Andre Dirrell, Olympic bronze medalist from 2004, will face off with "King" Arthur Abraham tomorrow night in Joe Louis arena for round 2 of the Super Six Classic. This is a very intriguing fight, and lately I've been going back and forth a little bit. Dirrell seemed to grow up before our eyes between the first and second half of his fight against Carl Froch, sitting down on his punches, and looking less skittish on his feet. Arthur Abraham looked like Arthur Abraham, cutting off the ring, walking forward behind his gloves, and taking openings when the opponent gives them to him. This method works very well for him because of his wide strong body and his one punch KO power. Dirrell is lightning like a young Roy Jones, and might be slightly more polished as a boxer than Roy Jones was with his combination punching, and he's also a little more sneaky with the different looks he can give AA by his switching back and forth from southpaw.
A couple of things to not underestimate are Dirrell's power and AA's speed. AA showed adaptability and elusiveness when his jaw was broken against Edison Miranda, and he was able to slide shot in between Jermain Taylor's shots during their exchanges. Dirrell on the other hand was able to rock Carl Froch a couple of times when he finally decided to open up in their fight last September. I see AA however still having trouble with Dirrell's footspeed to begin the fight, and Dirrell still being nervous about exchanging with AA. AA is a much more polished boxer and definitely a harder puncher than Froch. AA's has shown some vulnerability to body shots and tends to walk straight into jabs, since his defense often blocks his full vision. Dirrell has shown a good straight power shot to the midsection, and this could be enough to keep the shorter AA at bay and prevent him from cutting the distance, cutting off the ring and going to work with his powerful hooks.
Question marks for this fight is how Dirrell's back is feeling. AA believes it was not because of his back but because of his mind, but either way Dirrell may not be 100% going into this fight. The other question of course is the fact that it's in Dirrell's house, Dirrell being from Flint, Michigan. How will AA adjust to fighting in the states for the first time when the crowd is against him? Is Dirrell ready to take an even bigger leap up mentally to a guy who fights like a rising tide?
This fight is pretty tough to call, I can see either an ugly Dirrell decision with a lot of potshots, movement, and tie-ups, or I can see AA making Dirrell submit from his punishing shots to the body and head. In the end, I gotta go with the more desperate Dirrell in front of the homecrowd, against the shorter, slower and methodical Arthur Abraham. Andre Dirrell by UD.
A couple of things to not underestimate are Dirrell's power and AA's speed. AA showed adaptability and elusiveness when his jaw was broken against Edison Miranda, and he was able to slide shot in between Jermain Taylor's shots during their exchanges. Dirrell on the other hand was able to rock Carl Froch a couple of times when he finally decided to open up in their fight last September. I see AA however still having trouble with Dirrell's footspeed to begin the fight, and Dirrell still being nervous about exchanging with AA. AA is a much more polished boxer and definitely a harder puncher than Froch. AA's has shown some vulnerability to body shots and tends to walk straight into jabs, since his defense often blocks his full vision. Dirrell has shown a good straight power shot to the midsection, and this could be enough to keep the shorter AA at bay and prevent him from cutting the distance, cutting off the ring and going to work with his powerful hooks.
Question marks for this fight is how Dirrell's back is feeling. AA believes it was not because of his back but because of his mind, but either way Dirrell may not be 100% going into this fight. The other question of course is the fact that it's in Dirrell's house, Dirrell being from Flint, Michigan. How will AA adjust to fighting in the states for the first time when the crowd is against him? Is Dirrell ready to take an even bigger leap up mentally to a guy who fights like a rising tide?
This fight is pretty tough to call, I can see either an ugly Dirrell decision with a lot of potshots, movement, and tie-ups, or I can see AA making Dirrell submit from his punishing shots to the body and head. In the end, I gotta go with the more desperate Dirrell in front of the homecrowd, against the shorter, slower and methodical Arthur Abraham. Andre Dirrell by UD.
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