Anthony Dirrell vs. Denis Douglin – Analysis and prediction

By Boxing News - 11/17/2017 - Comments

Image: Anthony Dirrell vs. Denis Douglin - Analysis and prediction

By Tim Royner: Anthony Dirrell (30-1-1, 24 KOs) and Denis Douglin (20-5, 13 KOs) will be fighting tonight on Premier Boxing Champions on FS1 at the Dort Federal Event Center in Flint, Michigan.

(Photo credit: Silvia Jones/Premier Boxing Champions)

The televised portion of tonight’s Dirrell vs. Douglin card begins at 10:30 ET on FS1. It’ll be good to see the 33-year-old southpaw Dirrell against a young fighter that will be stand and fight him for 10 full rounds in Douglin. This should be a good fight while it lasts.

Dirrell will be fighting in front of a large crowd in his hometown of Flint Michigan. This is a homecoming for Dirrell, who hasn’t fought at home in Flint since his win over Dante Craig on July 2, 2011. That was 6 years ago. Dirrell will get to show off in front of his fans against a guy that he should be able to beat and shine against in Douglin.

Tonight’s Dirrell vs. Douglin fight breaks down to these areas:

. Speed – Dirrell

. Youth – Douglin

. Power – Dirrell

. Experience – Dirrell

. Ring IQ – Dirrell

It’s going to be next to impossible for Douglin to pull off an upset tonight unless Dirrell has gotten old overnight. It’s possible that Dirrell has aged since his last fight, but not likely.

Dirrell lost his WBC World super middleweight title 2 years ago in a 12 round majority decision defeat to Badou Jack in 2015. Dirrell probably would have already gotten a shot at the WBC title if he’d been more active since then. He’s only fought three times in the last 2 years against Marco Antonio Rubio, Caleb Truax and Norbert Nemesapati. Dirrell easily beat all three of them, but he should have been a lot busier with his boxing career. Whether that’s Dirrell’s fault or his management is unclear.

“I feel great because this gives the people of Flint a chance to see world class boxing with one of their own,” said Dirrell via Fight News. ”We made the tickets cheap so people can come watch great top level boxing…this is something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I’ve thought about it for a while but the task is still at hand. I still have to take care of my opponent. I’m prepared mentally and physically to go to war!”

It’s good that Dirrell is ready to go to war tonight, since that’s the only way he’s going to get through this fight. Douglin is one of those guys that prefer to brawl. That’s when he’s at his best. The hard George Groves struggled in their fight three years ago in 2014. Douglin had Groves hurt at least twice in the fight. Groves was eventually able to wear the smaller Douglin down and score a stoppage in the 7th after knocking him down, but it was far from an easy fight for him. Douglin was on him big time.

Douglin didn’t look nearly as good in his last fight against David Benavidez last year in August. Douglin caught the 20-year-old Benavidez with him fighting at his best. If Douglin had fought Benavidez last September, he would have stood a much better chance of beating him. Benavidez looked weight drained in his grueling fight with Ronald Gavril. It’s pretty clear that Benavidez is growing out of the 168 lb. division, and he’s now struggling with making the weight.

Dirrell vs. Douglin is a battle between two inactive fighters going in different directions. #2 WBC Dirrell (30-1-1, 24 KOs) is trying to get a title shot against WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez, and he’s got to win tonight to stay in the running for that title shot.

Dirrell is sitting behind #1 WBC Callium Smith. However, the rankings with the WBC are about to go through a huge overhaul with Callum Smith and Chris Eubank Jr. both competing in the World Boxing Super Series tournament. Dirrell could see himself replaced at the No.2 spot if he doesn’t shine tonight against Douglin (20-5, 13 KOs).

Prediction

Dirrell will have too much power, speed and talent for Douglin. I see this fight ending by the 5th round with Dirrell knocking Douglin down a couple of times to force a stoppage.