Anthony Dirrell vs. Badou Jack to headline “Premier Boxing Champions” card on April 24th on Spike TV

By Boxing News - 02/25/2015 - Comments

dirrell77-yamada (Photo credit: Sumio Yamada) By Scott Gilfoid: The Anthony Dirrell (27-0-1, 22 KOs) vs. Badou Jack (18-1-1, 12 KOs) fight on April 24th will be the headliner fight on the “Premier Boxing Chamoions” card, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN. The Dirrell-Jack fight will be on Spike TV.

The venue for the fight still hasn’t been determined at this time, but there’s a possibility that it could be staged either in Chicago or Detroit. Having it take place in Detroit would be perfect, as the unbeaten Dirrell lives in Flint, Michigan.

This would enable him to take advantage of his loyal fan base in Michigan.

Once the talented Dirrell gets Jack out of the way, he has to defend his World Boxing Council title against #1 WBC George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs) later this year. This could work out well for Dirrell, because it will enable him to get two potentially soft opponents back to back.

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That’s not to say that Groves doesn’t have power in his punches, because he packs a wallop with either hand. However, Groves’ problem is that his stamina is suspect, as is his chin. Groves wears down in his fights once he gets the 7th round barrier, and he’s open to getting knocked out from the 6th round on.

I basically see Groves as a six round type of fighter right now. For him to develop into a good fighter, he’s going to need to improve his stamina so that he stops getting knocked out once the fight hits the 6th round. As for Badou Jack, he’s a lot better fighter than a lot of boxing fans think of him.

Fans see Jack’s 1st round knockout loss to the hard hitting Derek Edwards in February 2014, and they assume that he’s got a soft chin. That’s not the case though. Jack was clobbered by a right hand that he never saw coming from Edwards, and once he Jack was hurt, he never recovered.

The Dirrell-Jack fight will be a good showcase fight for Dirrell in order for him to show off his talent to the boxing world. One can only hope that Jack will be able to stay upright long enough to give Dirrell some rounds so that he can get sharp for his fight against Groves later in the year.

Dirrell hasn’t fought since he defeated Sakio Bika last year in August to win the World Boxing Council 168 pound title in a 12 round decision. Dirrell would have fought by now if there were any exciting opponents willing to face him, but the division has been quiet lately.

The only guy that seems eager to face Dirrell is Groves, and that’s not a big fight. That’s just going to be a simple bout that will take place either in the United States or the UK.

It’ll probably pick up a few more fans if it’s staged in the UK, but I don’t suspect that it’ll draw a ton of fans. Groves isn’t a huge seller. I mean, he brought in fans for his two fights against Froch, but I see that largely due to Froch rather than Groves.



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