Anthony "The Dog" Dirrell

This kid needs TV time! :rant

He fought on the undercard of ESPN2 FNF (Holt vs. Diaz) last night, scoring a third round TKO. That's his sixteenth stoppage in his undefeated 21 bout pro career...12 of which have come in the first three rounds, and 10 in the very first. Instead of getting a glimpse of the more pugnacious and aggressive brother of the more famous Andre Dirrell, we were treated to an undercard featuring Jonathan Gonzalez vs. Rudy Cisneros and Daniel Roman vs. Alfredo Madrigal. Both were pleasant enough dust-ups, but it's probably not out of line for me to speak on behalf of just about all of us in saying that we'd have preferred the Dog be let out.

Diehard boxing fans have been hearing his name for a long time. The buzz has all been flattering, too. This is no Bobby Pacquiao situation, where the talented kid's brother just picks up the sport for the hell of it without having slurped those same gifts from the teats and just rides the wave of the family name. Firsthand accounts make it out to be more of a Marquez brother situation. He sounds like a legitimately promising KO-artist prospect rising up the ranks, who could eventually step out of his Olympian brother's shadow to stand on at least even footing.

So then why is his opposition stagnating? :| Why hasn't he been televised once? He's been on several TV undercards but hardly ever graces the screen. He's been seen nationally like once each on ESPN2 and Showtime over his six and a half years campaigning for cash, and also appeared on MSG Network for a smaller viewing audience. If he's as skilled and as exciting a finisher as he's supposed to be, why is he being kept in the dark???

Unleash the dog!

 

We might know one way or the other if we got to see him! :deal

In the brief clips available of him, he does seem to have some of the same slapping tendencies and very kinetic style as Andre but might sit down just a bit harder on his shots.

 

:fire

So the Dog is in the house tonight (his house, being Flint MI) and was supposed to be taking a step up in class against the beatable (by anyone legitimately good) but brave & battle-ready Michi Munoz. It was not going to be televised, but was still going to be an encouraging step in the right direction, as El Matador could have brought the younger Dirrell into deeper rounds than he usually sees (potentially up to a tenth!) - while stopping him early would have been a big statement.

Instead, Munoz was stopped by the long jab of the law with undisclosed legal troubles forcing him to withdraw this week. Dirrell's short-notice replacement is Dante Craig, who is unfortunately in line with previous opposition. :verysad

Craig has a habit of getting blitzed in the first few rounds (and "habit" is as much an understatement here as it would be to describe Keith Richards' intake of narcotics). His career highlights are a narrow points win over Sugar Shay Mobley - which he needed to scrape himself off the canvas to eke out - and a last-round stoppage of the ancient-at-36 former contender Carl Daniels, during the first of Daniels' two consecutive 7-loss streaks broken up by a lone win. (seriously, 1-14 over a five year stretch after Hopkins sent him fading into Bolivian - and the guy repeatedly got sanctioned to match up with undefeated prospects :-().

PUT THIS MAN ON TELEVISION!! :rant

 

...but Wlad is better than Vitali - and hits harder and is quicker (he's everything you said there except tougher). :?

 

You realize this thread is about ANTHONY, not Andre - right Farmy?

 

Some of us care more about willingness to engage than just talent. :good

That's why there is demand for Anthony to get some of the same exposure Andre already had around this stage of his career.