By Scott Gilfoid: It’s been six months since the talented American Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KO’s) lost a controversial 12 round split decision against Britain’s Carl Froch (26-0, 20 KO’s) in Nottingham, England. I thought it was the worst decision I’ve ever seen before, but I know how these things go when visiting fighters are fighting in another fighters’ home city. Froch says that Dirrell was out to spoil, and not stand up and fight him toe-to-toe the way he wanted him to. But what Froch failed to understand was the Dirrell, a fighter with amazing hand speed and boxing skills, wasn’t the type of fighter that just stands and mindlessly trades shots all night long.

Dirrell is a pure boxer and showed that in the way that he boxed Froch’s ears off in their Super Six fight on October 17th. Dirrell dominated Froch, jabbing him silly in the first four rounds of the fight and looking outstanding in doing so. In the 5th round, Froch, looking frustrated at his inability to land anything against Dirrell, an Ali-like clone, got medieval on him and crudely body slammed Dirrell on the canvas. The referee gave Froch a simple warning and let the action continue as Dirrell, looking shaken, peeled himself off the canvas and continued to bravely fight.

Froch would continue to rough Dirrell up off and on for the next six rounds of the fight, throwing textbook rabbit shots and occasionally holding hitting. Dirrell came alive in the 10th round after losing a point, incredibly, for clinching of all things. I couldn’t believe it. Dirrell only clinched like five or six times per round. It wasn’t like he was clinching 10 or more times like some fighters do. Froch should have considered himself lucky that Dirrell was clinching at all, because if he wasn’t clinching, he would have been firing on Froch and the fight might not have made it the full 12.

Froch and Dirrell could end up meeting again if Froch can somehow can by his next opponent Mikkel Kessler and then Arthur Abraham after that. I don’t have high hopes of Froch getting by either Kessler and Abraham, because his style of fighting appears to be made to order for them, but let’s assume that Froch does get by those two fighters and makes it to the semi finals.

Dirrell will be there waiting for him and Froch will be looking at his worst nightmare. I think Dirrell has Froch’s number now after figuring him out in the last part of their fight. Dirrell will have the memory of how he dominated and hurt Froch in the 10th and will use that in his next fight with Froch to batter him like no tomorrow. The only thing I’m worried is the location of the fight. If it takes place in Nottingham again, Dirrell may have to destroy Froch just to safe and get the win.

You never can be too sure that you’ll get a win when traveling. I just hope Froch doesn’t start roughing Dirrell up right off the bat. That would be a bad start of things and Dirrell would have to start pounding the living daylights out of Froch like he was doing in the 10th round. Froch will probably come forward all night long trying to pressure Dirrell. It won’t work. Dirrell will catch Froch coming in every time, stopping him in his tracks and making him pay for keeping his guard down by his waist.

Dirrell looked awesome in his last fight against Arthur Abraham on March 27th. Dirrell boxed circles around Abraham for 10 rounds, making him look like a limited slugger, until Abraham lost it completely and smacked Dirrell while he was on the canvas. Abraham was immediately disqualified for the punch and rightly so. Abraham looked all beat up after the fight, like he’d been in a car accident from all the punches that Dirrell had landed in the fight.