There’s an old saying involving the game of hockey: I went to a fight last night and a hockey game broke out. Well, last night I wanted to watch a fight between WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch and undefeated challenger Andre Dirrell. But if a pee-wee hockey game had broken out, it would have been more satisfying and entertaining than the mismanaged 12-round circus that I was forced to endure during this second bout of Showtime’s Super Six World Boxing Classic tourney.
Carl Froch lacks skill
Froch has a granite chin and enviable endurance. However, his boxing skills are mediocre at best.
Although his jab is serviceable, his punching technique leaves a lot to be desired. There’s nothing wrong with his straight right hand, but since it’s probably the easiest punch for a skilled opponent to avoid, I fail to see how it will buy him any long-term success in the division. His other punches are below average and, coupled with his ridiculously porous defense and plodding footwork, the total package is severly lacking.
Andre Dirrell lacks heart
Andre Dirrell, on the other hand, is a talented puncher but his trainer is incompetent.
Dirrell employs a front foot style reminiscent of Jermain Taylor or Roy Jones Jr. Consequently, he’s a fast and flashy counterpuncher with the skills to rip apart a one-two artist like Froch.
But he can’t fight moving backwards, and against an opponent with more skill than Froch, he’ll be exposed.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the heart of a warrior. His talents seem to consist mainly of:
- Running backwards, keeping just out of reach of his opponent
- Ducking repeatedly below waist level while tackling his opponent
- Bum-rushing his opponent across the ring while complaining about being “held”
- Dropping to a knee and blaming his opponent for “pushing” him to a knee
- Initiating a wrestling match, then getting hip-thrown to the canvas
- Complaining when the ref penalizes him, and doing so in a high, affected Mickey-mouse voice
- Verbally baiting his opponent during the match, all the while running away
…and so on.
The judges made the best of a bad situation
Andre Dirrell took his chance to shine on an international stage and threw it all away in one of the most unsatisfying boxing matches I’ve ever seen.
Although Showtime announcers seemed surprised that Froch was ahead by several points on two of the judge’s scorecards, I was surprised that he won only by split-decision. It was a disgrace that Andre Dirrell wasn’t penalized further for his unwillingness to box and for his stalling tactics. The referee — a relative unknown — was out of his league in this match. He should have stepped in earlier and maintened some semblance of order.
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