Big Fight Preview: Super Six World Boxing Classic, Arthur Abraham vs Andre Dirrell

This Saturday, March 27th, the second round of the inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament commences at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The combatants will be current tournament leader – and in many eyes, favourite for the crown – ‘King’ Arthur Abraham (originally from Armenia but based-in and fighting out of Germany) and American Andre ‘The Matrix’ Dirrell.

One thing you cannot accuse tournament producers Showtime of is failing to provide genuine world class, competitive fights. Proving the worth behind the pre-tournament philosophy that a defeat does not mean the end of a fighters career, this bout loses none of its intrigue despite the American Dirrell losing a close split decision in his last fight (away from home against WBC champion Carl Froch). The contest is a classic match-up of styles; featuring a slick, fleet-footed boxer in Dirrell against the explosive yet unorthodox power-puncher in Abraham.

The Armenian – a former IBF world champion a divsion south at 160-pounds – comes to the fight undefeated and riding a serious wave of confidence, having spectacularly knocked out Jermain Taylor in his last fight with just under ten seconds remaining on the clock. It was the Armenian’s thirty-first consecutive victory, with twenty-five of those wins coming by kayo – showing his reputation as one of the world’s most dangerous punchers to be well deserved. His stoppage victories include wins over world ranked fighters Edison Miranda and Jermain Taylor. Following pre-tournament favourite Mikkel Kessler’s surprise defeat in the first round to American Andre Ward, ‘King’ Arthur now finds himself at the top of the Super Six table  and widely regarded as the man who will go on to win the entire tournament. (UK’s Sky Bet currently have Arthur Abraham and Andre Ward as joint favourites at 6/4).

For the American Dirrell, the tournament so far has been somewhat of a disappointment. His perfect 18-0 (13 K.O’s) record received its first blemish in October of last year, Britain’s Carl Froch posting the first ‘L’ on Andre’s card. The decision in that fight was a highly controversial split-points loss, with Dirrell fighting away from his home country for the first time as a pro, and in the WBC champions back yard no less. Many at ringside had Dirrell winning the fight, with the challenger himself convinced that he was the victim of some home town cooking that night. He is adamant that he should have continued in the tournament as an undefeated fighter, were it not for the botched scorecards of two of the ringside judges and some dubious refereeing.

It is a view that carries some merit. Although Dirrell was heavily criticized in some sections of the boxing press following the defeat for his somewhat negative, safety-first style, I personally had him edging the fight – and this even after the American was deducted a point, apparently for excessive holding, in what seemed a contentious refereeing decision at best. There’s no doubt that the American fought a largely defensive-minded fight in his first world title shot, angering fans and some reporters alike with his back-pedalling strategy, refusing steadfastly to engage Froch in out-and-out warfare.

This should not necessarily count against him though. The name of the game is to hit and not get hit – not to slug it out with your opponent until the last man is left standing. Such a shoot-out would have suited the champion perfectly, and so it seems to me that Dirrell fought the correct strategy in refusing to grant him that luxury. At times in the fight he made Froch look a very frustrated fighter – the Brit resorting to hitting behind the head, hitting on the break and throwing his opponent to the canvas, amongst other transgressions – as he struggled to find his rhythm and catch the challenger with any meaningful shots. The man who calls himself ‘The Matrix’, Dirrell, showed why he was widely regarded as one of the most talented fighters going into the tournament, displaying some incredibly slick footwork and defensive prowess, as well as lightning fast hands.

Where the American failed in that contest however, was his lack of aggression. Despite his typically-American brash, in-your-face pre-fight confidence, I sometimes get the impression that inside he lacks some of this outward bluster. It showed in his lone defeat – not throwing enough punches and failing to stamp his name on a fight frankly he was capable of winning but let slip from his grasp. In the end the fight boiled down to how you define effective aggression. Did you prefer Froch’s bombs-away, attacking style: forcing the action in every round but often missing wildly and rarely connecting with anything flush? Or did you prefer the low-volume counter-punching of the American: landing the faster and more accurate shots, but almost always fighting off the back foot and not quite throwing enough leather?

It was a classic example of the subjective nature of how to score a round in boxing. For me, the emphasis should be on effective – raw aggression alone should not score points; landing punches – even in a defensive posture – should. Dirrell certainly made Froch miss often, but he suffered on the scorecards because he failed to press the action enough when he had the opportunity. If he cannot overcome this deficiency in his next fight, and really commit to his offense as well as defense, he may be in for a very long night.

It was interesting when on Showtime’s behind-the-scenes ‘Fight Camp 360‘ episode screened in February, Dirrell was seen watching a video of Abraham’s brutal twelfth round knock-out of fellow countrymen Taylor, proclaiming loudly:

“that man is dangerous, period!”

Perhaps this gives us a look into some potential self-belief ‘demons’ lurking in Andre’s psyche; perhaps it just shows a healthy respect for an opponent who is most definitely as Dirrell described: dangerous.

As for the Armenian Abraham, it is difficult not to like his style – both in and out of the ring. In the ring he comes to fight each and every time; his explosive style meaning he is rarely in a boring fight. Out of the ring his gentlemanly demeanour, genuine personality and jokey, playful attitude shine through his broad smile on camera. Where the Armenian absolutely does not joke around though, it is clear, is in the gymnasium. Like his opponent on Saturday, he will come to the ring a finely tuned athlete, prepared for twelve hard rounds of action.

When he says his ‘dream’ is to become a star in America, you really do believe every word in his voice. Much kudos must be given to Abraham for stepping up to the plate in this regard. Already a mega-star in his adopted homeland of Germany, he could’ve easily followed the paths taken in recent years by other talented eastern-bloc fighters such as Dariusz Michalczewski and Sven Ottke – defending his title in Germany in front of huge crowds against a string of mandatory challengers, becoming incredibly rich in the process, without ever testing himself in the lion’s den by stepping in with the biggest stars across the Atlantic. By signing up to the Super Six tournament, Abraham thereby separated himself from these German stars of the previous generation and made a huge statement of intent: he aims not only to go on to win the tournament, but also to make himself a legend in the boxing mecca of America in the process.

Most are picking the Armenian to coming one step closer to doing just that in this fight, and he starts as a big favourite, even fighting away from his home in Europe for only the second time. I am not so sure though. I fancy Abraham to destroy ninety-nine percent of fighters who elect to stand in front of him and trade, but I fear his unorthodox, power punching style may be found wanting against a pure boxer in the mold of Dirrell. It is telling, I think, that Jermain Taylor was able to find some success early-on in his fight with double-A, landing jabs and right hands through his peek-a-boo guard before somewhat inevitably fading later on in the fight.

All the big questions in this fight though need to be answered by the American. The old adage in boxing is that ‘a good boxer beats a good puncher’. The question though, is just how good a boxer is Dirrell? Can ‘The Matrix’ live up to his Olympic bronze-medal winning potential and announce his arrival as one of American boxing’s next generation of stars? Or is he destined to be over-shadowed by Olympic teammate and fellow tournament compatriot, Andre Ward, by putting in another safety first, half-hearted performance? The answer, I think, will be emphatic.

Either Dirrell will punctuate his undoubted advantages in hand speed and footwork by committing himself to some eye-catching offensive work and out-box Abraham for a clear decision win; or else he will fight reluctantly and only in spurts, being comprehensively dominated by the Armenian strong-man. I see no middle ground here – as in the Froch encounter – where the fight may be controversial and largely a matter of which scoring philosophy you adhere to.

Somewhat tentatively then, I am going against the grain here and choosing the American’s speed over the European’s power. In an absorbing contest, if not thrilling, Dirrell should for the most part out-box Abraham en-route to a competitively fought, yet clearly won decision.

IBF/WBO Heavyweight Title Fight: Wladimir Klitschko vs Eddie Chambers

American ‘Fast’ Eddie Chambers will challenge WBO & IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko tonight in Dusseldorf, Germany. The Ukrainian giant will be making the eighth defense of his IBF title won against Chris Byrd in 2006, and the fourth defense of the WBO title he won in a unification fight against Sultan Ibragimov in 2008. Fighting in his adopted homeland of Germany, the champion starts as a strong favourite to retain his titles.

For the American Chambers, this fight represents a serious step up in class and his first chance to fight for a world title. A glance at the record of Chambers shows that he is not completely unprepared for his big opportunity. Although never competing against an opponent as accomplished as the reigning champion, he has defeated a number or worthy heavyweight contenders including the dangerous African puncher Samuel Peter last March. He also tallied wins against respected fighters such as Calvin Brock, Dominick Guinn and, in his last fight in July 2009, Alexander Dimitrenko.

The sole defeat on the American’s record may well tell us more about the challenger’s chances of success tonight than all of his victories though. In January 2008 Chambers battled the still-undefeated and highly ranked heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin; losing a wide unanimous decision. It was a fight in which Chambers displayed some fine skills and at times looked a class above his opponent, his flashy bursts of combination punching and educated jabs demonstrating the worth of his nickname ‘Fast’.

Unfortunately for Chambers, these flashy outbursts were too few and far between, and it was his seemingly fragile mental armoury which in the end determined the fights outcome. His opponent that night appeared much the slower and less skilled operator, but won the fight with his dogged determination and consistent attack. It was almost as if the American didn’t believe in his own ability to take control of the fight, and consequently it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Had the American believed in himself, let is hands go and tried to bully-back the Russian, it’s likely he could still be an undefeated fighter.

Such mental fragility does not bode well going into a heavyweight championship fight; however his saving grace may be that the champion has himself at times seemed consumed by the exact same demons. Even when possessing massive advantages in height, weight and reach, as well as a fantastic left jab and pole-axing right hand, the champion Klitschko rarely takes anything resembling a chance in the ring. His safety first approach has earned much derision in the press, leading to dominating and clinical yet almost embarrassingly boring world title fights. It seems Klitschko – despite his many strengths as a boxer – continues to fight ‘scared’ after being exposed as having something of a green-house jawline in previous fights.

Although the champion has been stopped on three previous occasions, as well as being sparked out in two rounds by the unheralded Corrie Sanders back in 2003, don’t expect to see a repeat of that here. It will likely take an aggressive, hard hitting fighter in the manner of Englishman David Haye to test ‘Dr Steel Hammer’s’ jaw in the same way again. Expect a technical, slow fight, with Chambers showing his speed and skills for limited periods, but for the bigger, stronger Klitschko to largely dominate from the outside with his long left jab and powerful right hand. If Klitschko decides to open up with some combinations and really attempt to bully the challenger and force a stoppage, no doubt it could happen somewhere around the middle rounds.

Personally I doubt the champions appetite for such an ending though, carrying with it as it does the slight risk of walking into a fast counter shot by the challenger. The American is likely to come pumped and ready for his first title opportunity, and I expect him to show that he is a worthy contender without ever seriously presenting too much danger of winning the fight. The prediction here is that both the Klitschko brothers will still stand astride the heavyweight division at the end of the night as dual champions, with Wladimir doing his part for the family dynasty by winning a wide, unanimous decision victory.