Winner’s Brilliant
Performance Marred By Chaotic Ending;
Catch Replay Monday,
March 29, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME 2
Photos: Tom Casino - SHOWTIME
Andre Dirrell
turned the Super Six World Boxing Classic upside down
and handed previously undefeated Arthur Abraham his
first loss on an 11th-round disqualification
Saturday in a fight at the Joe Louis Arena during a Free
Preview Weekend on SHOWTIME® that ended in bedlam
with family, friends, officials and team members of both
camps in the ring.
Referee Laurence Cole
stopped a Group Stage 2 bout in which Dirrell (19-1,
13 KOs), of Flint, Mich., had performed magnificently at
1:13 of the 11th after Abraham (31-1, 25 KOs) connected with
a sweeping right hand while Dirrell, who had slipped in
Abraham’s corner, was down on one knee.
At the time of the
disqualification, Dirrell was ahead by the scores of 98-91
and 97-92 twice. He was taken from the ring to the hospital
for observation.
By winning, Dirrell became
the fourth hometown fighter to triumph in as many tournament
fights. He scored the bout’s lone knockdown in the fourth
round, although Abraham, who was bleeding from the right
eye, thought he had scored a knockdown in the ninth that the
referee missed.
With the victory in the
first of three Group Stage 2 fights, Dirrell earned his
first two points in the tournament. Abraham remains the
tournament leader with three points.
Until he was knocked
unconscious from the late hit, Dirrell had boxed
beautifully, switching effectively from orthodox to southpaw
throughout.
But Abraham, a notorious
slow starter, was rallying. He said the foul was
unintentional.
“He did not go down. I
shouldn’t be DQ’d for this,’’ the favored Abraham told
SHOWTIME’s Jim Gray in the ring afterward.
Later, at the post-fight
press conference, Abraham added, “I was not looking at his
feet. I was looking at his eyes.
“If you are a professional
boxer, you look for every opportunity to knock out your
opponent. You do not wait for him to recover. But I wish
Andre Dirrell well and hope he is OK.’’
Group Stage 2 bouts in the
Super Six World Boxing Classic resume on Saturday, April 24,
and Saturday, June 19, on SHOWTIME.
Undefeated Carl “The Cobra’’ Froch (26-0, 20 KOs) of
Nottingham, England, will defend his WBC 168-pound title
against former WBA 168-pound champion Mikkel “Viking
Warrior’’ Kessler (42-2, 32 KOs) of Denmark on SHOWTIME
(9 p.m., ET/PT, same-day delay) from MCH Arena, in Herning,
Denmark, on April 24 while undefeated World Boxing
Association (WBA) 168-pound champion Andre Ward
(20-0, 13 KOs) of Oakland, Calif., will make his first title
defense against world-ranked contender “Sweetness”
Allan Green (29-1, 20 KOs), of Tulsa, Okla., on June 19
on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from
the Oracle Arena in Oakland.
