By Mark Vester
The battle of close friends, Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell, has been given a tentative date of September 25, according to Michigan's Flint Journal. The two fighters were teammates on the 2004 Olympic team, where Ward won a gold medal. Ward even helped Dirrell prepare for last Saturday's DQ win over Arthur Abraham.
“He was getting me ready, helping me get my mind right,” said Dirrell. “He told me to just fight my fight, do what I do best, and don’t worry about what (Abraham) tries to do to get me off of my game.”
Dirrell said the two of them made an agreement. Once they step in the ring in the third stage of the Super Six tournament, their friendship will take a backseat because both of them will go for the win. Ward defends his WBA super middleweight title against Allan Green on June 19 in Oakland as part of the second stage in the Super Six.
The venue is up in the air. As previously reported on BoxingScene.com, Dirrell's promoter Gary Shaw and Ward's promoter Dan Goossen are fighting over the venue. Goossen wants the fight in Ward's hometown of Oakland and Shaw wants the fight in Dirrell's hometown of Detroit, Michigan.
Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingvester@gmail.com
