On 17 October 2009, Carl Froch retained his WBC super-middleweight crown in a hard-fought split decision victory over Andre Dirrell.
In the closing stages, Dirrell kept his distance from the champion and managed to hurt Froch with several left hands. Often times the most difficult fights to score, are the most enticing. This qualified as one of those spectacular showdowns. Two judges scored the fight 115-112 in Froch’s favor while the third gave it to Dirrell with an 114-113 score.
While an exigent fight to score, only one fighter had his hand up in a celebratory fashion following the fantastic spectacle and it was Carl Froch. Unfortunately for Andre Dirrell, this was his last title shot to date after he was knocked out cold in the 11th round of a bout in the Super Six Tournament against Arthur Abraham after the Flint, Michigan native slipped on the canvas and was down on one knee before getting clocked with a right cross from ‘King Arthur.’
The repercussions from the punch were devastating for Dirrell. It meant taking nearly two years off to recover from neurological injuries, followed by another prolonged layoff due to promotional disputes before making a comeback in 2014.
After going 3-0 with 2 knockouts a year ago, Dirrell is looking sharp and ready to snag the title that he came so close to winning close to six years ago. Is there another reason it has taken this long for the rematch to take place? Dirrell, an unvarnished individual, believes Froch is purposely avoiding him. The former Interim WBO NABO Super-Middleweight champion will continue to beat this bush- over and over again- until Froch signs the contract.
Some fighters are successful with this strategy; others are not so lucky, like Vitali Klitschko, who tried for a decade to get a rematch with Lennox Lewis, but failed. On 3 February, 2015, Dirrell received great news. No, he didn’t get the fight with Froch, but the Englishman vacated his title- paving the way for his fellow compatriot James DeGale to fight for the title, who will fight Dirrell at an undetermined location in the United States, possibly in April, and likely on Al Haymon’s “Premier Boxing Champions” card.
If Dirrell wins this fight, given that Froch has recovered 100 percent from his elbow injuries, the rematch of his life could finally take place. However, Dirrell is still not counting out James DeGale, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist, complimenting the fighter in an interview with Dontae’s Boxing Nation.
“DeGale is one tall guy. He is an Olympic gold medalist. He can pretty much bang, he can box; he can box, I think he’s a pretty sharp fighter. Like I said before, this is an excellent fight for me to win a world championship. I don’t want to get in that ring and win any world championship off some mediocre fighter. I want to do it with somebody with the caliber of James (DeGale). We’re going to put a great performance on for the people.”
“I think the boy (Froch) is scared of me; simple as that, and I don’t give a damn what anybody has to say about it. If he really wants to prove himself, fight me again. He defended damn near every loss, except against Andre Ward. Come and fight me again. Fight Andre Dirrell again. Let’s see if you are really that guy,” demanded Dirrell.
He also had a warning for his future opponent in James DeGale.
“I don’t want to put anything past DeGale, but I’m a confident man, I believe in my skills and my talent, I leave it all in the gym. No offense, but I’m going to get this win.”
Dirrell can speak the moonshine- over and over again- but there is no denying that his fights last year were nothing impressive.Who is Derek Edwards? Some guy that Adonis Stevenson ingurgitated four years ago in three rounds? Indeed. The same can be said about Nick Brinson. He is another no-namer and Vladine Biosse has been knocked out in three of his last four. It’s ludicrous.
Despite the trash talk, Dirrell asserted once more that he wants another chance at Carl Froch and would be willing to fight in the UK again.
“I want the fight with Carl Froch. And I know he isn’t bold enough to say let’s have it in my hometown, but if he wants to have it in the UK, then so be it. He’s the man.”
Although Froch has denied retirement rumors after an elbow injury thwarted his chances at landing a fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, the son of legendary Mexican fighter Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., Dirrell is not comfortable talking about the subject.
“I honestly don’t want to say. I don’t want to jinx anything,” added Dirrell. “All I can say is, Froch, give the fans what they want to see. They want to see that fight again. The world wants to see that fight again.”
When asked about how he thinks the DeGale fight will play out, Dirrell was cautious not to be too overconfident, but is still confident enough that his game plan will prevail.
“It all depends on the game plan he comes with, but I know I have a sharp game plan in mind. I really believe the onslaught that I’ll be bringing is going to be really tough for him to endure. Whether he can last for 12 rounds or shorter, I see him just trying to make it through the fight after he sees what I bring to the table,” Dirrell stated.
