Dirrell vs. Ward could take place in Detroit, Michigan

By Boxing News - 07/22/2010 - Comments

By Scott Gilfoid: According to the latest boxing news talk, the September 25th stage 3 Super Six bout between talented former American Olympians Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KO’s) and Andre Ward (22-0, 13 KO’s) could take place in Detroit, Michigan. If this turns out to be the case, it will give the 26-year-old Dirrell the home city advantage for this fight and possibly help him in a big way. Dirrell are considered two of the best fighters in the Super Six tourney by many boxing fans, and this fight could be the most exciting bout of the entire tourney.

Ward, 26, has fought at home in Oakland, California for his first two bouts of the Super Six tournament, easily beating Mikkel Kessler and Allan Green. Dirrell has fought once at home in his first two bouts, beating Arthur Abraham by an 11th round disqualification win in March 2010. Dirrell was way ahead in the fight at the time that Abraham, perhaps out of frustration, teed off on Dirrell with a big right hand after Dirrell had slipped on the canvas in the 11th. Abraham was immediately disqualified for the illegal blow.

In Dirrell’s first fight of the Super Six tournament, he lost a controversial 12 round split decision to former World Boxing Council super middleweight champion Carl Froch in Froch’s home city of Nottingham, England. Many people, who saw the fight, including fans from England, believe that Dirrell should have won the fight. I also believe that Dirrell should have won the fight. I scored it eight rounds to three with one even.

Ward is by far the toughest opponent that the talented Dirrell will have to face in the Super Six tourney. Unlike a lot of the other fighters in the tourney, Ward is fast, moves well on his feet and defends well. He does everything well, but he’s perhaps best at fighting on inside where Ward is good at roughing up his opponents. Dirrell has to make sure that he stays in the center of the ring if he wants to have a good chance at beating Ward.

He doesn’t have the same inside fighting ability that Ward possesses, so he needs to stay on the move, use his jab and throw fast combinations. Ward is less effective when his opponents are throwing combos. He tends to wait after they throw to get his own shots in. However, most of his opponents have been slower than and haven’t been able to put together much of an attack. Dirrell will be the first fighter that Ward has faced that has been hand speed than him. It’s going to be interesting to see how Ward can try and deal with Dirrell’s blistering fast punches and fast footwork.



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