by Mark Young: Andre Dirrell has stated that he’s only interested in fighting Carl Froch on the condition he’s fighting for a title. The question I am asking is what has Dirrell done to warrant a title fight?. Dirrell is trading on the flashes of brilliance he has shown in his last two fights and expecting the boxing world to ignore the controversy that has also followed his short career.
Andre entered the super six as a relative unknown, his Olympic pedigree boasted a 3rd place in the 2004 Athens Olympics but he’d been dropped by Anthony Hanshaw and Alfonso Rocha which that was all that most people knew, aside from the fact he was a switch hitter.
Dirrells nerves certainly showed in the pre fight build up to the Froch fight in England, with Dirrell clearly agitated during the pre fight interviews. Fight night proved to be a disappointment in Dirrells first legit big fight, his hand speed was very impressive against the Englishman but the fight was soiled by excessive holding, long periods of running with his hands held high and a great deal of slipping over when Froch came in to engage. After a being introduced as “the Matrix” it seemed Dirrells idea of rope a dope turned out to be bending to below waist level whist facing the canvass and swinging side to side, then coming up with a hook, which is totally illegal but rarely gets punished. While Dirrell managed to frustrate Froch he also frustrated the crowd and judges, who had already been made to wait until 3.30am to suit US ppv audiences, he was constantly booed by the crowd for his spoiling tactics and for all his speed managed to reach the final bell with swollen eyes, a bloody nose and fat lips as well as having a point deducted for constantly clinching. The result went in Froch’s favor and notched up Dirrell’s first loss, though he got to play the robbery card and was let off by Americans for a fairly weak amateurish performance.
The Arthur Abraham fight could have been career defining, it started out in spectacular fashion but again ended in complete controversy. After an alleged back injury the venue was moved to Dirrells home town, where he started in fine form, he was outclassing Abraham in every avenue, the only concern was whether he would he run out of steam. With the pace Dirrell had applied early on and his lack of 12 round experience it seemed like he was slowing when Abraham dropped him, the punch was ruled a slip but the evidence was there for all to see, Abraham was catching Dirrell late in the fight and his legs were stiffening with the now famous late AA KO seeming a very big possibility. Then the famous “Slip” incident happened, Dirrell went down onto his knee, a punch glanced off of Dirrell’s head and a second later he dropped and was unconscious. The fight was ruled a disqualification and the verdict read out while Andre stood in the ring with tears rolling down his face. Again more controversy.
After the Abraham fight up next was Andre Ward who was coming off the back of two wins in his home town, where he seems to have free reign to use his head, it looked like Dirrell’s lack of inside fighting would become exposed by a man who has no problems with resorting to the rough stuff. Enter Dr Shaw Hi, all of a sudden the fight is off, the mysterious “family” doctor whose name escaped Dirrell initially had given him a get out of Oakland Free pass and he was about to cash it in. The super six was now over for Dirrell and he didn’t have to notch up a second loss in three fights, while attaching the controversy of pulling out to the despicable actions of Arthur Abraham.
It does seem ironic that Dirrell is credited with laying down the blue print for beating Froch when in reality he didn’t finish the fight and certainly not in the same fashion as Froch. It’s also completely ridiculous to now come back from an alleged brain injury and claim you should be in line for a title shot, especially when your track record is as blemished as Dirrells.
I don’t think it’s possible to respect Dirrell as a fighter until he changes some aspects of his game, the constant ducking below the waist is cheating and needs serious work, the amount of slipping to get out of in fighting is ridiculous and the clinching needs to stop. There is also the question of a fight with Ward, he must redeem the tag he’s got of being a ducker. The brain injury is obviously something that some people believe and some don’t, it does seem a quick turn around from a neurological problem to all of a sudden be ready for a title fight, especially when you consider the fact he’s been given a decent looking black eye during a recent sparring session with the inexperienced George Groves.
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