DETROIT TO HOST ABRAHAM-DIRRELL FIGHT
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.02.2010 12:42 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Detroit will host its biggest boxing card in nearly
a decade when German sensation Arthur Abraham fights Flint’s Andre
Dirrell as part of Showtime’s super middleweight tournament March 27.
The fight will be at either Cobo Arena or Joe Louis Arena, co-promoter
Carlos Llinas said.
A formal announcement is expected Friday on what will be the most
important fight in Detroit since Mike Tyson-Andrew Golota in 2000.
Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) is a former International Boxing Federation
middleweight champion who moved up eight pounds to participate in
Showtime’s tournament, which is a long-term endeavor to unify most
of the 168-pound title.
Dirrell (18-1, 13 KOs) was a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist.
"I’m very thankful to be a part of it," Llinas said. "Hopefully,
it will be a boost to Michigan’s economy because Abraham has a great
following and those people will be flying to Detroit, renting cars,
eating, and going to the fight. Events like these are exactly what
Detroit needs to boost the economy."
The Super Six tournament originally included Abraham, Dirrell, Carl
Froch, Mikkel Kessler, Andre Ward and Jermain Taylor.
On the first night of the tournament, last Oct. 17, Abraham’s
12th-round knockout of Taylor, in Berlin, also knocked the former
middleweight champion out of the tournament and into career limbo.
Allan Green since has been named to replace Taylor in the tournament.
That same night, as part of the same televised program, Dirrell lost
a disputed decision in Froch’s hometown of Nottingham, England.
The tournament suffered another mishap when Abraham-Dirrell, originally
scheduled for March 6 in California, was postponed last week because
of a back injury Dirrell suffered in training.
The tournament format calls for each of the six fighters to compete
in three bouts to begin the tournament, with three points awarded
for a knockout win, two for a decision win, one for a draw and zero
for a loss, The Grand Rapids Press reported.