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by:

Joshuwa
"Ashyknuckles"
Jernigan

The Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, United Kingdom is the site of the second fight of the historic Super Six Boxing tournament. WBC Super Middleweight Champion Carl "The Cobra" Froch (25 - 0, 20KOs) makes the second defense of his title against highly touted prospect/contender Andre "The Matrix" Dirrell (18 - 0, 13KOs). US fight fans remember Carl Froch, from his first fight on American soil, when defeating Arkansas native Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor in a 12 round thriller. Taylor was on his way towards a dominating, unanimous decision when Froch mounted a massive onslaught that secured the victory, and the first successful defense of his world title.

Carl Froch is a relatively, big and strong super middleweight fighter with an awkward fighting style. It's the type of fighting style that many seasoned fighters believe makes the British Champion susceptible to lead hooks and solid counter punches. He fights in the orthodox stance, but engages his opponents primarily with his hands at his waist. Many pundits feel that Froch's vulnerabilities were exposed in his last fight with Taylor. Froch stands 6'1", and is unbeaten in 25 professional fights, with 20 of those wins coming by way of knockout. Trained by highly respected Robert McCracken, Froch put the world on notice by defeating, top 5 contender and current WBC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jean Pascal to take the title previously vacated by Joe Calzaghe. The confident Froch sees Dirrell as merely a stepping stone to catapult him to next level of this highly publicized competition.

Froch said of Dirrell: "He's got fast hands, but I don't see any evidence that he's a big puncher. He likes to switch hit, changing from southpaw to orthodox, but I'll find his weak side and bash him up. Let's see how he reacts with being taken into the trenches."

Froch may have some limitations in the ring, but he's proven before that when the stakes are high he shows up to fight. In his biggest fights, he's given each opponent a gut check which resulted in Froch getting the better of his opponent in close exchanges.

Andre Dirrell, former US Olympian, achieved a bronze medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Since the first announcement of this fight, Dirrell has been talking to anyone who will listen about what he's going to do to Froch.

Andre Dirrell on his upcoming fight: "I begged to get Froch in my first fight. He's the guy I wanted. This is going to be my easiest fight. This is the fight where I'll show off and look my best, and that's a guarantee. I'll look my best there because he's just that easy to hit and he's slow."

Dirrell is one of the most athletically gifted fighters, not just in this tournament, but in the sport of boxing. He is a very talented, and a strong, natural 168lb fighter. He's often uses his blazing hand and foot speed to box circles around his opponents, displaying his wide array of boxing skill. He's a southpaw who switches stances depending on which side his jab works best, on any given fight night. He has shown, at times, the ability to sit down on his punches when the opportunity presents itself, but he's more of a classy boxer than a pure puncher. However, more times than not, he's content on using his great boxing ability to secure victories. Dirrell's detractors quickly point out his foibles because they believe he fights down to the level of his opponents, which hasn't been the best opposition in the division. Dirrell is still relatively young and somewhat inexperienced at the world class level as he has yet to face a top five contender in the 168lb class. The frailty shown by Dirrell is his tendency to drop his hands during the duration of a fight. He feels his natural reflexes to evade incoming shots leaves his opponents wide open when countering them. Dirrell isn't holding his tongue about his opening fight, he thoroughly expects to dominate.

"I've fought boxers like Carl Froch a million times," he said. "He's a strong fighter, but I'm a little taller and my skill will overpower his will."

So, Carl Froch and Andre Dirrell will meet October 17th for a night of boxing. Both fighters have promised to walk through each other, but who will make good on these early boasts? We don't know, but the world will soon find out as the time winds down to hours, minutes, and seconds until fight night in the UK. Whether you’re fans of Dirrell, or fans of Froch, we all hope for an exciting fight for as long as it lasts.

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