cleverly, gavin, and macklin. anyone who thinks theres other worth a mention add them. there all under 25 and if not the best yet will be there or there abouts soon. america hasnt got the talent pool they used to and other countries are improving.
@truetalk………. ur an arogant idiot!
lets go through the divisions and see what we have for the future.
americas stars for the future are:dawson, ward, dirrell, quillin, jacobs, henry, rodgeguez, porter williams,berto,bradley,alexander,john and maybe a few more. you can add some if ive missed any.
This is for you true talk. Andre ward just turned 26 and is the youngest of all fighters in the super six. He will be 27early next year. As a assistant to coach Virgil hunter and being around the development of this gifted fighter for the last 16yrs I feel confident in telling you and the world that andres success is built on the fact that he respects every fighter in the super six and every fighter that climbs through the ropes.he might not please certain fans with his many different ways of fighting but If I asked every rabid fan whose son wanted to take up boxing?do you want to learn boxing the way froch,Kessler,aa, learned and get face first training, or do you want your son to learn how to hit his opponent and not be hit back anyone who doesn’t choose the latter is a liar or you hate your son.if I told each one of these fans of (froch,kisser,aa)that they could pick the athleticism of froch,Kessler,or aa or they could pick the athleticism of ward or dirrell for their son they are going to choose the latter. We all are human and when someone is not like us or when someone does things different we hate on them. But every euro fan if given the choice to choose the gifts of ward or dirrell for their son will choose them and throw their homes out in the cold which is where ward is going to leave them—-in the cold
Oh dont forget Roy Jones in his prime, not OLD Roy that Calzaghe beat. Bradley or Alexander could be the next Mayweather, Ward is the next Roy Jones (with power). I know . . . I know . . . here come your excuses, but please comment when these fighters lose. Dont comment of speculation cause they still got the “0″ loses.
True Talk, get the tissue ready . . .
most boring fight of the year.
Awwwww rory, I didnt mean for you to get upset. Were just the best. Ill save special tissue for you! Bradley,Alexander,Ward,Dirrel,Dawson,Mayweather. All the top in the division. Ward is 27, Bradley is 27, Alexander is 23.Dawson 28. ALL UNDEFEATED!!!!! LMAO!! Sorry my friend, we will be on top for a while. Just like Leonard,Hearns,Hagler,Whitiker,Mosely were, oh and go back even further the greatest of all time Ali and Foreman, keep saying your prayers at night for an ELITE british fighter . Calzaghe . . NOT . .NOT. . Keep it up man and I will continue to provide the tissue.
WERE THE BEST AROUND!!!!!HA
P.S. It take skill to be the best. The promotional aspect dont have nothing to with your skillz. If your claiming fixed, I suggest you go back to RUGSBY!!! Or maybe UFC.
im english by the way!
Any fight with ward is boring can see this being the worst fight of the super six
@Mark… spot on!
Course, I’m bitter. Whatever. Calzaghe was at a level Ward, Dirrell & the other Super 6 guys can only dream of. Sure, I think Dirrell shouldn’t have beaten Froch, because he fought terribly. I think Abraham had every chance of KOing Dirrell had he not gotten himself DQ’d, because Dirrell was clearly shaken by the KD in round 10, which was clearly legit. As for bitter though? Please! You wanna see bitter, read anything by Gilfoid on here. He’d probably appreciate the tissues too, seeing as he’s recently done another Dirrell ‘article’.
froch to win by ko. also i have a huge collection of boxing stuff 4 sale dvds signed gloves and photos if intrested call me on 07854219042
@truetalk….. were the best around??????
dont take credit for what ur boxers do. dont include yourself in any of it. its nothing to do with u!
for the size of your country and the amount of money america put into the sport they should be the best.
america certantly wont be flying quite as high when mayweather hopkins retire. the wealth of talent is far more spread these days. look through the weights at the prospects. most are eastern eurpean british or mexican. dont get me wrong some are american but nowhere near as many as 10 years ago.
froch by ko
None of these fighter in the supper six can be acused of being scared bc they all signed on to fight the best. Ill give credit to any fighter who is willing to fight the best and doest duck any one. Just being in this means you cnat duck any one. Their all Great and i know that allot of people think that ward is going to win it all but this dirrel fight will tell allot about both fighter so i have to reserve judgement. Only people who dont have a chance are froch and green the other four could all still win it.
@RJ HIll I agree.
Im truly not a fan of excuses. There are many things that go on throughout a boxing match that will effect the outcome. Seems to me, this blog is about the foreign fighters losing and there fans making excuses, Ward is the next great! There no debating that. Hes tactical and precise. Although, the haymakers that fan LOVE seeing are not happening in his fights, he still fights brilliant. Its all a matter of perception. Same as floyd!! People scream hes a boring and scared fighter but they made him 62.5 million in one year!! Makes no sense!! They make him rich!!!
Were the best around!!!!
@rjhill……. a agree he should hit and move but shouldnt move back in strait lines… he needs lateral movement and keep it in the centre of the ring. he cant just jab jab move either he has to lure ward in and counter. ward ripe for a counter left hook when he dips in.
I think if Derrell is going to win he must use the hit,n run tactic,and dont let Ward inside.It may be a chess match,of who lans the cleaner blows and who outworks the other will determine the outcome.I like all fighters ,regardless where they are from.Sometimes I pick a personality to favor.The US ruled the heavywieght division,most of the time since Queensbury inception.,And the US looksfor another hopefull,And the telescope sees nothing in sight.I think carwin would be another Foreman.But age is not on his side.No one in boxing is pursuing him.we still have the best cast of boxers in the world.
LOL…I would love to see at least ONE fight that Froch,Kessler,Abraham,Hatton,Khan and the other C list fighters lose, that their fans do not make ANY excuses for . . . oh guess what . . . THEY CANT!!! Learn to ACCEPT a lose, you should be used to it by know!!
You cant compete with the Elite. Thats just a FACT!! Make as many excuses as you want! Maybe even label them boring fighters, but they continue to punish your “C” list fighters time after time after time!!! No competition what-so-ever. No one in the super six has ANY chance of beating Andre Ward. NO ONE!! Go ahead make your EXCUSES, end result another WIN! LMAO!!!!
Headbutts,elbows,faking . . . . Blah Blah Blah Stop Crying!!! Still Ass whoopings!! If you dont like it, Dont watch!!!
ronnie jordans english…. he writes about uk fighters usually. its an unbiased view from a writer based on national pride.
I still wana see both these guys win a lagit victory over good opponents before i make judgement. The ward v kessler fight simply was to dirty with countless head buts for me to make a conclusion and green just sucks. And we all know that Direll won the first fight against Froch and was on his way to beating abraham but because of the endings of both it leaves allot of questions. I dont know who is going to win this tourny i just know its not gunna be green and probably not Froch or Kessler eather.
LMAO!!! I still have tissue for all my Foreign boxing fanatics!! Im sorry your fighter lost.
My truly sincere apologies . . .LOL
Abraham looked like Forrest gump against lightning quick Dirrell. That was hilarious!!!!
who runs faster? who wrestle quicker? these two will never box that’s for sure.
i find it funny how american fans think every fighter from there that steps in the ring is a class above everyoe else….when will they reise they are no longer top of the boxing tree
Wow this guy is “straight up” bitter!!! LMAO!!!Cant blame him though, his fighters have been losing..Cant fault a guy for making excuses to feel better about his life.
Go Andre Ward. Best fighter in the tournament!!!!
Boring-ass fight. With any luck Ward will win, meaning Froch should go through regardless of his next result. Kessler should spank Green, & hey presto: only one boring American fighter in the semis.
I see Andre winning easily.
(Hard to say but i hope Matrix will win)
Of course you will have a select few pissed off country men MAD cause Kessler and Abraham(The HOMO cheater) got killed by both the AMERICAN greats, but this is going to be and INCREDIBLE fight.
Ward vs Dirrell could be a ppv fight!! Both with incredible skill and great timing. Im looking forward to it! Although I do find it ironic that 95% of foreign fight fans have UNBELIEVABLE excuses EVERYTIME their fighter loses. You’d think they would run out by know . . . .LOL
Cant wait for this fight!
Ward by 10rd stoppage!
for me the best fight was dirrell abraham. it was the most tonse bout with the besdt boxing. the froch kessler fight was exciting but it lacked skill and presision.
It seems that dirrell is the writers and some fans last hope for ward to lose in this tourney. While dirrell without question a good and talented boxer ward is cut different. Dirrell has fought the slower (froch,aa)opponents while ward made quicker opponents look slow.froch was able to disrupt dirrell because his style forced dirrell into decisions he couldn’t take his time on. Aa fought at a pace that was comfortable to dirrell for 8rds. But when aa turned up the intensity dirrell started coming apart. Wards intensity will be there from the start,along with his speed,quickness,and his refusal to lose.that is going to be hard to overcome let alone beat.
I can see the first ‘draw’ coming up on the Super Six horizon..
direll will present problems for ward in the beginning, but ward will adjust and whoop him. ward by dession or possible tko.
my prediction is BEST ACTOR AWARDEE i think LOL!
snooze fest alert !! actually looking forward to it coz i have a bad case of insomnia due in September
Dirrel’s reflexes were good but it doesnt count if he didnt hit froch !! he didnt even land a punch until the 5th round, and people wonder who won the rounds ??? doesnt have to be pretty but froch was on the offensive all night and atleast tried to fight other then run
Ward is excellent !! …. at holding and headbutting …. im sure he is gay due to the amount of times he hugged green and kessler … i was sure he was going to kiss him
Best Fights were Kessler Vs Froch – best for all the people even the neutrals
best fight could be – Kessler Vs Abraham (kessler win via pts)