No Sign of the Cobra's Bite As Carl Froch Edges Encounter with Andre Direll

There were no fireworks as we were promised. No sign of the crazed cobra’s bite.

The hunter was in fact reduced to fruitlessly stalking his prey for great periods of last night’s 12 round WBC Championship Super Six Classic matchup.

The saving grace for Carl Froch was that Andre Dirrell’s attempt to hit and dance around the ring failed to impress the judges.

Although Dirrell was awarded the contest 114-113 on one card, two other judges scored the bout 115-112 to Froch.

The foxtrot it seems was not their thing.

Although it was a desperately tight affair, Dirrell may rightly feel aggrieved. On my scorecard, I had him winning by a point.

Unfortunately for him to capture a World title you have to ‘beat’ a World champion. There was legitimate doubt that Dirrell had done enough and in such an occasion Judges will often err on the side of the Champion.

Throughout the bout, Dirrell displayed lightning combinations, elusive movement, and the ability to move seamlessly from Southpaw to orthodox stances.

Froch perhaps faced his toughest test to date. He noticeably struggled when trying to pin the American down.

Dirrell on the other hand, was unwilling to take the fight to Froch and was satisfied to be pursued around the squared circle.

There was a real sense of occasion in the Nottingham Trent FM Arena, packed to the rafters. The crowd were seemingly resolute and unshaken by the constant pushing back of the contest.

First, 2 AM local time, then 2.15; it was after 2.30 AM before both fighters had entered the ring.

Nevertheless familiar anthems such as ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘who are yer?’ were belted out with unadulterated passion. 

Dirrell was greeted with a hostile unwelcoming atmosphere, seemingly unperturbed by the partisan crowd, he bounced jovially to the ring clad in Army fatigues.

If there was an anxious rookie present here tonight he was in disguise.

The crowd greeted their hero with a cacophony of sound and an encore of ‘We Will Rock You’. 

Upn his ring entrance Froch cut the figure he described in prematch build up. A sadistic, dedicated and clinical fighter honed to the task at hand. His eyes bored into his opponent as he entered the ring.

The fight, however, was much less clinical.

The opening was extremely cagey. Both fighters were tentative in their approach and seemingly unwilling to engage.

What became apparent early on was Direll’s intention to hit and move throughout nullifying somewhat Froch’s powerful brutish approach.The middle rounds were messy and easy to score for either fighter.

Direll however came back to life in the tenth and 11th rounds—perhaps his best rounds- scoring heavily with left hands.

There was noticeable increased zip in his punches towards the latter part of the fight during which time 'The Matrix' seemed to come into his own.

Dirrell then suffered the indignity of a dubious points reduction by referee Hector Afu, of Panama, for holding, in the 10th round. He had been warned several times in the previous three rounds.

It could be argued that Dirrell’s greatest asset—his evasive ability and slick movement—counted against him.

Constantly attempting to escape the clutches of Froch at times looked as if he was running from the fight.

Coupled with another period of holding and ducking low, it probably, on final analysis, counted against him on the cards.

Froch alluded to this in hid post match thoughts – ‘He is a talented boxer, very slick, great counter puncher and with this negativity he’s a tough night for anyone. Unfortunately for me and fans he wasn’t there to fight tonight and seemingly his negativity cost him.’

Unquestionably, it did.

Although Andre Dirrell proved to the sceptics that he is worthy of his entry into the Super Six World Boxing Classic, and the beauty of the tournament is that he can now dust himself down and prepare for his next fistic meeting.

Dirrell, speaking on the split decision verdict and the point deduction, added: “I believe I definitely did enough to win the fight. I’m still clueless as to why the referee took the point. I definitely learned some things tonight. I know I can go all 12 rounds at this level.

"It’s a loss and it hurts but it will only motivate me and make me work harder in the gym. This tournament has only just started and I still believe I’ll be there at the end of it.”

Not such an enticing prospect when faced with the animal that is Arthur Abraham. Who had earlier laid down a marker with a last-ditch knockout of Jermain Taylor, with a long right hand through the gloves to the chin. Taylor looked out even before his head violently hit the canvas.

Nevertheless Dirrell looks like a world champion in waiting, perhaps two years down the line; and, as the youngest of the six fighters in the Super Six Classic he has a long storied career in front of him.

Meanwhile, for the Cobra, now unbeaten in 26 contests, he relishes the prospect of a unification bout—provided Kessler comes through his November clash with Andre Ward against Kessler once again in his hometown of Nottingham.

Froch displayed his eagerness for such a clash. ‘Hopefully he will beat Ward. The fans will then have a real fight to look forward to. He’ll bring a war – we’ll have a trade-off, he’s a man of my own stature – a warrior.’

Undeniably such a mouth-watering contest will not fail to serve up such fireworks and who knows maybe even a resurrection of the cobra’s bite.