By Jake Donovan

Going in, the matchup between unbeaten super middleweights Carl Froch and Andre Dirrell was the one fight among the Stage One matchups that was deemed by most experts as a true pick-‘em.

The split decision verdict by night’s end justified such claims, with Froch barely escaping with a close, and inevitably debatable nod Saturday evening at the Trent FM Arena in his hometown of Nottingham, England.

The bout aired live on American cable network Showtime.

Both fighters were tentative in the opening round. Dirrell sought an outside fight and made sure to keep the heavy-handed Froch at the end of his long jab. The strategy worked well for the first two minutes, until Dirrell switched to southpaw for no apparent reason. Froch enjoyed his best moments of the fight, landing to the body and forcing Dirrell into retreat mode.

The first round saw Dirrell switch from righty to lefty for the sake of switching; round two saw the American effectively jab out of the southpaw stance, to which Froch was unable to adjust. Dirrell switched back to righty mainly for defensive purposes late in the round, slipping all of the punches of an onrushing Froch.

Dirrell came out purposeful in the third, landing a jab and a hard straight left to open the round. A clinch followed, prompting referee Hector Afu to order a break. The call went ignored by Froch, who landed a blow as the two were being separated, drawing a warning from the third man.

Things didn’t get any better for Froch, whose hometown advantage did little to help him inside the ring. Dirrell put his superior speed and footwork to good use, landing with quick left hands before using every inch of the 20x20 ring to avoid the return fire.

Action slowed in the fourth, as indicated by the round of boos delivered by an otherwise rabid crowd on hand in Nottingham. Froch continued to come forward, slowly closing the gap between the two, though not landing a whole heck of a lot. His best sequence came late in the round, cornering Dirrell and drawing a rise from the crowd.

Froch came dangerously close to losing a point twice in the fifth, first after tossing Dirrell to the canvas and then hitting on the break later in the round for the second time in the fight. Frustration was assumed to be setting in, but Froch was able to effectively work his way inside for the first time in the fight midway through the sixth round.

Attempts to make it a dog fight were momentarily thwarted in the seventh by Dirrell, though the American was warned for excessive holding. He responded by standing his ground and landing upstairs, sending a message that he was capable of surviving a fire fight, even if it meant sacrificing a round in the process.

Round eight was ugly and required repeated intervention from the referee for excessive clinching and rabbit punching. Through the questionable tactics came the cleanest punch of the fight to that point, a left hook by Froch that caught Dirrell on the jaw in the final minute of the round.

Tasting Froch’s power put Dirrell back into boxer mode in the ninth, working behind his jab as he kept switching back and forth between southpaw and conventional stance. The first two minutes of the round saw Dirrell jabbing and landing with straight lefts, but then resorted to clinching in the final minute.

Despite being repeatedly hugged by his opponent, it was Froch who drew yet another warning late in the ninth, this time for rabbit punching. The crowd responded with boos, and Froch responded with a headlock early in the tenth before planting his feet and attempting to mount an offense.

Froch’s aggression forced Dirrell into another clinch, this time costing him a point on the scorecards. Froch tried his hardest to turn it into a 10-8 round, but Dirrell came on strong in the final 30 seconds of the round on the strength of several clean left hands.

Dazzling defense was on display by Dirrell in the 11th, crowding in a corner and slipping most of Froch’s chopping punches before coming back with a left hook. Froch shook off the blow and came back with a left hook of his own. Both fighters had their moments in the round’s final minute, though it was Froch who closed strong with a right hand and left hook as Dirrell was walking backwards with his hands at his waist.

With the fight on the table in the final round, it was Dirrell surprisingly playing the role of aggressor early in the frame. A sense of urgency was missing from Froch, who threw one punch at a time while Dirrell ripped rights and lefts down the middle. Froch stalked in the final seconds, while Dirrell was content to play defense to close out the round and the fight. 

It, along the with earlier point deduction, ultimately cost him the fight.

Who deserved to win is wide open to debate, justified by the judges being split on the cards. Dirrell was ahead on the first card 114-113 (which matches the unofficial scorecard of Boxingscene.com), but was overruled by matching tallies of 115-112 for Froch, who improves to 26-0 (20KO) with the win.

The decision verdict in his favor gives Froch two points under the Super Six scoring system, which places him one point behind early tournament leader Arthur Abraham. He also records the second defense of an alphabet title he obtained ten months ago.

Despite coming so close to capturing his first title, Dirrell leaves Nottingham empty handed in more ways than one. Gone is his undefeated record, as the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist falls to 18-1 (13KO) with the loss.

He is also stuck on zero in the Super Six scoring, with a further uphill battle ahead of him as he next faces Arthur Abraham early next year.

Froch is slated to take on fellow titlist Mikkel Kessler.

KING ARTHUR CROWNS TAYLOR IN BERLIN

Have we now seen the last of Jermain Taylor - not just in the tournament, but as a pro boxer?

It was déjà vu all over again for the 2000 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist, who suffered his second straight last-round knockout loss. The latest setback came against undefeated Arthur Abraham in a battle of former middleweight champs Saturday evening in Berlin, Germany.

The official time was 2:54 of round twelve in a lone non-title fight, which aired via same-day tape delay on American cable outlet Showtime.

While coming through with the highlight reel knockout, Abraham didn’t exactly travel the easiest path to victory. The transplanted Armenian got off to a slow start, with Taylor putting away rounds in the bank early in the fight.

The threat of an upset disappeared by the middle rounds, at which point Abraham settled into a rhythm and took over the fight.

Taylor remained competitive, but suffered a point deduction in the sixth round for repeated low blows. He came back to take the eighth round but was badly rocked in the ninth round. To his credit, he was able to avoid the knockout and came back to hold his own down the stretch.

Just not long enough.

Both fighters looked to close strong, but it was Abraham who controlled the action and whom appeared to be well on his way to victory.

Then came the right hand that would definitely clinch it. By his own admission afterward, Abraham searched for the knockout all night, and finally found it with a perfect right hand that put Taylor down and out.

Referee Jose Garcia stopped his count at six, although no count was necessary. Taylor could do no more than barely elevate his head in the air as the rest of his body appeared glued to the canvas the fight was called with just six seconds remaining.

Abraham led on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage. Scores were 107-102, 106-103 and 105-103, but proved to be academic in the end.

The only score that matters now is the three points Abraham was awarded for the win on the Super Six scoreboard. Each victor is awarded two points, with the knockout netting him the extra point.

He is now guaranteed no worse than a tie for the top spot through the Stage one matches, as he moves to 31-0 (25KO) overall. Next on tap will be Andre Dirrell, to whom Abraham will now dedicate his undivided attention.

“My full focus was on Taylor; I haven’t seen a single fight on Dirrell. I will now start looking at him. I will go to American, and take over America. This is my plan.”

Moving in the opposite direction, Taylor falls to 28-4-1 (17KO) in his first ever pro fight beyond the US borders.

Perhaps more devastating than the knockout blow itself is the fact that he has now lost four of his last five, including three brutal knockout losses in the past two years.

He is next slated to return to the U.S. for a showdown with Andre Ward, though the biggest question going into the tournament will now come with even greater frequency – does he move on to Stage Two, or have we seen the last of Jermain Taylor?

What we certainly haven’t seen is the last of Arthur Abraham, who ultimately put the evening in proper context.

“It was a very good fight, and Jermain Taylor is a good fighter. Maybe I’m just a little better.”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .