Let me have it. I predicted Arthur Abraham to stroll through any defense Andre Dirrell would put up Saturday night and win by the end of three rounds. Obviously that didn’t happen.
Dirrell gets my full respect and apology. I hope he recovers from his concussion after the 11th round DQ of Abraham soon enough to get back into the Super Six World Boxing Classic battle of super middleweights.
Dirrell certainly tightened up some weak points after his split-decision loss to Carl Froch last fall.
But I didn’t think any positive adjustments would matter. I believed Abraham to be the superior fighter and would cause Dirrell to cave in from his strength and pressure.
It may never happen, but I would hope when things calm down and Arthur does some reflecting on life and its meaning that he tells us what was going on in his mind during the 11th round when he hit Dirrell with a right hand at about his knees while Dirrell clearly slipped in a corner a split moment earlier.
I actually thought Abraham was back in the fight in the 10th round and can’t believe he panicked in the 11th with a round and a half to go.
As the late Rosanne Rosannadana would say, “It’s always something.”
I remember about 22 years ago, when the local Dallas-Fort Worth CBS affiliate Channel 4 and sports anchor Ted Dawson put me on live from the old Reunion Arena to handle a remote broadcast of the Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks on closed-circuit TV. After running up a few flights of steps to get to my spot, while sweating and breathing heavy, I predicted a Spinks upset.
By the time sports were over, news anchor Clarise Tinsley was laughing at my pick.
Incredibly they stuck with me for a few more fights.
Well, anyway, it was a fight with a lot of drama and excitement even if my guy didn’t win.
By the way, I’m leaning toward Carl Froch over Mikkel Kessler next month if you are wondering.
