By Kieran Gallagher: The Super Six has been plunged into farce by the ‘talented’ Andre Dirrell crying injury in the build up to his scheduled bout with Andre Ward on 27th November. Already blighted by withdrawals from Jermain Taylor and Mikkel Kessler, this latest revelation could finally sound the death knell on the credibility of the entire tournament and raise a number of uncomfortable questions for the fighter from Flint, Michigan. Throughout the Super Six, Dirrell has courted controversy and criticism in equal measure, but to date most pundits have been prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, but now Dirrell has to accept his reputation is in shatters.

Leon Lawson Sr, Dirrell’s grandfather and trainer, has stated that the injury is from his illegal knockout by Arthur Abraham. Apparently a neurologist has advised Dirrell to rest. Speaking to the Flint journal, Lawson Sr said: “It still bothers him and there are times when he just hasn’t been himself. He’ll get headaches. A neurologist told us that he needs to take some time off.”

Does anybody buy this? Why did he not undergo a battery of tests, including neurological, before announcing the fight? Have these symptoms only now manifested as the date looms? It is a huge taboo to accuse an athlete of faking an injury but it was patently obvious that these two fighters had no intention of getting it on – they had previously postponed the last date without any venue being named or undertaking any form of promotion. Showtime actually had to threaten to sue both parties before they settled on another date and now Dirrell is ‘injured’? This is far too convenient for fans and journalist not to legitimately have the right to question whether the injury is genuine. Personally, I have grave doubts, not least because of Dirrell’s previous ‘form’ in this tournament.

Going into the Super Six I didn’t know much about him and was surprised he had been selected by Showtime. I expected Carl Froch to murder him but the fight unfolded very differently and was both surprising and appalling. Dirrell seemed to have it all… speed, movement, footwork, and a decent shot – he even managed to wobble Froch at one point – but this was all massively overshadowed by his spoiling tactics and complete lack of heart. He was continually running, clinching, bending-over, turning his back and complaining to the referee. It smacked of a lack of will and courage and despite the fight being there for the taking, he seemed unable, or unwilling, to seize the initiative and tear the belt from the champ. The judges weren’t buying it and neither was I – he deservedly lost out on a narrow points decision.

After postponing his next bout against Abraham due to a back injury he picked up in training, the location was changed from Rancho Mirage, California to Detroit in his home state of Michigan. The fight itself was not the stinker many had feared after the Froch debacle. His negative spoiling tactics were still evident but Dirrell looked gamer, letting his hands go more often as he built up a commanding points lead. Indeed, he even managed to knock Abraham down to the canvas for the first time in his career while the Armenian was off-balance. Finally, he was looking the real deal but it would not last. As the fight unfolded into the finals rounds Abraham shrugged off his typical slow start and went head-hunting. Dirrell reverted to type, running and attempting to spoil the fight. A minute into the 11th, he was neigh-on sprinting from Abraham when a glancing blow and some water in the corner caused him to slip to his knees. Abraham impudently followed up with a seemingly light uppercut to the chin while he was still down. There was a tangible pause of some seconds before Dirrell rolled to his back and began dramatically twitching in a prone position.

Several factors led people to question whether it was a genuine knockout. Firstly, Abraham was ratcheting up the pressure and was looking for that big knockout-punch while it seemed Dirrell was beginning to struggle, there was also the opinion that he previously displayed a lack of heart and conviction against Froch, but perhaps foremost to the smoking-gun crowd was the fact that Dirrell won the fight after being deemed unfit to continue due to a foul – it sure beat having that Armenian powerhouse trying to take his head clean-off shoulders for another five minutes.

Personally, I was not prepared to go along with that viewpoint, I simply attributed the knock-out to low punch-resistance – and I guess I still do – but Dirrell is not doing himself or his legacy any favours with this fresh controversy.

So where do we go from here?

I hope that Showtime commissions an independent neurologist to examine Dirrell’s injury and if he is given a clean bill of health, I hope they sue him for every penny he’s got. I have never publicly considered that an athlete may have faked an injury – and I hope I never do again – but this whole episode stinks to high-heaven. There is something truly rotten in the state of Michigan and it is a microcosm of everything that is wrong with boxing. Whether Dirrell can restore his reputation is open to debate but right now his stock could not be lower.