Flint Expatriates: Flint Portraits: Andre Dirrell

Monday, November 9, 2009

Flint Portraits: Andre Dirrell

Andre Dirrell lands a hard right in last month's title bout against England's Carl Froch. For more great fight photos by Justin McKie go to The Boxing Bulletin.

Flint boxer Andre Dirrell once lived on Bassett Place in the Civic Park neighborhood. Although Dirrell lost his first shot at a title last month in a 12-round split decision, his future looks bright. It was the first loss of Dirrell's four-year professional career.

A pre-fight analysis by BoxingWatchers emphasized that Dirrell would be facing some real competition for the first time:

"In contrast, Dirrell isn't taking a step up in competition as much as he's taking a leap. The 2004 Olympic middleweight bronze medalist has dazzling athleticism and tons of potential, but he's never had to deal with the kind of quality he'll be facing as long as he hangs around in the tournament."

Despite the loss, The Sweet Science saw the fight as a learning opportunity that could pay dividends down the line:

"In the end Froch won by split-decision, but this tournament isn’t over. If Dirrell can learn from his mistakes he could prove to be a very, very dangerous foe for anyone in the tournament. He hurt the rugged British fighter a few times with his speed and timing.

"Dirrell will be back if he learns to quit the holding and use his feet to slide left or right and counter. He’s got the tools."

2 comments:

AnonymousNovember 10, 2009 at 6:35 PM
We have had some pretty good fighters come out of Flint over the years. This youngster could have been holding a belt right now, if he had generated another point or two. This was his first twelve rounder and that's a learning experience in it's self. He needs to listen to his people and take it nice and slow. He will be paying his way soon and we will all know his name. Good Luck, Andre,,,,,,unclebuck
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Gordon YoungNovember 10, 2009 at 7:15 PM
I just happened to hear an interview on a local sports station with Andre Ward, who was Dirrell's Olympic teammate. The consensus on the show was that Dirrell deserved to win the fight. He landed more punches, won more rounds, but apparently the combination of his style and the hometown judging led him to lose the decision. Ward had some interesting comments on how body language and simply looking aggressive play a role in a close bout. I really want to see the fight now, but without cable I don't ever see much boxing.
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Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.

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