Anthony Dirrell v. Andre Ward

I would love to see this battle of young undefeateds. I know it more than likely won't happen, but these guys are studs in the division and would give any belt holder a helluva lot of trouble. Ward's dismantling of Revelo this weekend made me think of Dirrell's trouncing of Hanshaw and I have to wonder who would come out on top over whom. Dirrell seems faster, but a little more flighter. More rangey and maybe his chin isn't quite as sturdy. Ward's punch accuracy is amazing and he seems to key right in to what needs to be done to take the other guy out of his game. Ward is 6'2" and Dirrell is 6'3"- an almost even match-up and I have no clue who would win.

yeah that would be a match made in heaven for meeeee! ;D like you said that would be an amazing fight with two good underfeated fighters. i too see this as a toss up but would probably root for Dirrell as he is one of my top prospects. but i'll root for him silently in my head (so i wont look stupid) as i have no idea whom of the two would actually win.

Yeah definitely a great matchup, I'd side with Ward as I still havn't quite forgiven Dirrel for running around the ring like Audley Harrison facing a prime Mike Tyson the bout previous.

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Originally Posted by Bilbo

Yeah definitely a great matchup, I'd side with Ward as I still havn't quite forgiven Dirrel for running around the ring like Audley Harrison facing a prime Mike Tyson the bout previous.

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;D

yeah that was funny stuff allthough i think he did redeem himself his last fight. somewhat.....

I hope Dirrell's brother comes back strong. I don't remember him too well, but if I'm not mistaken, he's the power-puncher of the two.

Yeah, Anthony redeemed himself against Hanshaw in my eyes. The Tyger is no pushover and he made him look =easy=.

hey hold up wasnt Andre Dirrell the one that beat Hanshaw. Anthony Dirrell is the hurt brother. yeah i think thats it.

Andre Ward had a bad moment as well against Darnell Boone, he got hurt badly, I give him credit for finishing strong, but he has definately shown that you can get to him. I'd currently side with Dirrell. Great match-up should be made in 2009.

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Originally Posted by mike_tha_man

hey hold up wasnt Andre Dirrell the one that beat Hanshaw. Anthony Dirrell is the hurt brother. yeah i think thats it.

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Nope, you got it backwards. Here's how I remember it: it's Anthony and Andre Dirrell, Anthony Hanshaw fought Andre Dirrell so Anthony Dirrell is the one who has cancer. I interviewed Andre and his grandfather and they said Anthony is just waiting to get the all-clear from the docs to start training again. He's kept his weight up and looks fine.

So that means I probably screwed up the names in my initial post.

Would loooooove to read amats thoughts on this.

Not sure who I'd side with here. Need to give it more thought.

I really doubt this ever happens they have been friends for a very long time as they have been on the national circuit together since they were like 14. The Dirrells when they first turned pro were based in California and trained at Kings Gym where Ward trains. They also fought on the same cards early.

Maybe down the line if they are both champions but otherwise we'll never see it.

It's an interesting fight though. It all depends on how they try to fight. If both are content to box, then Ward wins fairly easily. He's the much better boxer of the two. For one he's not a spot fighter like Dirrell is so winning rounds would be very difficult for Dirrell. Ward has an excellent jab and an excellent game behind the jab.

That's actually what I think would happen if they fought. Don't think Dirrell would put any sort of consistent pressure on Ward unless Ward brought it first.

If he did though, then it would be up to Ward to counterpunch which he can do just as well. Dirrell is a hard hitter though and some question the chin of Ward. I think it's overblown but he hasn't really been hit hard lately. So maybe Dirrell could land something and try to test that chin. Dirrell just doesn't fight for 3 minutes a round though and Ward is really good at neautralizing his opponent's attacks with all sorts of feints and movement. So I'm not sure.

I think Dirrell's best shot would be to count on Ward to provide the pressure. Ward likes to keep guys offguard in a defensive posture and then jump forward with a punch much like Hopkins likes to do. But Ward doesn't do it as well. Sometimes he comes from to far out and he tends to get in front of his feet. Dirrell has some nice uppercuts it's very possible that he could catch Ward coming forward underneath and if things go right hurt him.

That's the only way I see Dirrell winning is with him being the role of the counterpuncher and Ward being the pressure fighter. I don't think Ward would be so dumb though.