How good is Andre Dirrel???

[Fox McCloud]

i heard someone say in another thread that Dirrel is the best all round boxer in the SMW turnoment, he jus hasnt been tested,

how skilled is he???
ive never seen him fight.

I don't think he's the best all around boxer... Kessler and Ward seemed to be the most technically complete of the bunch.

Dirrell seems the most athletically gifted of the bunch though.

He does seem to have chin issues more than anything, and his killer instinct is not always there (although I'm not sure why it needs to be, because the times that it isn't there, he is still winning the rounds beyond a shadow of a doubt, so... boring or not, it doesn't really change the outcome of the fight).

I don't know how he seems unfocused either... this might be from the Stevens fight where he made Cory Spinks look flat-footed... he just jabbed and ran all night. Either way, he hasn't done it since, so he possibly fixed those focus problems if there ever were any.

I personally have Dirrell 3-0 after his first three matchups, because he is matched so easily (Ward, Abraham and Froch). Abraham might chin check him, and Ward might be able to decision him, but those are both ifs in my opinion. I see him embarrassing Froch, because Dirrell is a much better boxer than Taylor, who might be able to stop Froch with an overwhelming flurry at some point.

Kessler would beat Dirrell though if those two get matched up, which they probably will in finals if my preliminary predictions are correct.

[nachorjj]

good but is not a future P4P. is agood fighter with some skills and good reach

[tocayito1]

he has a lot of skills but seems to either fight aggressive but smart like vs hanshaw (tko 6 i believe) or he will literally run and just potshot his way to a victory like when he beat curtis stevens in one of the most boring fights ever

[The_Italian]

i heard someone say in another thread that Dirrel is the best all round boxer in the SMW turnoment, he jus hasnt been tested,

how skilled is he???
ive never seen him fight.

he's a very naturally TALENTED fighter but as other posters have mentioned his focus and killer instinct are put into question. he almost seems uninterested in putting the other fighter away. he's content to just jab his way to victory no matter how much superior he is than the other fighter.

take his fight for curtis stevens for example...that was one of the most boring fights i'd ever seen. curtis was pursuing but he felt content to run and jab when if he would have applied himself he could have put him away early based on all the advantages he had in the fight.

And i really dont think he has been tested and i believe once he is tested against the best of 168 he will faulter and lose. i can see him holding his own against some of the top 10 of 168 but once he fights one of the top few of 168 i see him losing. i dont think he's been tested and prepared enough for a kessler or taylor.

[BadNewz]

Dirrell and Ward are the two best, by far. It's ridiculous if Showtime makes them fight each other in the first round. It just shows how biased they are, they want to guarantee that one of the others makes it to the final.

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April 1, 2009
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.