Dirrell: It's Wrong For Abraham To Be in The Super Six

By Lem Satterfield

Unbeaten super middleweight contender Anthony Dirrell (20-0, 17KOs) continues to pile up the wins. He recently stopped Daryl Salmon in three rounds at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Okla. Dirrell's promoter Gary Shaw plans to fight him often. He is expected to return in early 2011.

Dirrell spoke to us about his career, and his brother, Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KOs), whose mettle has been widely questioned after he cited neurological problems for his recent withdrawal from the Super Six Boxing Classic, and a scheduled fight with WBA champion Andre Ward (22-0, 13 KOs).

Anthony says that his brother is really injured, as a result of the punch landed by Arthur Abraham in the eleventh round of their March bout. Abraham landed a right hand, as Dirrell was already down on the mat, and it led to Abraham's disqualification. Because of the March incident, Anthony says it's wrong for Showtime to continue the tournament with Abraham as a participant.

"My brother is really injured. If he would have had a chance to continue in the Super Six, I believe that he would have definitely won the whole thing. It's wrong that they still have Arthur Abraham in the tournament, if you ask me. He never got a suspension for it," Anthony said.

"If anything, Abraham should have had a point deducted from his tournament point total or disqualified from the tournament. They never did anything to him really. You never know when that man is going to strike again. They said that the tournament is supposed to offer a better alternative than other things in boxing."

While Andre is recovering, Anthony believes it's time to get in the ring with the best at 168. Once the Super Six tournament concludes in 2011, Anthony hopes to face one of the top names in his division.

"I feel like I'm already one of the top fighter, but I need to maybe get one more top fighter in there with me and to give me the opportunity to really showcase my talents and my skill level. I think that if that opportunity comes along, then that will be my chance, and then, I think that everyone will respect me," Anthony said.

"I need to get in there with a top fighter and be able to show my talents off to the world, and then that's exactly what I'll do. I will do my job."

Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.