Froch vs Dirrell

I had Dirrell winning 8-4 then add the point deduction and I had it 115-112. There were some close rounds but overall this has to rate as a bad decision, robbery might be a bit too strong. That seems to be reserved for fights like Funeka-Guzman.

 

I was there and I thought Dirrell nicked it but I could see it going either way. I thought it was tough to call, alot of rounds were very close. It was no robbery. What must be eating at Dirrell though is that he could've won it easily if he'd fought like he did in a couple of rounds late on all through the fight.

The fight was a serious stinker though. The 3 punchups in the crowd that occured before and during the fight were more exciting that anything that went on in the ring.

 

Round 1
Froch 3 rights to body, Dirrell 1 right to body, counter right on Froch's way in, multiple jabs. No damaging punches, no fighter in control, Froch's jab not landing, Dirrell's touching barely.
Dirrell 10-9 (based on more punches)

Round 2
All jabs for first half...no effective shots, Froch touches Dirrell more with jabs (4-3). Both fighters throw 1 or 2 combos and miss. Even round, nobody in control at all.

10-10 Even (based on nothing being accomplished by either fighter.) Case can be made that Froch landed a few more punches, but I can't say he did enough to take the round.

Round 3
Dirrell begins running. Lands 4 straight lefts to the body and a straight left but Froch lands a hard straight right as Dirrell leaps back, staggering him.

10-9 Froch (based on ring control and the better punch landed, which hurt Dirrell) could also go to Dirrell for most punches landed.

Round 4
Dirrell lands early with 3 straight lefts to the head and body and a hook. Froch comes on with multiple light jabs and a good right hook to the body. Dirrell bleeding from the nose and mouth. Froch lands a cross and hook with Dirrell in the corner, Dirrell holds on.

Dirrell 10-9 (based on slightly more punches landed) Could also go to Froch for similar amount of punches landed, but with more damage and better ring control, or even round.

Round 5
Dirrell lands hard straight right, and a light one to the body. Lands a jab and gets tied up. Froch throws him for ippon. They trade jabs, Froch lands a nice one. Dirrell holds on, Froch lands short right hook inside. Dirrell holds again, Froch attempts to strike on the break. Dirrell is running a bit now.

Froch 10-9 (based on ring control and aggression with even amount of punches landed, none particularly effective.) Could easily go the other way if you favor slick fighters over aggressive ones. Could also be scored even.

Round 6
Dirrell with jab to the body. Froch applies pressure, Dirrell falls while trying to escape. Dirrell lands straight left and grabs Froch. Dirrell lands straight left and a jab, Froch holds on and Dirrell falls again. Froch misses, Dirrell holds. Froch lands 2 short rights on the inside and a hook as Dirrell backs out. Froch lands a jab as Dirrell runs, Dirrell counters with straight left, Froch touches him with a weak straight right in return, and Dirrell holds on. They trade jabs, Froch lands light straight right. Froch lands right hook to the body, Dirrell grabs on. Froch lands short right hook and quick uppercut in the clich, followed by a short left hook. They trade misses, Dirrell goes down as Froch posts up with the let hand. This round is where the fight got ugly.

10-9 Froch (based on ring control, effective aggression, and more and better punches landed)

Round 7
Froch lands lunging straight right, Dirrell counters with hard jab and holds on. They trade jabs. Dirrell lands nice straight left to the body followed by jab to the head. Dirrell lands a few light jabs. Froch lands nice jab and quick right uppercut to the body. Dirrell holds on. Froch lands straight right, Dirrell lands straight left. Dirrell holds on and attempts to turn away as Froch swings away with his free hand, landing a right hook to the body and 4 rights to the back and side of Dirrell's head. Ref calls time and warns Dirrell for holding. Dirrell lands straight left to the body and a jab upstairs, then holds. Dirrell misses and holds, Froch lands 2 chopping rights inside and a left hook on the way out as Dirrell lands a jab. Dirrell holds, Froch places his left forearm under Dirrell's neck and lands a chopping right then a left as Dirrell turns to object to Froch's ungentlemanly maneuvers. Ref basically tells him to gtfo. Froch lands a left hook and Dirrell holds again. Froch is visibly annoyed. Dirrell dives in and holds, Froch attempts to spin out and cave in the back of Dirrell's head but misses. Dirrell receives another warning. Froch grabs Dirrell by the side of the head and lands 3 short rights. Direll pulls away to complain and is hit by a right hook, a left hook, and a right hook in the process. Froch lands a jab to the body and a right uppercut. They land hooks simultaneously, with Dirrell's knocking Froch away from him.

10-9 Froch (based on greater number of punches landed and effective aggression.) Could go to Dirrell if you don't count Froch's punches on the inside.

Round 8
They trade jabs for the first minute, Dirrell landing the greater number and 2 straight lefts. Dirrell misses and falls in front of Froch. Dirrell lands beautiful overhand right over Froch's jab. Froch lands right hook to the body, Dirrell holds on and is warned again. Froch lands a jab and then a right hook to the head and a right uppercut as Dirrell holds and pushes him backward. Dirrell throws a powerful hook-cross-hook combo, but the hooks are blocked. Dirrell lands a straight left. Froch pursues him, landing a jab and huge left hook to the head. Dirrell seems to take it well and holds on. Froch chases him across the ring, landing a straight right. Dirrell holds and Froch lands a right uppercut to the body. Dirrell holds again, Froch lands a jab, Dirrell holds.

10-9 Froch (based on more clean punches, more effective punches, more clean/effective punches, effective aggression, and ring control.) Clear Froch round.

Round 9
They trade jabs. Froch lands a right to the body and left hook to the head with Dirrell in the corner. Froch chases him, landing jabs at will. Dirrell lands a straight left. Dirrell has swelling under his left eye. Dirrell lands a hard counter jab. Dirrell holds 1:30 through the round. Dirrell lands a nice straight right/left hook combo. Froch lands a jab downstairs and a right upstairs. Dirrell holds. Dirrell lands a jab and holds, Froch takes two swipes at the back of his head. Froch measures with the left and lands a right to the back of Dirrell's head as he ducks below the waist. Dirrell complains and Froch takes the opportunity to do the exact same thing. Froch is warned for blows behind the head. Dirrell lands a double jab and Froch lands a single one. Dirrell holds and Froch swings at the back of his neck. Froch lands a jab and a right hook, Dirrell holds.

10-9 Froch (based on more effective punching, more punches landed, ring control, and effective aggression) Clear Froch round.

Round 10
Dirrell outjabs Froch in the first minute, Froch blocks the power shots but can't land his own. Froch holds on. Dirrel holds and is warned. Froch lands a hard jab, Dirrell holds and Froch answers with a short right hook inside. Dirrell holds and eats another right hook. Ref deducts a point from Dirrell. Dirrell holds and Froch is unsuccessful in hitting him. Froch lands a hard jab. Dirrell lands a hard overhand left and puts Froch in a headlock. Dirrell lands a hard left jab and two light right hands. Dirrell lands two hard lefts off the ropes, and Froch stumbles to the ropes and covers up as Dirrell thorws, only one getting through. Froch grabs Dirrell with one hand and swings with the other, hitting Dirrell with a right uppercut to the body. Dirrell holds on to end the round.

9-9 Even. (Dirrell based on effective punching, but the deduction evens it.)

Round 11
Froch backs Dirrell into a corner and throws an 11 punch combination, which Dirrell evades by bobbing and weaving, coming out with two hard left hooks. Dirrell lands a hard jab. Dirrell throws two straight lefts. Froch blocks them but is still driven back. Dirrell throws two more lefts and they land. Froch holds on. Froch lands a big hook, Dirrell holds. Dirrell lands a good left hook and holds on. Froch doubles a right hook to the body and head, Dirrell backs him up with a flurry of straight punches. Froch attempts to return, but Dirrell bobs and weaves, then ties Froch up. Both fighters land short punches and Dirrell holds. They trade right hands, and Dirrell lands two chopping lefts to Froch's head. Dirrell holds on as Froch tries to punch. Dirrell backs Froch up with 5 hard punches to the head and body. Froch backs him up and the round end in a clinch.

10-9 Dirrell (based on clean, effective punches, good defense, and effective aggression) Best round of the fight.

Round 12
They trade vicious jabs for the first minute and Dirrell lands a hard straight right. Froch seems tired and Dirrell looks reinvigorated. Dirrell comes forward with a combo and holds. Froch nails him with a right uppercut off the ropes. Dirrell holds again and both fighters work inside. They trade a few jabs before Dirrell comes forward with 5 hard punches to the body and head, then ties up. Froch pressures Dirrell to the ropes, but can't land. Dirrell ties him up. Froch lands a few punches to Dirrell's body and is tied up again. The fight ends with Froch punching Dirrell on the ropes.

10-9 Dirrell (based on effective aggression, and clean punching)

6 rounds Froch, 4 rounds Dirrell, 2 even. 115-113 Froch.

Whew. I actually enjoyed watching it the second time. I think the 6th-9th round were just so awful that it clouds our judgment of the fight, because it actually started and ended very well and competitively. That's a really tough fight to score, because neither fighter got hurt very often, and a lot of the fight was spent in the clinch. My score obviously has a lot of wiggle room, but I can definitely see all three of the judges scores as respectable. If I was judging the fight as a whole, I would have it about even, but Froch was doing enough to take rounds, and they add up.

If the ref would have deducted a point earlier, we might have seen Dirrell dispense with the holding and fight like he did in the last rounds, which in my opinion would have resulted in a UD for Dirrell or a KO for Froch. It would have been a much more exciting fight.

 

As a Brit I feel Dirrell won the fight. I feel he outboxed him and I feel that some of Froch's rough-house tactics were pretty terrible and should have had action taken against him by the ref.

 

ESB got Robbed of about 20 pages

 

Dirrell won. Froch barely landed any punches, but he was pretty rough. Rabbit punching, hitting on the break, holding a fighter's head down so you can rabbit punch him some more don't count when scoring a boxing match. Outside of illegal actions, Froch did very little in the whole fight.

 

Dirrell also landed very few punches (he threw very little) and isn't holding an illegal action?
Dirrell spent 90% of the entire fight doing that.

It was a **** fight and Froch looked messy but frankly Dirrell was a disgrace and didn't deserve to take a world title on that performance.

 

I'm a Brit and a Carl Froch fan, but I had Dirrell winning this fight! Mind you, it was a close fight and I wouldn't argue with anyone who gave it to Froch! Like many people I have discussed this fight with, I believe that Dirrell could have left no doubt in the minds of the judges in some of the rounds! When I watch the way Dirrell fought in the championship rounds I wonder why he didn't "Stand his ground" earlier!! It was in fact the first time i'd ever seen Andre Dirrell fight and despite his (For the most part) negative tactics, I was impressed with the speed and skills that he possesses. Add some maturity to the obvious talent and you have a world class fighter who should be a force for many years to come!

 

I would not necessarily describe Dirrell's performance as a "Disgrace". Disgrace is how I would describe Johnsons abject performance agianst Vitali klitschko and imo Dirrell didn't fight like that guy!! But I can appreciate your frustration and annoyance regarding Dirrell's negativity and doubtless no-one is more annoyed and frustrated with his performance than Dirrell himself!

 

Excessive holding is illegal. How much is too much is depending on the referees discretion. Dirrell easily landed more punches than Froch did and also landed cleaner punches along with using better defense. Are you seriously trying to compare Dirrell's holding to Froch's illegal and dangerous tactics? Punching behind the head can cause blindness and paralysis. What does holding cause?

 

Dirrell's constant holding combined with flopping to the floor like a cheap hooker will not have helped him with the judges one iota. Had he stayed on his feet while dancing around and out landing his clumsier opponent, he'd have won ala David Haye. As it is, despite landing more punches over the course of the fight, he made himself look helpless and looking to avoid contact at all costs with his silly, naive tactics.

 

Dirrell won clearly, I had him winning 8 rounds to 4. Also the point deduction was a joke, Froch should have been deducted for rabbit punching and fouling long before Dirrell got points off for holding.

Altogether a bad hometown decision.

 

Exactly.:thumbsup

In the last couple of rounds Dirrell actually showed signs of looking good but you cant win a fight by fighting well for just a couple of rounds.

Actually just "fighting at all" might of helped.

 

116-111 Dirrell is what i got after watching it for the 2nd and 3rd time and Im not gonna bother to watch it again. Dirrell was robbed. Froch didn't do a thing the entire night except pawing out a grazing jab, he lost the fight plain and simple no matter how you would choose to slice it....PERIOD....what makes it even worse is the fact that when Grey interviews him after the fight he goes "Im upset i didn't get the unanimous decision but what can you expect the judge was from Mexico".........Im upset that statement didn't cause a greater stir in the boxing community