by Ronnie Jordan: Saturday night sees the return of the super six tournaments. The first match-up sees “The Matrix” Andre Dirrell face Arthur Abraham at the Joe Louis Arena, in Detroit, Michigan. A month later on April 24th, we have the exciting war between Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler. After that, it’s the talented Andre Ward vs. still unproven Alan Green.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s bout we should be in for a treat. I won’t tell you what happened in their previous fights like some writers on here insist on doing every single article, day after day, because I imagine being on this site you’re probably a boxing fan, and you already know what happened.

Analyzing the this fight the almost apposite fighting styles of both men make this in particular, an intriguing prospect and one I’m really looking forward to. Dirrell’s attacking threat is his lightning speed. He throws blistering combinations to head and body often leaving his opponent confused and more often than not on the canvas. He mixes this with phenomenal defensive skill using his reflexes and great foot work to avoid getting hit.

Dirrell is a supreme athlete arguably the best physical specimen in boxing today. His problem, however, is his unwillingness to take a punch. Either because of a fear of a weak chin or just a lack of a warrior’s heart that someone like Carl Froch or Andre ward has. Andre Ward has good skill and speed but he combines that with an aggressive attacking style that saw him dominate the pre tournament favorite Mikkel Kessler.

Maybe the loss against Froch gave Dirrell the incentive he needs to go out and take a few risks. Dirrell has fought pretty much the same way since day one. It’s not necessarily a negative way of fighting if he’s connecting with punches on a regular basis like his early fights. But against Froch he was limited to the odd jab here and there and a late flurry toward the last few rounds. Personally I think if Dirrell was more aggressive he would have beaten Froch comfortably. I don’t think Froch could deal with his speed and would lose, if not all, then most of their exchanges.

Arthur Abraham is a great fighter in a very different mould to that of Dirrell. He’s a 100% solid eastern European hard man. He fights like no one else in boxing today. Often playing possum for the early rounds and then pouncing on his opponent. When? Well, when he feels like it. He starts reading fighters as the fight goes on however and figures out there weaknesses and the right time to attack. His attacking qualities are his underrated speed and awesome power. He has a good stiff jab and works the body well.
His most impressive achievement so far is winning a 12 round decision over Edison Miranda after having suffered a broken jaw early in the fight. Knowing it was broken he decided to fight on regardless. I don’t know too many fighters who would do that! this shows his will to win at all costs. I believe he was recently quoted as saying “It’s better to die in the ring than to lose in the ring”. If Abraham believes that then he’s going to be pretty hard to beat.

Predicting this fight is very difficult but for me it depends on Dirrell’s approach. If he fights like before, running away, then I see it being a decision or knockout win for Abraham. But if he’s willing to stand in front of Abraham and maybe take a few shots and counter with his own then Dirrell has a good chance. Abraham hides behind that iron defense and when he attacks he throws wide and compared to Dirrell, slow hooks, leaving himself wide open. If Dirrell fights to his potential, I can see him winning by decision.