A Good Result for King Arthur?

On March 27, 2010, the undefeated Armenian born German warrior King Arthur Abraham experienced something he had never felt before as a professional fighter: a loss and a knockdown in a very heated encounter against American Andre Dirrell at the Joe Louis Arena on Saturday Night as the Second Round of the Showtime Super Six World Boxing Classic got under way.

Dirrell proved that he was a true competitor at 168 pounds, getting off to a great start, using his speed and movement to take advantage of the slow starting German. In the fourth round, Dirrell caught Abraham off-balance and knocked him to the canvas for the first time in his 31 fight professional career. Dirrell continued to pile on the pressure and continued to out-box Abraham in the middle rounds. But like always, King Arthur kicked into gear and applied pressure onto Direll, who reverted back to running away as he did against Froch.

The 11^th round is were all the controversy begun. Dirrell, who was struggling to keep up with Abraham's constant attack, moved into Abraham's corner and slipped, only to be followed up by a right hand from Abraham well within a second of the slip. The referee went to check on Dirrell immediately, only to discover that he was not responding. The referee called for medical attention and subsequently a DQ was handed to Abraham.

Now the statements/questions that people have raised since:

You can’t hit a fighter when he is on the ground, Abraham cheated!

No, you can't hit a fighter while he is down. This is very true, but let’s take into account reflexes, momentum, and delayed reactions. Dirrell was hit within one second of his slip. After he was hit, it took him one to two seconds to respond to the effect of the blow.

So if you believe Andre Dirrell’s camp when they make the statement “Abraham cheated and knew exactly what he was doing”, you have to believe Abraham's camp when they make the statement “Dirrell was acting, he was not really hurt”, as he was checked out of the hospital with no injuries hours later (which is great news).

So in all fairness, it was not an intentional blow and Dirrell was really hurt from it. So that raises another question: Did Dirrell see himself getting KOd and used this perfect opportunity to get out of this bout? Only Dirrell knows the truth about that.

Let me show you a real blow: when the fighter was down of Golden Boys Super Featherweight Billy “The Kid” Dib vs Kenichi Yamaguchi. This fight was originally awarded to the hometown fighter as a KO, but then overturned by the State Sports and Combat authority to a NC.

Disqualification was the fair result?

I think it was not a fair result to us fans, as we were potentially robbed of a very close finish to the bout or to see how great of a fighter Dirrell really is. So I am disappointed in Arthur for what happened and still a part of me is disappointed in Dirrell because I believe he took a dive to take the easy way out.

Why I believe this is because every time I have watched Dirrell fight or make a statement post-fight, pre-fight, intervies, or weigh-ins, he has been disrespectful. While on the other hand, when you watch Arthur, you see how sincere and humble a person he really is. This is where fighters need to consider that there personalities do go a long way in the public's perceptions and they need to stop acting like children.

American Fighters are disadvantaged in Europe ?

Well, the same can be said about European fighters in the U.S. This is not the result I am talking about, but Showtime’s post-fight interview with Arthur was very unprofessional with the way the interviewer approached and spoke to Arthur.

Another example is Mikel Kessler vs. Andre Ward. Ward, who fought in an extremely dirty manner, took the points decision over the Danish giant and was not punished or penalized by the officials, made me sick to my stomach.

So I think you are always going to get a hometown advantage; just look at the Paulie Malignaggi vs. Juan Diaz in Texas.

But what I can confidently say is this: this is what Arthur Abraham needed, a reality check, to show him he is not invincible; he is very beatable. I really fear for Arthur’s next opponent, as they are going to get a better polished, better focused, and all around better fighter when they face 31-1 Arthur Abraham. I also believe that Dirrell sent a great message to the rest of the Super Six, telling them that he is not easy beat.

But we can all agree on one thing: this competition is getting more interesting with every fight.