Last night showed well what aficionados knew for a while: that is,what a limited and one-sided fighter Abraham is. Walking Moving forward with his guard up; Left,right,left,right,left hook,basta.He has no movement in his upper body,he just eats the punches and this is how he gets the cuts. Dirrell has performed very well; switching from southpaw to orthodox,using his jabs and feints efficiently,evading AA`s punchers easily. A classic Boxer vs. Slugger showcase and good example that a good amateur background is indispensable. I gave AA two rounds the max. Meantime,everybody knows hot to beat AA. Other boxers will (hopefully) follow the gameplan Dirrell has demonstrated so nicely. I even predict a TKO for Ward and Kessler-and Sturm.
He is limited when faced with a slickster like Dirrell, who was excellent last night. However, you still have to have the tools to beat him and take his punches. It's not as easy as you make out and also takes away from Dirrell's performance if you whitewash him as limited.
Abraham's is no ATG but his style is very effective. You can't deny that. Even against Dirrell after losing 7 out of 10 rounds, he still managed to get a solid knockdown and hurt Dirrell in the round before the DQ and seemed to be coming on. The threat of a knockout was very real. the thing is, when two fighters meet, one will win and one will lose. So even if two fighters are good: one will win and one will lose. I've never really been sold on Abraham, but he's not really limited.
true, if anything it just shows that it's a bad style match up for Abraham. full props to dirrell (though I'm still watching the fight) for sticking to the perfect game plan to handle abraham's style which has proved to be tough to a lot of other fighters.
The thread starter assumes that another mortal being can do what Dirrell did last nite. Thats only possible if Pernell Whitaker and Roy Jones Jrs man baby is running around somewhere. AA looked that horrible because he was fighting Dirrell, anyone else and AA probably would've left the ring with 3 points.
I've said from the very start that AA was vastly overated.I'm stunned that so many "knowledgable" fight fans bought into the AA hype.Beating another blown up,and lets be honest "damaged goods" fighter in Jermaine Taylor,suddenly AA only had to turn up to win. The writing is on the wall now,not only will the slicker and more technical SMW's leave AA clueless,but the strong aggressive types will also show how size matters.:good
Styles make fights. Dirrells style is Abrahams kryptonite. IMO despite the stats, and great boxing from Dirrell, Abraham was still very much in it. We knew before the fight he wasn't going to outbox Dirrell, so absolutely no shock that he didn't, He did look dangerous when he managed to back Dirrell up, and a KO win was very possible. We didn't expect Dirrell to outbox Abraham to the extent he did, for most of the fight, and I do think Abraham struggled with the southpaw stance. Feel a little cheated it ended as it did, as I do think there was at least another couple of big moments in the fight. Also have to say the ref was pretty poor, and missed 2 knock downs for a start. How he ruled the Dirrell knock down a trip (the more obvious of the two), well, it's beyond me.
He may be limited but his strengths have been enough to place him among the world's elite. Other than Direll, who is among the fastest fighters in boxing, how many guys do you think would be able to befuddle Abraham over twelve rounds like that?
it will be interesting to see how Ward,Kessler,Sturm-or any Top Supermiddle with a good amateur background will handle AA in the future. Dirrell has showed how that guy can be beaten, now those mentioned fighters will stick to a similar plan. And no, AA didnt got better just by moving up a weight class. BTW: Sturm has beaten AA twice as an amateur and wil do so as well as a pro.
You're right. Dirrell is not a special athlete because of last night's performance. Nahhh, any top super middle can follow the exact same plan and do the exact same thing. atsch
Not true. Many outbox Abraham early. What people thought would happen is Abe would come back to knock out Dirrell. Had he not thrown that last punch when Dirrell was down I'm sure the knock out was coming. Abraham was starting to find Dirrell with his punches and the tide had started to change. Abraham ****ed up but the ko was coming.