Chad Dawson? Paul Williams? Bernard Hopkins? Kelly Pavlik(got humiliated by someone from his own nation but never from another nation!)?
Nothing to do with "American" - anyone mentioning that is probably a bitter Calzaghe fan. He's an undefeated Olympian with a bronze medal. See Amir Khan. These types of fighters will always have hype if marketed right. I still don't think he gets through Froch though but that's the question isn't it? He hasn't been tested against a top fighter yet.
The difference? Froch is hyped dirrel is not. Froch has a belt and deserves his accolades while dirrel gets none because he has earned none. there is no hype for any of the Americans in this tournament. the andres are unproven and taylor has been proven to be beat by Froch and most with a punch and stamina though he is still good. so what hype is there for dirrel?
and some crazed pac fans say he is the greatest boxer of all time but that is not the general consensus of american boxing fans. he highly disappointed me in against curtis stevens. anyone who would compare him to ali or jones is probably just dirrel himself posting in the forums. he's good but untested at the top level.
You're right, people were wrong about Ali. People were right about 2 thousands other fighters though.