Shaw trying for Dirrell-Froch rematch in December – News

By Boxing News - 11/10/2009 - Comments

dirrell443343446By Scott Gilfoid: The promoter for the talented super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell (18-1, 13 KO’s) is reportedly looking to get a December rematch between Dirrell and World Boxing Council super middleweight champion Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KO’s), according to Boxing Fanhouse. Gary Shaw, the promoter for Dirrell, says “I’m looking to try to get it [Froch vs. Dirrell rematch] done in December. I’m talking to Showtime about it, and I have a meeting with them this week.” The only problem with a December fight against Froch, however, is that Dirrell has a January 23rd fight against unbeaten Arthur Abraham in Showtime’s Super Six tournament, and that would be cutting it very close for Dirrell.

If he sustains an injury, such as a cut, in the Froch fight, it would mess up things for his Abraham bout. Showtime might not want to take the chance of taking that risk and letting that possibly happen. Dirrell fought extremely well against Froch, boxing him to a virtual stand still and seeming to win the fight in the eyes of many boxing fans. I scored the fight 8 rounds to 3 with 1 round even for Dirrell.

However, the judges gave it to Froch by a 12 round split decision with two of the judges scoring it identically 115-112 for Froch, and the third giving it to Dirrell by a 114-113 score. The fight left a bad taste in the mouth of many boxing fans, mainly because Froch had a hard time connecting with his shots and the fight turned in a foul plagued bout starting in the 5th round when Froch threw Dirrell to the canvas.

Dirrell did his own part in making the fight difficult to watch, I admit, by clinching constantly and losing his footing quite frequently when trying to punch. Dirrell was later penalized for his holding in the 10th round. However, Froch was never penalized for his fouls which ranged from holding and hitting, throwing rabbit punches and body slamming Dirrell. It seemed like Froch did most of the fouling out of frustration at not being able to land his shots against the much quicker Dirrell.

However, the referee failed to take away any points from Froch. In the 10th round, Dirrell staggered Froch with a hard left to the head and had him trouble. Dirrell continued to get the better of Froch in the 11th and 12th rounds, landing fast shots to the head and staying out of the way of most of Froch’s slow ponderous shots. Incredibly, one of the judges scored both the 11th and 12th rounds to Froch.

Following the fight, the outcome of the fight didn’t sit right with many boxing fans, who felt that Dirrell had done more than enough to get the decision. However, the judges had the final word and Froch got the win. With the Super Six tournament, it makes it hard to fight rematches because the fighters are scheduled for other fights in the tourney and don’t have time for rematches.

It’s questionable whether Dirrell and Froch will get a rematch, but unless it takes place soon, there really won’t be much point because the interest for boxing fans will die down over time.



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