Andre “The Matrix” Dirrell is an American Boxer hailing from Flint, Michigan. Competent, driven, skilled, and a southpaw; Andre Dirrell looks to make his mark as a professional boxer. Dirrell’s chance will come on October 17, 2009 when he squares off against Carl Froch. Andre Dirrell is one of the six Super Middleweights competing in the Super Six Tournament.
Amateur Career:
Immediately, Dirrell was recognized during his amateur career. He won the National Amateur Championship at Middleweight in 2003. During 2003, Dirrell competed in the Pan-American games in Santo Domingo and lost to Yordanis Despaigne by a small margin. However, he avenged his loss to Despaigne, and won against Gennady Golovkin. During the 2004 Olympics, Andre Dirrell won the Middleweight Bronze medal for the United States.
Professional Career:
Andre Dirrell began his professional career in 2005. His first win against Carlos Jones earned him a technical knockout victory in round four. For the remainder of 2005 to early 2007, Dirrell faced plenty of weak opposition. However his record spiked to 11 wins, 0 losses, and 7 knockouts.
It wasn’t until Andre Dirrell faced Curtis Stevens in mid 2007, that his skills would be tested. The two fighters climbed into the ring in June 16 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. Dirrell spent most of the fight landing some good shots from the outside. However, the fight was very lackluster with both fighters failing to land anything significant. Dirrell earned the unanimous ten round decision but hurt his marketability significantly.
“The Matrix,” went on to win two fights by way of knockout before he stepped up against the skilled Anthony Hanshaw. The two fighters squared off in May of 2008. During the fight, both fighters stood their ground with the usual plot and deploy. In round four, Hanshaw rocked Dirrell with a right hand; only for Dirrell to counter with a damaging counter left that hurt Hanshaw. Dirrell then dropped Hanshaw with a hard left in the closing seconds of the fourth round. In the fifth round, Hanshaw found little success against Dirrell. Andre Dirrell was able to put Hanshaw away with several combinations during the fifth round, as the referee stopped the bout.
Andre Dirrell continued his success by defeating Mike Paschall with a straight left that opened a huge diagonal cut; forcing the ring doctor to stop the bout. Dirrell then went on to nab two wins from Victor Oganov and Derrick Findley.
Super Six World Boxing Classic:
Andre Dirrell agreed to take part in the Super Six World Boxing Classic, as part of the 6 best Super Middleweight fighters in the world. The other five fighters are: Andre Ward, Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Jermain Taylor and Carl Froch. Currently, Andre Dirrell is set to face Carl Froch in Nottingham, UK on October 17, 2009.
