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Is Andre Dirrell The Best Super Middleweight In Boxing?
by Chris Williams:
Unbeaten super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) went a long ways towards proving that he’s one of the top fighters in the division - if not already the best - when he destroyed Derrick Findley in a 6th round stoppage on Saturday night at the Buffalo Run Casino, in Miami, Oklahoma. Dirrell, 24, a 2008 Olympic Bronze medalist for the United States, literally toyed with his opponent Findley for six rounds until the fight was mercifully stopped in the 6th by Gary Ritter.
Dirrell showed speed, combinations and overall boxing skills not seen since Roy Jones Jr. was in his prime over 10 years ago. Though still largely unknown to most boxing fans, Dirrell, ranked number #1 in the World Boxing Organization (WBO), #3 in the World Boxing Council (WBC) and #7 in the International Boxing Federation (IBF), has quickly moved up the ranks after turning pro four years ago in 2004.
With blazing speed that no other super middleweights can match, Dirrell looks like a sure thing in capturing a title in 2009. With Dirrell’s number #1 ranking in the WBO, it won’t be long before he gets a title shot against champion Karoly Balzsay. I don’t expect Balzsay to be able to hang with Dirrell for long and I expect Dirrell to easily knockout the German based Balzsay inside the distance.
Below, I’ve ranked the current super middleweights in order of their ability, and I’ve given my view of how Dirrell would do against them. If Joe Calzaghe were still fighting now, I’d place him at number #3 behind Ward and Dirrell. Both of those fighters would have too much power and speed for Calzaghe, I believe, and would knock him out. It’s a good thing retired.
#1.) Andre Ward: Ranked number #2 in the WBC and WBO, Ward, 25, a 2004 light heavyweight Olympic Gold Medalist for the United States, has looked nothing short of superb since turning pro in 2004. With excellent hand speed and good power, the southpaw Ward (18-0, 12 KOs) looks to be easily the 2nd best fighter in the division behind Dirrell. Better than Joe Calzaghe as well, Ward would give Dirrell a run for the money if and when the two fighters meet. However, doesn’t have quite the same speed as Dirrell, doesn’t throw punches from as many different angles as Dirrell does, and has a much less impressive work rate. Look for Dirrell to defeat him by a decision. I doubt Dirrell could knock him out, but he’d still beat him all the same.
#2.) Mikkel Kessler: The WBA super middleweight champion, Kessler (41-1, 31 KOs) has been skills than most of the other fighters in the division. However, he’s slow and won’t match up well with a fighter as fast as Dirrell. Kessler looked good in the first half of his fight with Joe Calzaghe in November 2007, but Kessler tired out in the last half of the fight and couldn’t handle Calzaghe’s speed. It would be much worse for Kessler against an even speedier fighter like Dirrell. Look for Dirrell to win this fight by a lopsided decision.
#3.) Carl Froch: The WBC super middleweight champion, Froch (24-0, 19 KOs) is clearly much too slow and limited to handle a fighter with the quickness of Dirrell. Pascal exposed Froch’s limitations in the first half of their fight in December 2008, but faded against Froch in the 2nd half of the bout. This wouldn’t happen with Dirrell, who would keep on punching effectively in the last six rounds and would likely knock Froch out.
#4.) Lucian Bute: The current IBF super middleweight title, Bute, 29, shouldn’t even be a champion at this point, because he was clearly knocked out by challenger Librado Andrade in October 2008, but was given extra time to recover by the referee after being flattened in the 12th by Andrade. Bute has nifty boxing skills, and decent power and speed. However, he’s nowhere nearly as fast as Dirrell, and his weak chin won’t likely hold up against Dirrell for more than six or seven rounds. Bute will likely run in this fight but it won’t help him.
by Chris Williams:
Unbeaten super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) went a long ways towards proving that he’s one of the top fighters in the division - if not already the best - when he destroyed Derrick Findley in a 6th round stoppage on Saturday night at the Buffalo Run Casino, in Miami, Oklahoma. Dirrell, 24, a 2008 Olympic Bronze medalist for the United States, literally toyed with his opponent Findley for six rounds until the fight was mercifully stopped in the 6th by Gary Ritter.
Dirrell showed speed, combinations and overall boxing skills not seen since Roy Jones Jr. was in his prime over 10 years ago. Though still largely unknown to most boxing fans, Dirrell, ranked number #1 in the World Boxing Organization (WBO), #3 in the World Boxing Council (WBC) and #7 in the International Boxing Federation (IBF), has quickly moved up the ranks after turning pro four years ago in 2004.
With blazing speed that no other super middleweights can match, Dirrell looks like a sure thing in capturing a title in 2009. With Dirrell’s number #1 ranking in the WBO, it won’t be long before he gets a title shot against champion Karoly Balzsay. I don’t expect Balzsay to be able to hang with Dirrell for long and I expect Dirrell to easily knockout the German based Balzsay inside the distance.
Below, I’ve ranked the current super middleweights in order of their ability, and I’ve given my view of how Dirrell would do against them. If Joe Calzaghe were still fighting now, I’d place him at number #3 behind Ward and Dirrell. Both of those fighters would have too much power and speed for Calzaghe, I believe, and would knock him out. It’s a good thing retired.
#1.) Andre Ward: Ranked number #2 in the WBC and WBO, Ward, 25, a 2004 light heavyweight Olympic Gold Medalist for the United States, has looked nothing short of superb since turning pro in 2004. With excellent hand speed and good power, the southpaw Ward (18-0, 12 KOs) looks to be easily the 2nd best fighter in the division behind Dirrell. Better than Joe Calzaghe as well, Ward would give Dirrell a run for the money if and when the two fighters meet. However, doesn’t have quite the same speed as Dirrell, doesn’t throw punches from as many different angles as Dirrell does, and has a much less impressive work rate. Look for Dirrell to defeat him by a decision. I doubt Dirrell could knock him out, but he’d still beat him all the same.
#2.) Mikkel Kessler: The WBA super middleweight champion, Kessler (41-1, 31 KOs) has been skills than most of the other fighters in the division. However, he’s slow and won’t match up well with a fighter as fast as Dirrell. Kessler looked good in the first half of his fight with Joe Calzaghe in November 2007, but Kessler tired out in the last half of the fight and couldn’t handle Calzaghe’s speed. It would be much worse for Kessler against an even speedier fighter like Dirrell. Look for Dirrell to win this fight by a lopsided decision.
#3.) Carl Froch: The WBC super middleweight champion, Froch (24-0, 19 KOs) is clearly much too slow and limited to handle a fighter with the quickness of Dirrell. Pascal exposed Froch’s limitations in the first half of their fight in December 2008, but faded against Froch in the 2nd half of the bout. This wouldn’t happen with Dirrell, who would keep on punching effectively in the last six rounds and would likely knock Froch out.
#4.) Lucian Bute: The current IBF super middleweight title, Bute, 29, shouldn’t even be a champion at this point, because he was clearly knocked out by challenger Librado Andrade in October 2008, but was given extra time to recover by the referee after being flattened in the 12th by Andrade. Bute has nifty boxing skills, and decent power and speed. However, he’s nowhere nearly as fast as Dirrell, and his weak chin won’t likely hold up against Dirrell for more than six or seven rounds. Bute will likely run in this fight but it won’t help him.
Pure garbage.
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