Carl Froch vs Andre Dirrell

The opening night of the Super Six tournament produced a contest in which neither unbeaten fighter could establish a clear command, and one point taken for holding became part of the final margin. At the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham on 17 October 2009, Carl Froch retained his WBC super-middleweight title against Andre Dirrell by a disputed split decision over 12 rounds. Nearly 9,000 spectators waited until about 2.40 a.m. for the start, the late hour imposed by the tournament’s television schedule.

Froch had stopped Jermain Taylor in the final round of his previous defence. Dirrell presented a different problem: a quick challenger who changed his angle, switched stance and looked to counter as the champion advanced. The opening rounds were cautious and difficult to score. Froch pressed and worked to the body, while Dirrell’s faster hands found openings as Froch followed him across the ring. By the fourth, Dirrell was bleeding from the nose, but his movement continued to make Froch miss and prevented the champion from setting a steady pace.

The contest grew untidy in the fifth when Froch threw Dirrell to the canvas. Thereafter the challenger frequently tied him up when he closed the distance, and Froch grew increasingly willing to punch during the rough exchanges. Dirrell’s counters remained sharp through the middle rounds, though Froch began to reach him more often in the sixth, seventh and eighth. Referee Hector Afu warned the fighters as complaints of holding and blows behind the head interrupted the action. In the ninth, Dirrell checked Froch’s advance with a left hand, while Froch continued to pursue him and landed a firm right of his own.

Afu deducted a point from Dirrell for excessive holding in the tenth. The challenger still landed clean punches that round and made a stronger finish than he had managed earlier. Froch drove him towards a corner in the eleventh, but Dirrell answered with quick combinations and a hard left that made the champion hold. Dirrell came forward again in the twelfth; Froch responded as the challenger tired near the end. There was no knockdown, and the final bell left a close contest for the judges to settle.

Daniel Van de Wiele and Massimo Barrovecchio each scored it 115–112 for Froch. Alejandro Rochin had Dirrell ahead 114–113. The verdict preserved Froch’s unbeaten record and gave him a winning start in the Super Six, but it did not settle the argument over which man had done the better work. Froch had pursued the fight and found success as it became more physical; Dirrell had made him miss often and landed the cleaner counters in several rounds. The holding deduction stood on all three cards and was especially consequential in a contest decided by such narrow scores.

I watched Froch drag himself off the floor to stop Jermain Taylor with seconds left in April, so I understood why Nottingham believed he could solve any problem. Dirrell was a different sort of test. His speed and changes of stance made Froch follow him, and when Froch reached with a punch, Dirrell often made him miss and caught him coming in.

That is skilled boxing, and I thought Dirrell landed the cleaner shots over enough rounds to deserve the decision. But he helped make it close. Too often, after scoring, he held rather than stepping away and making Froch reset. Referee Hector Afu's point deduction in the tenth was costly, though Froch also deserved closer attention for punches behind the head. Neither man could claim the referee had given him an easy night.

Froch kept advancing and did better when he got his jab working and made Dirrell exchange. Dirrell’s late left hands showed what he could do when he committed to his punches. I would have given him a narrow win. The official split decision went to Froch, and I can see how his pressure impressed two judges, but coming forward alone does not outweigh clean counters. Dirrell had the ability to win more clearly; his reluctance to stay engaged left the judges room to favour the champion.