By Scott Gilfoid: WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (22-0, 13 KO’s) showed that he’s 100% pure class in making this statement about his good friend Andre Dirrell: “It’s very unfortunate to hear about Andre Dirrell’s situation. It’s never a good thing for a fight not to be able to work, especially for a neurological reason. I pray for his health and that he is able to return to the ring as soon as possible.”

That is so classy of Ward. That says what a great person he is to be there for Dirrell and wish him well. Dirrell is suffering from neurological problems related to a punch he received from Arthur Abraham in the 11th round of his Super Six tournament fight on March 27th in Detroit, Michigan. Dirrell had slipped on the canvas and was partially in a sitting position when Abraham teed off on him with a right hand and temporarily knocked Dirrell out.

After he came to, Dirrell had thought he lost the fight. It took him awhile to fully understand that the referee had disqualified Abraham for the terrible foul. People thought that Dirrell had faked it, but all you had to do is take one look at the foul in slow motion and you could see that Dirrell was really hurt. Sadly, there’s some boxing fans who still think the talented Dirrell is faking the neurological problems, but that just shows you how Mean-spirited and jealous some people are about this amazing fighter.

Why would Dirrell fake a brain injury and walk away from a million dollars? He wouldn’t. The man is hurt and he’s going to need time to heal. But Dirrell will be back, and will show the world the kind of talent that he has. For now, Dirrell will be out of action for at least three months while he waits for the neurological problems to disappear. He’s been having headaches and periods of dizziness since being fouled by Abraham. It’s been seven months since his bout with Abraham. It sometimes takes a year for a fighter to get over a bad concussion like the one that Dirrell suffered.