Andre Dirrell Back In The Ring And Says He Wants Ward

A lot of people seem to elieve that this is the man that has the correct type of talent to beat the likes of Andre Ward, personally I'm not so sure however I am interested in his career.

Dirrell had a press conference and finally explained properly why it has taken a long time for him to get back into the ring.

What kept you out of the ring for all this time?
“Well mainly I had to get clearance from the doctor and that took three months. I was finally cleared and then after that I was looking for a TV date and unfortunately a lot of dates were taken, but Gary Shaw was able to get me on this show and I’m really thankful for that. So half and half; half of my problems outside of the ring and half of my problems after what happened in the Abraham fight.”

Is there any question that you’re OK to get back in the ring?
“I’ve thought about it in my workout sessions but for the most part I’ve put it out of my mind. But once I really started to work out hard and spar it really left my mind because I always just believed I would be where I’m at when I left the sport. My only concern now is putting on a good showing for the fans. I’m not too concerned about any of the problems I had after the Arthur Abraham fight.”

When asked about if he would like to face Andre Ward he said -

Do you still hope to get that fight with Ward?
“Definitely. I know our time will come. I believe that’s what the fans want to see so we’ll give it to them.’’

He also hit out at Bute a little bit and said he wanted to fight him also -

(Is it true) you’ve also said you wanted to fight Lucian Bute?
“Yes, that’s accurate. He’s fought in his hometown his whole career and fought the same type of fighters. I’m not taking anything away from him. He’s an excellent fighter. He has a great uppercut and a great jab and he’s quick on his feet. But he’s fought B-minus fighters his whole career and I’m not the first to say that. It’s just my evaluation. Every fan wants to see you fight the big dog, whether it be me or someone else. Lucian Bute has a lot to prove, but everyone has a lot to prove. But he has been protected and he cannot deny it.

So what you guys reckon, is this just a bit of BS to talk his way back into the limelight or do we think he really wants these fights and also do we think he is capable to winning these type of fights?

Dirrell should stay retired if his injury was that bad it is a very serious injury and he should not be boxing. Brain injuries are too dangerous.

I agree, Waingro.

Any disfunction of the brain can be very hazardous.

Dirrell to whoop Bute all day long. But agree with above comments, stay out the ring if you have been out that long due to a head injury. Not worth it.

Well what he's basically said there is that he's been fine for a while it's just that Gary Shaw (One of the worst promoters in boxing in my opinion) couldn't get him a spot on TV.

Did he mention the name of the doctor he was waiting for clearance from?

AlexHuckerby wrote:Well what he's basically said there is that he's been fine for a while it's just that Gary Shaw (One of the worst promoters in boxing in my opinion) couldn't get him a spot on TV.

This is true, but is he as worse as Bob Arum? That guy actually IS a joke

Arum's evil but he's a great, great promoter. Same as most of the great promoters actually.

Yeah, Gary Shaw is a bad promoter in the sense that he's incompetent, Arum is just a bloodsucking evil money making machine sent back in time to kill John Connor... Oh wait different script.

Don't rate shaw at all. Dirrell is somewhat an enigma, so so talented, more so than any other int he division in my opinion, but he lacks the necessarry mentality needed to be great at the mo, his gameplan v Froch was laughable, especially when witnessing the success he had when he boxed properly. This lay off now, who knows how that's affected him. BTW he DOES NOT want Ward... not at all

That was what I was thinking Sean, it all seems a bit like empty words to get himself back in the limelight saying he wants someone liek Ward who is generally seen as the number 1 SMW now. I believe he would want Bute however, if you compare the amount he said about Bute and dissected his record and spoke frankly about him and then compare that to the amount he talked about Ward it kind of shows which one he's thinking more about.

thought he beat froch and also showed everyone how to beat abraham. would be interested in seeing him fight kessler or ward. theres no doubt hes a bit soft for a boxer, but with his speed i dont think bute would get near him.

Im not alltogether sold on Dirrell. Fighters like Dirrell, Khan and Judah seem to gather alot of following and reputations for being super talented because they have the kind of flash skills or speed. But boxing is alot more than that and more efficient fighters like Bradley, Ward and Wlad for example seem to pass under the radar alot more because they arent as flashy but are more well rounded and efficient.

I think Dirrell edged Froch, but if Froch can grind out a win pressuring him, and Abraham was getting to him late then I would give Bute a decent chance and heavily favor Ward over him. I think Dirrell could be one of these boxers who looks better than he actually is. But would like to see more of him and hes a good adition to the division with obvious talent and pedigree.

Dirrell was Groves' sparring partner in the run up to the DeGale fight so he can't be that seriously injured or at risk if he's willing to still get in the ring.

I'm assuming you'd still need medical clearance to spar (certainly with fighters involved in high profile fights) so I can't see it being that much of a big deal. They gave McCullogh his licence back didn't they?

HumanWindmill wrote:I agree, Waingro.

Any disfunction of the brain can be very hazardous.

Dirrell is a good fighter. Beat Abraham good and proper. Got robbed against Froch by hometown judging. Dont think he would beat Ward though

I don't like Ward but like Dirrell even less!

Dirrell quit the Super 6 because he didn't want to fight Ward IMO, he's just calling him out to get his name out there again.

If Ward stepped in to make the fight happen Dirrell would probably withdraw from neurological problems previously sustained from bumping his head as a child!