Tweet
It's clear from this interview that he has much more respect for Froch than Froch has for Dirrell. Can't wait to see where Froch's arrogance gets him on Saturday night.....
Andre Dirrell's fighting family will drive him on against Carl Froch
Leon "Bumper" Lawson could have been a contender. Instead, he sparred with Muhammad Ali as a teenage amateur back in Louisville, gave up boxing when he came out of the armed forces and joined the bedazzled throng of the great man's lifelong admirers.
Leon never did make it as a fighter. But he knows a grandson who might. As he puts away the faded photos of himself, family and Ali, which he carries like priceless heirlooms in his wallet, Lawson nods across the ring in a Nottingham hotel towards Andre Dirrell, a slim, handsome young man of deceptive menace.
When Dirrell, who won Olympic bronze in 2004, gets into the ring at the Trent FM Arena at 2am on Sunday to try to cleave the WBC super-middleweight title from Carl Froch in the first episode of Showtime's Super Six series, he will have in his corner a family unit as tight as a tribe, and a grandfather barely able to contain his pride.
Lawson trains Dirrell at one step removed, his son Leon Jr handling the fighter day to day. On hand is Anthony, Andre's brother, also a super-middleweight and also undefeated. "I was blessed to be invited into the presence of Ali," Lawson said, "and that is what inspired me to guide Andre. I saw what Ali achieved and I knew that, one day, I could be part of something like that. That is why we're here. I didn't want anything less than to train a great world champion, just like Ali was. I will tell you this: Andre is going to be one of the greatest fighters of all time."
Dirrell looked surprisingly fresh for someone who had not slept since stepping off a plane from Los Angeles on Sunday night. Whatever the advance publicity intimates to the contrary, the switch-hitting stylist from Flint, Michigan, has great regard for Froch. "He's not an opponent," he said, "he's a champion. He's a warrior. He demands respect. He brings power, he brings action, he's just a natural born killer. His strength is his mental game. And that alone can intimidate a lot of fighters out there. On top of that, I'm fighting him in his home town.""He brings that animal to the sport. He's one of the doggest fighters in this tournament. I envy that. I carry this smile around, and I know I change in the ring, but I would love to have that animal instinct sometimes outside of the ring.
"He showed it against Jermain Taylor [whom he knocked out in the last round when trailing on points]. He showed that he wanted it more. He stuck to the plan. You gotta watch for that. He's still a hungry fighter. He still fights like he lives out of a box. He's going to be a very dangerous fighter [in this tournament]."
Dirrell's threat comes not from his mouth but from fists and feet of spectacular speed. And they are a wonder to behold. He looks as loose and smooth as those other naturals, Sugar Ray Leonard and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Whether he comes to be regarded as their equals will not be determined this weekend, but the odds are we will see some evidence of it.
Dirrell acknowledges he is part of his grandfather's story. "People come up with their families – Floyd Mayweather does it, Muhammad did it – so that's fine. I've been to Muhammad Ali's house twice and I just took a call off the man. I hit his bags and I got chased by his dogs. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is. Something good is bound to come out of this. I look up to him, sure, because it's a hard road getting there. I'm realising that myself."
Andre Dirrell's fighting family will drive him on against Carl Froch
Leon "Bumper" Lawson could have been a contender. Instead, he sparred with Muhammad Ali as a teenage amateur back in Louisville, gave up boxing when he came out of the armed forces and joined the bedazzled throng of the great man's lifelong admirers.
Leon never did make it as a fighter. But he knows a grandson who might. As he puts away the faded photos of himself, family and Ali, which he carries like priceless heirlooms in his wallet, Lawson nods across the ring in a Nottingham hotel towards Andre Dirrell, a slim, handsome young man of deceptive menace.
When Dirrell, who won Olympic bronze in 2004, gets into the ring at the Trent FM Arena at 2am on Sunday to try to cleave the WBC super-middleweight title from Carl Froch in the first episode of Showtime's Super Six series, he will have in his corner a family unit as tight as a tribe, and a grandfather barely able to contain his pride.
Lawson trains Dirrell at one step removed, his son Leon Jr handling the fighter day to day. On hand is Anthony, Andre's brother, also a super-middleweight and also undefeated. "I was blessed to be invited into the presence of Ali," Lawson said, "and that is what inspired me to guide Andre. I saw what Ali achieved and I knew that, one day, I could be part of something like that. That is why we're here. I didn't want anything less than to train a great world champion, just like Ali was. I will tell you this: Andre is going to be one of the greatest fighters of all time."
Dirrell looked surprisingly fresh for someone who had not slept since stepping off a plane from Los Angeles on Sunday night. Whatever the advance publicity intimates to the contrary, the switch-hitting stylist from Flint, Michigan, has great regard for Froch. "He's not an opponent," he said, "he's a champion. He's a warrior. He demands respect. He brings power, he brings action, he's just a natural born killer. His strength is his mental game. And that alone can intimidate a lot of fighters out there. On top of that, I'm fighting him in his home town.""He brings that animal to the sport. He's one of the doggest fighters in this tournament. I envy that. I carry this smile around, and I know I change in the ring, but I would love to have that animal instinct sometimes outside of the ring.
"He showed it against Jermain Taylor [whom he knocked out in the last round when trailing on points]. He showed that he wanted it more. He stuck to the plan. You gotta watch for that. He's still a hungry fighter. He still fights like he lives out of a box. He's going to be a very dangerous fighter [in this tournament]."
Dirrell's threat comes not from his mouth but from fists and feet of spectacular speed. And they are a wonder to behold. He looks as loose and smooth as those other naturals, Sugar Ray Leonard and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Whether he comes to be regarded as their equals will not be determined this weekend, but the odds are we will see some evidence of it.
Dirrell acknowledges he is part of his grandfather's story. "People come up with their families – Floyd Mayweather does it, Muhammad did it – so that's fine. I've been to Muhammad Ali's house twice and I just took a call off the man. I hit his bags and I got chased by his dogs. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is. Something good is bound to come out of this. I look up to him, sure, because it's a hard road getting there. I'm realising that myself."
Comment