Showtime devotes 70 percent of its latest ?Fight Camp: 360? documentary episode, which premiered Wednesday, to the March 27 Andre Dirrell-Arthur Abraham bout. But ultimately the producers bury the lede, as we used to say in the newspaper biz.
The controversial ending of that bout, the fourth of the Super Six tournament Showtime is staging among six elite 168-pounders, is the second-most-important development of the tournament thus far, behind Bay Area hero Andre Ward?s upset victory over Mikkel Kessler in Oakland last November.
There are two points of view about Dirrell-Abrham ending, of course, which is two points of view more than ?360? would otherwise have. If the producers are trying to help us empathize with everyone, well, that just doesn?t happen in boxing.
The official verdict on the fight and its conclusion, which I consider correct, is that Dirrell was way ahead after nine rounds, and although he was hurt by a punch in the 10th that should have been called a knockdown, he regained control of the fight in the 11th. He seemed on his way to a decision victory when he slipped on a wet spot and fell to one knee, at which point Abraham landed a devastating but illegal punch and was disqualified.
In the dissenting opinion, Abraham was coming on strongly enough that Dirrell, not hurt by the illegal punch or perhaps down from a legal one, decided taking a swan dive was the best way to ensure victory. The caliber of his ?acting? received mixed reviews.
The 21 minutes of Episode 5 devoted to Dirrell-Abraham includes only about six seconds of action from Round 11, which lasted roughly a minute. I?m tellin? ya?, watching Round 11 in its entirety at live speed shows you everything you need to know about the fight, and it?s the one thing ?360? glosses over. They should have shown the whole round. Twice, even.
Except for a graphic that depicts ring announcer ?Jimmy Lenon? (it?s Lennon, you morons; he?s your own guy, for heaven?s sake), Episode 5 is still a decent enough account of the fight.
The best snapshot of Dirrell comes when he?s finally regaining his senses and says, ?I?ll know when I see the fight how I really feel.? The prediction from his corner says it all:
?Oh, you gonna be happy.?
The nine minutes spent on the general tenor of the Super Six are adequate, and the cameos of Ward and his next opponent, Allan Green, at the Dirrell-Abraham fight add a lot. Green, who replaced the oft-concussed Jermain Taylor to draw the June 19 Oakland date with Ward, comes off as more intellectual than the other Americans and a close second to Carl Froch as the most biting cynic among the participating fighters.
But the controversy over the ending still seems to be stirring too much cynicism about the tournament. It?s too bad Episode 5 isn?t a discussion-ender.
