Is Andre Dirrell Fit To Wear King Arthur’s Crown?
"My mind’s telling me no, but my body, my body’s telling me yes!" Replace the word ‘body’ with ‘gut,’ and these almost fateful R-Kelly .jpg)
lyrics summarize my feelings about the upcoming super middleweight showdown between Arthur Abraham (31-0) and Andre Dirrell (18-1) on March 6.
Logic would dictate that the battle-tested and undefeated Abraham would have the advantage against the younger Dirrell, who is coming off the first loss of his career last year against Carl "the Cobra" Froch.
However, my gut tells me otherwise.
As you can see in the Boxing Fight Predictor snapshot above, I only give Dirrell clear advantages in the areas of hand speed, footwork and fight location.
But therein lies the rub.
I believe these three Dirrell advantages, especially fighting in front of a partisan American crowd, will be enough to trump anything that Abraham will bring to Rancho Village, California on March 6. In American football, the home team is always given three points before any odds are dropped. I’m giving Dirrell three points (speed, legs and location) before any punches are thrown.
Is Andre Dirrell fit to wear "King" Arthur Abraham’s crown in three weeks? It will take 12 awkward rounds to do it, but look for Andre Dirrell to escape via a close, unanimous decision.
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Mr. dirrell will have to dance on the moonlight to escape a close decision. he’d be lucky to last yonder 11. hehehhehe
ReplyTouche Alexander. That is why they fight the fights – the theater of the unexpected. However, a Dirrell win would not be that unexpected to me.
ReplyBold prediction Ja. My gut also tells me Dirrell will confuse Abraham with his boxing skills. Abraham will start off slow as always and will try to catch up in the middle rounds. However, he will find out that he cannot break down Dirrell so easily and will realize that he cruised too much. Just imagine if Dirrell wins…it would really shake up the tournament!
ReplyFight Fan 4Ever, I figured I’d take a bit of a risk and go out on a limb in this one, since many of my fans/followers say I always go with the house. ha, ha
But I see it playing out exactly as you state: Abraham slow start, falls behind, and hopes to catch Dirrell late, but Dirrell is more mentally strong and physically durable than Jermain Taylor, and should hold on (maybe literally as well) for a decision win.
ReplyJa this is a really silly post. I feel really bad for Direll’s family – he should not even be in this tournament – he is waaaay to green. Pavlik, Paul Williams, Martinez, or even a slimmed Dawson should be in this 6 instead of this young buck.
Poor Direll will get punished and lose a lot of heart with his 2nd loss in a row. I cannot stand Euro fighters, byt AA’s star is on teh rise, and blocks are set to be knocked off.
This is a Man vs. Boy scenario – Mark it.
ReplyI appreciate the comment, but did you see Carl Froch narrowly defeat Dirrell in his hometown? That tells me that Dirrell is definitely worthy…mark my words. I expect him to do very well against Dirrell.
I do agree that Dawson should be there – but the problem is the cable companies. All of the guys you mentioned are HBO fighters and the tourney is in Showtime.
ReplyI think logic dictates, based on their styles, that Dirrell wins this one on points but Abraham always knows what to do and when to do it in order to get the win. I’m going with the tried and tested will to win over styles to predict Abraham gets a close UD win here.
I don’t see Dirrell getting KO’d but think he’ll be feeling enough heavy punches by RD 6 that he’ll start to run his way to loss number 2.
ReplyAlexander, “the not so great prediction-maker.” just kidding
We shall see, just be here to comment, right or wrong!!!
ReplyWhen is Ja ever wrong? Don’t worry I am not holding that Jermain Taylor over Karl Froch prediction over you.
ReplyJeff, stop being a hater! =P
ReplyBrilliant Ja. The fight could not be anymore one sided, the way you called it.
ReplyCan’t wait until you predicit Mosley to beat Mayweather by decision, like we all know you will.
Jeff, I was waiting to hear what you had to say.
I’ll tell you now — Mayweather via clear, yet uncomfortable, unanimous decision over Mosley.
The write will include my breakdown, including a shameless plug for the fight predictor. lol
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