Carl Froch - Andre Dirrell scorecard tells a close fight, shows no controversy

BoxingNewsWorld.blogspot.com

It has been almost a week since the Carl-Forch-Andre Dirrel fight in Nottingham, England -the second of a series of fights in the unique Super Six Boxing Tournament – where Froch left the ring with a close split decision victory. But, the debate whether Carl Froch was given a ‘hometown decision’ or not is still very much alive in numerous boxing websites forums.

Both boxers thought they won the fight. “I thought I’d out boxed Froch enough to win”, Andre Dirrell said during the post fight interview. He also added that he didn’t know why the referee took a point (away from him) in the tenth round. And he attributed Froch’s getting the win on having a hometown advantage.

On the other side, Carl Froch thought that judges got it right, “it was close but I had no doubt in my mind that I won the fight”, he said after the fight.

But now that the Froch-Dirrel official scorecard is out, perhaps a better analysis of the scores can be made.

(Source: FightNews.com)

After 12 highly contested rounds, both Daniele Van Wiele of Belgium and Italian Massimo Barrovecchio had Froch scored the bout 115 – 112 for Froch, while Mexican Alejandro Rochin had it 114-133 for Dirrell.

Did the one point deduction for excessive holding cost Andre Dirrell the fight?

All judges scored the 10th round 9-9. This means that without the point deduction, Dirrell would have won this particular round, but not the fight. The final scores would have been 115-113 (twice) and 114-114. Still, Froch would have left the ring a victor via majority decision.

It is also interesting to note that there were four rounds in which the judges’ score were identical – rounds 6, 7, 8 and 10. Except for the 10th round, all were for Froch. It would be difficult to argue that Dirrell won any of these rounds.

As to the other rounds, well they were really close and hence difficult to score. I had it 114-113 for Froch but I could be wrong.

To me, the judges’ scoring isn’t controversial. It only tells that the fight was indeed very close and could have gone either way.

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Froch takes tough split decision over Dirrell

AP, Yahoo! News

NOTTINGHAM, England – Carl Froch retained his WBC 168-pound title with a split-decision victory over Andre Dirrell late Saturday night in the second fight of the Super Six World Boxing Classic super middleweight tournament.

Froch (26-0, 20 KOs) barely won in his hometown, earning three-point advantages on two of the three judges' scorecards after a messy but entertaining bout between two unbeaten fighters. READ MORE

Carl Froch holds off Andre Dirrell in WBC super-middleweight title defence

By Kevin Mitchell, Guardian.co.uk

Carl Froch, on an off night against a desperately awkward Andre Dirrell, dug as deep as he has done for a long time to keep his unbeaten record and WBC super-middleweight title with a split decision at the Trent FM Arena.

The points fell his way by two scores of 115-112, with the American taking it 114-113 on the third official's card. Froch goes forward with two points in the Showtime Super Six series, but will not be happy with his performance. READ MORE

Taylor - Abraham: 'King' Arthur KOs Taylor in the final round

By BoxingNewsWorld.blogspot.com

Arthur Abraham knocked out Jermain Taylor in round 12. A hard right hand flushed to Jermain's face ended the surprisingly close fight. Taylor seemed to be out before he hit the canvass.

Jermain expectedly used his crisp jabs in the early rounds, perhaps winning the majority of the rounds in the first half of the fight.

Taylor was deducted one point in round 6 for hitting below the belt. He was already warned by referee Garcia back in rounds 2 and 4 for low blow after a flurry of punches to Abraham's body, some of which were clearly low.

Abraham picked up his offense in round 7 and wobbled Taylor in round 9 after a couple of hard rights to Jermain's head.

Taylor's jabs and punches began to lose snap in rounds 10 and 11, while Abraham looked much stronger landing hard body shots midway in round 11.

With just a few seconds remaining in the fight, Abraham landed a big right to Jermain's chin that sent the American to the canvass. He was out before he even hit the floor.

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Note: The video clips below were from YouTube.com.

Barry McGuigan; Andre Direll is a threat to Carl Froch

By Barry McGuigan, Mirror.co.uk

Carl Froch is 32. His last two fights have been humdingers. You wonder how long he can go on at that pace.

Tonight he is up against a young, fast, flashy American who fancies his chances big time - the kind of character Froch loves to take down.

Andre Dirrell, 26, won bronze in Athens. He has fast hands and likes to switchhit. READ MORE

Video: Jermain Taylor vs Arthur Abraham Weigh-In

Abraham – Taylor: Numbers favor 'King' Arthur

By BoxingNewsWorld.blogspot.com

Before the fight starts, let’s quickly analyze Arthur’s numbers and compare them with Jermain’s:

ARTHUR ABRAHAM:

Average number of rounds boxed per fight (career) – 6
Average number of rounds boxed per fight (last six fights) - 8
KO percentage (career) – 80%
KO percentage (last six fights) – 83%
Percentage, no. of rounds boxed per fight (career) – 189/284 = 66.5%
Percentage, no. of rounds boxed per fight (last six fights) – 49/72 = 68%
Combined records of opponents (career) – 536-121-25, (Win % = 79%)
Combined records of opponents (last six fights) – 153-10-6, (Win % = 90.5)

Notable facts:

- Moves up in weight after struggling to make the middleweight limit in his last couple of fights.
- TKOd Raul Marquez in the 6th round; Taylor TKOd Marquez in the 9th.

Abraham's last six fights:

1. Against Mahir Oral – W TKO 10

BadLeftHook.com: “Arthur Abraham knocked down Mahir Oral five times, three in the tenth round, at which point the Oral corner stopped the bout. Oral fought and fought, and came forward, and never ran, but he was simply outgunned by a better, stronger fighter.”

(http://www.badlefthook.com/event/aumjsIQW)

2. Against Lajuan Simon  – W Decision

EastSideBoxing.com: “…Arthur Abraham outclassed Lajuan Simon... Abraham connected with his trademark power punches throughout the entire 12 rounds and also knocked the brave challenger down in the third following a hard series.”

(http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=19083&more=1)

3. Againts Raul Marquez – W TKO 6

FightFan.com: “…Arthur Abraham scored a sixth round TKO over a very gallant Raul Marquez... Abraham started out strongly in the first round punishing Marquez with quick hard punches. Marquez had a good second round but Abraham’s speed and power was just too much for the veteran Marquez. After several rounds of punishment Marquez’s corner stopped the fight after the sixth round awarding Abraham a TKO victory.”

(http://fightfan.com/2008/11/arthur-abraham-batters-raul-marquez/)

4. Against Edison Miranda – W TKO 4

EastSideBoxing.com: “Round Four, Abraham landed a clean right, left combo that floored Miranda. Miranda got up quick enough and a left hook from Abraham put him back down. Miranda got up and beat the count. Abraham went for the kill and threw a right that missed but followed with a left hook that caught Miranda on top of his head and down he went for a third time. This time, the referee stopped it.”

(http://www.eastsideboxing.com/boxing/Miranda-Abraham.php)

5. Against Elvin Ayala – W KO 12

BadLeftHook.com: “…Arthur Abraham had little real trouble disposing of mediocre challenger Elvin Ayala…, knocking the American out in the 12th round to retain his title.”

(http://www.badlefthook.com/story/2008/3/30/55619/8200)

6. Against Wayne Elcock (18-3, 8 KOs) – W TKO 5

HyeFighters.com: “…Arthur Abraham impressively took apart Wayne Elcock round by round... Arthur dropped Elcock in round two and continued to dismantle Elcock, dropping the challenger again in round five before referee Wayne Kelly stopped the slaughter at the 1:58 mark.”

(http://www.hyefighters.com/abraham_120807.htm)

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JERMAIN TAYLOR:

Average number of rounds boxed per fight (career) – 8
Average number of rounds boxed per fight (last six fights) - 11
KO percentage (career) – 53%
KO percentage (last six fights) – 0%
Percentage, no. of rounds boxed per fight (career) – 222/298 = 74.5%
Percentage, no of rounds boxed per fight (last six fights) – 93%
Combined records of opponents (career) – 718-109-25, (Win % = 84%)
Combined records of opponents (last six fights) – 172-6-1, (Win % = 96%)

Notable Facts:

- Last KOd a single opponent since late 2004 (9 consecutive fights without a KO victory)
- Has fought better opponents (based on combined win-loss ratio) than Abraham

Taylor's last six fights:

1. Against Carl Froch – L TKO 12

TheSweetScience.com: “Trailing by four points on each of two cards going into the final three minutes, Froch staged a furious last-ditch rally, scoring a knockdown by pummelling Jermain Taylor to the floor before battering his defenseless foe into submission.”

(http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/6755/carl-froch-rallies-round-twelve-kos-jermain-taylor/)

2. Against Jeff Lacy – W Decision

Nydailynews.com: “It was a clean, efficient win for Taylor…”

(http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2008/11/15/2008-11%2015_jermain_taylor_pummels_olympic_teammate_-2.html)

3. Against Kelly Pavlik (Rematch) – L Decision

Nytimes.com: "He was better tonight than the first fight, (but) I was better, too," Pavlik said. "It was a more tactical fight. ... From rounds 10 through 12, I was finally landing body shots," Pavlik said. "He (Taylor) was tired. I could hear him exhaling."

(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/sports/17iht-boxing17.10119665.html)

4. Against Kelly Pavlik (1st Fight) – L TKO 7

EastsideBoxing.com: “I wasted too much energy in that second round,” Taylor said quietly to Larry Merchant after he had left the ring. “Just too many wasted punches. I spent too much energy.”

(http://www.eastsideboxing.com/boxing/Pavlik-Taylor.php)

5. Against Cory Spinks – W Decision

Eastsideboxing.com: “Jermain Taylor won a listless 12-round split decision victory over Cory Spinks… Neither fighter did much to distinguish themselves in the bout, which featured a lot of running – as usual – by Spinks and an abnormally low punch output by both fighters with little action for long periods.”

(http://www.eastsideboxing.com/boxing-news/Taylor-Spinks.php)

6. Against Kassim Ouma – W Decision

About.com: “ Ouma did what he normally does and threw more punches than his opponent. However, Taylor was simply too big for Ouma and, despite moving backwards throughout, landed nearly all the heavy blows during the bout. Taylor - clearly aiming for his first knockout in nearly two years - was aggressive from the opening bell but Ouma, who has a great chin, was never in any danger of being stopped.”

(http://boxing.about.com/b/2006/12/10/jermain-taylor-outpoints-game-kassim-ouma.htm)

If the numbers won't convince you that Abraham is bound to win, the reports of their previous fights hopefully will.

Marshall N. B.
Boxing Fan

Showtime Super Six World Boxing Classic: Opening Night Preview

By Mark Pickering, Eastside Boxing

There’s three Americans, a Dane, a German and an Englishman. Two are recognised world champions, two previously held such titles and the remainder are Olympic medalists. Each man gives up something in order to make the best series of matches possible in a talent-rich division.

It’s not a fanciful daydream, it’s actually happening..

The highly-anticipated Super Six World Boxing Classic will see the top six super-middleweights in the world collide in 12 intriguing fights, over the next two years. READ MORE

Unbeaten WBC 'King' Arthur ready to slay Taylor

by Ryland James, Yahoo! News

BERLIN (AFP) – 'King' Arthur Abraham is relishing putting his unbeaten record on the line when he takes on Jermain Taylor as the Super Six tournament begins in Berlin on Saturday.

Abraham, 29, returned his IBF middleweight belt after ten defences to step up to super-middleweight. READ MORE

Boxing: Froch aiming to complete hat-trick of great wins

By Steve Bunce, Saturday, 17 October 2009, The Independent

Carl Froch knows that there are fights that change your life forever and tonight at the Trent FM Arena, in his hometown of Nottingham, he will walk from the shadows at the back to the bright lights aware that he needs a spectacular win.

Froch is one fight away from completing arguably the finest consecutive hat-trick of wins by a British world champion, and he is just as close to becoming a victim of his own pride because he has insisted on real fights and no phoney defences. READ MORE

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Carl Froch

(Image is from http://www.livefight.com/news.php?m=10&y=2007)

Video: Super Six Tournament - Andre Dirrell

Link:

Video: Super Six Tournament with Al Bernstein and Antonio Tarver

By BoxingNewsWorld.blogspot.com

Jermain Taylor vs Arthur Abraham: Tale Of The Tape

EastSideBoxing.com

BERLIN, (October, 15) - Two of the strongest middleweight champions ever will clash on Saturday, October 17th in the opening bout of SHOWTIME’S Super Six World Boxing Classic, when Jermain Taylor (28-3-1,17 KO's) and Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KO's) meet at the o2 World Arena in Berlin, Germany. The Anatomy Of A Fight, known historically as The Tale Of The Tape, shows the physical differences between the fighters.. Only one will prevail when Taylor pits his greater height, reach, and natural athleticism against Abraham's durability and strength. But there is one thing that the "The Anatomy of a Fight" cannot measure -- the size of each man’s heart and his will to win. That's where this fight will be decided. VIEW THE TALE OF THE TAPE


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Taylor Fights For Redemption

October 15th, 2009 | by Evan Korn , New York Fight Hype

Not too long ago, Jermain Taylor stood on top of the world. Undefeated record. Undisputed Middleweight champion. Pound-for-pound recognition. HBO darling.

Boy, how things change. READ MORE

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Video: Carl Froch vs Jermain Taylor, WBC Super Middleweight title at stake (April 25, 2009)

By BoxingNewsWorld.blogspot.com

Froch aims to tie Dirrell up in Notts

October 15 2009, by Niall Hickman, Daily Express

THEY put up the Christmas lights in Nottingham’s handsome Town Hall yesterday and Carl Froch promised to bring two early festive presents for Andre Dirrell on Saturday.

“They are my left fist and my right fist,” said Froch. “And they are going to break Dirrell’s heart and possibly his jaw.” READ MORE

Andre Dirrell vows to beat 'easy as pie' Carl Froch in WBC super-middleweight title bout

By Sportsmail Reporter, 15th October 2009

Unbeaten American Andre Dirrell believes he can go all the way in the Super Six World Boxing Classic - but insists he is focusing solely on Carl Froch's WBC super-middleweight title.

The pair begin the tournament by squaring off at the Trent FM Arena in Froch's home city of Nottingham on Saturday night with Froch's prestigious belt at stake, before going through at least two more bouts in a bid to reach the Super Six semi-finals. READ MORE

Andre Dirrell

(Image is from http://www.garyshawproductions.com/Fighters/Dirrell-Andre.shtml)

Carl Froch looks to establish himself among the boxing elite

hackneygazette.sport@archant.co.uk 15 October 2009

Carl Froch is aiming to establish himself as one of the world's best pound-for-pound fighters ahead of his WBC super-middleweight title defence against Andre Dirrell on Saturday night. READ MORE

Carl Froch

(Image is from http://www.boxnews.com.ua/en/photo/6436/Carl-Froch)

Abraham – Taylor: Just too many disadvantages for Jermain

By BoxingNewsWorld.blogspot.com

I will agree this time with many boxing experts on who will between Abraham and Taylor. I am also going to pick Arthur Abraham to win this fight.

I like Jermain Taylor but I just think that there are just too many factors against him in this fight. He just hasn’t look that good lately. He lost three of his last four fights, two by knock out. Kelly Pavlik knocked him out in the 7th round and Carl Froch put him out in 12.

Now, he is going to fight an aggressive fighter in his own turf, who has a staggering 80% knock-out percentage, and who is coming off from an impressive 10th round TKO win over Mahir Oral. Before that, Abraham devastatingly knocked out tough guy Edison Miranda in the 4th round. I just think that Abraham will be too much for him to handle.

I expect Abraham to be much stronger at 168 pounds. Moving up in weight is going to help him because he had trouble to make the middleweight limit in his last couple of fights.

Jermain Taylor’s only hope in this fight is to use his advantages in height and reach and stay away from Abraham’s striking distance by constantly moving and by utilizing his crisp jabs. The question is will he be able to stay away from Abraham’s power bombs for twelve long rounds. That I don’t know but his last few fights showed that he has a tendency to fade in the later rounds. If that will be case and if he opts to stay in the inside, then I think Abraham will break him down and knock him out.

If I have to say a prediction, I would say Abraham by knock out probably in the 7th or 8th round.

Marshall N. B.
Boxing Fan

Boxing historian and author Adam Pollack shares his thoughts on Froch vs Dirrell

By BoxingNewsWorld.blogspot.com

Highly respected boxing historian and author of boxing books Adam Pollack has always been very generous to me in sharing his thoughts about boxing.

Here are his thoughts on the upcoming Carl Froch – Andre Dirrell’s fight.

(Quote) “Although Froch is one of the biggest, strongest super middles, I see Dirrell outboxing him to a decision. Dirrell is blazing fast with feet and hands. Still, Dirrell may have a questionable chin, and if he can't keep it up for 12 rounds, Froch will get him like he did with Taylor. However, I think Dirrell will finish the job that Jermain started. Other than how well he handles Froch's power, Dirrell had better not run too much against the hometown boxer, because if he stinks it out, he might lose a decision. But speed is a huge advantage, and Dirrell is a young rocket compared to Froch's turtle.” (Unquote)

Froch and Dirrell will square off at the Trent FM Arena in Froch's home city of Nottingham this Saturday with Froch's WBC super-middleweight belt at stake. The pair is part of the unique Super Six Tournament where six of the top super-middleweights slug it out (in a round-robin format) over the course of two years to determine the identity of the best 168-pounder in the game.

Marshall N. B.
Boxing Fan

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Adam Pollack is a prolific boxing historian and author. He is also a practicing criminal defense attorney in Iowa City, IA. He is a staff writer for Cyberboxingzone.com, chair of USA Boxing's Rules and Regulations Committtee, chair of USA Boxing's Judicial Committee and a member of its Women's Task Force. He is also a boxing coach for the ICOR (Iowa City/Coralville) Boxing Club and attorney living in Iowa City, Iowa.

To date, Adam has published four books, John L. Sullivan: The Career of the First Gloved Heavyweight Champion, In the Ring With James J. Corbett, In The Ring With Bob Fitzsimmons, and his latest publication, In the Ring With James J. Jeffries.