Anthony Dirrell

Anthony Dirrell (born October 14, 1984) is an American professional boxer. He was a two-time WBC super middleweight champion, having held the title in 2019 and previously from 2014 to 2015. He is the younger brother of 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Andre Dirrell, who is also a professional boxer.

Professional career[]

Anthony Dirrell made his pro debut on January 27, 2005 against Henry Dukes. Dirrell stopped him in the first round. Dirrell had his next fight on February 11, 2005 against Dewayne Warren. Dirrell knocked Warren down twice in round one and twice again in round two. Dirrell won by TKO.

Dirrell had his third fight against Larry Brothers in which Dirrell won by TKO in the second round. Dirrell had his fourth fight against Mike Walthier knocking him out in the first round.

Dirrell had his fifth fight against Gabriel Rivera on August 13, 2005. Though Rivera was unbeaten in four fights, Dirrell won by TKO in the second. Dirrell had his sixth fight against Kevin Butts in which Dirrell knocked him out in the first round.

Dirrell had his seventh fight against Chris Grays in which Dirrell won by TKO in the first round. Dirrell had his eighth fight against Juan Carlos Ramos in which Dirrell won by TKO in the first round.

Dirrell had his ninth fight against James Morrow on June 23, 2006 in which Dirrell won by TKO in the first round. Dirrell won this fight in impressive fashion as he first knocked down Morrow with a huge right hand to the head, then followed up with a flurry in which Dirrell hit Morrow with a perfect left hook to the body which blew Morrow's mouthpiece out. Dirrell's tenth fight was against Billy Thompson in which he won by unanimous decision in 6 rounds.

On April 24, 2015 Anthony Dirrell debuted with Premier Boxing Champions vs. Badou Jack at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, IL.^[2]

Dirrell vs. Bika[]

Following a 23 fight win streak, Dirrell earned the opportunity to become the mandatory challenger for the WBC Super Middleweight title. He recorded his 24th consecutive victory with a win over Renan St-Juste, when his opponent could not continue due to a shoulder injury. After another pair of wins, on December 12, 2013, Dirrell faced champion Sakio Bika at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York for the title. After 12 rounds, the judges ruled the fight a draw.

On August 16, 2014, at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, Dirrell faced Bika in a championship rematch. After another 12 rounds, the judges awarded the fight and the title to Dirrell by unanimous decision.

Dirrell vs. Jack[]

Dirrell's next fight was on April 24, 2015 against Badou Jack at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Challenger Jack handed Dirrell his first full-fledged loss with a majority decision that saw the 31-year-old Swede control the fight through the middle rounds, relying on a strong jab and a confident aggression to outpoint Dirrell and win a majority decision victory.^[3]

WBC contention, injury[]

After Badou Jack vacated the WBC super middleweight title, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman ordered Dirrell to face Callum Smith for the vacant belt. Following Smith's entry into the World Boxing Super Series, it was announced the fight for the vacant title would be between Dirrell and David Benavidez.^[4][5] On August 5, the WBC announced that Dirrell would be unable to compete due to injury and the bout for the vacant world title would be between Benavidez and Ronald Gavril.^[6]

Dirrell vs. Yıldırım[]

On February 23, 2019, Dirrell fought WBC's #2 Avni Yıldırım for the vacant WBC super middleweight title. Dirrell fought well but had a hard time dealing with Yıldırım at times. The fight was scheduled for twelve rounds, but the ringside physician made the recommendation to stop the fight, since Dirrell was dealing with a cut over his left eye, caused by an accidental head clash in the seventh round. Dirrell was leading on two of the scorecards at the time of stoppage, 96-94 and 96-94, while the third judge had it 98-92 for Yıldırım, which was enough for a technical split decision win for Dirrell.^[7]

Dirrell vs. Benavidez[]

In his first title defence, Dirrell faced David Benavidez. Benavidez, a former holder of the same belt, was undefeated and had never lost the belt in the ring. In a very competitive fight, Dirrell was fighting well in the opening four rounds. However, things started to go south for Dirrell in the fifth round, when he sustained a bad cut from a Benavidez jab. In the ninth round, after Benavidez unloaded a barrage of shots at Dirrell, Dirrell's corner decided to stop the fight.^[8]

Dirrell vs. Davis[]

In his next fight, Dirrell fought Kyrone Davis in an eliminator for the WBC super middleweight championship. The fight ended in a split-decision draw, both fighters winning on one scorecard apiece, 115-113, while the third judge had the fight a draw, 114-114.^[9]

Outside the ring[]

It was announced by HBO Boxing After Dark announcer Larry Merchant on the June 16, 2007 telecast that Dirrell was currently undergoing chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was cleared to box again after completing chemotherapy in 2008.

On January 28, 2008, Dirrell was held overnight in the Flint city lockup on suspicion of armed robbery.^[10] However, no charges were ever filed. Dirrell's grandfather claims that Dirrell was on his way to undergo chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma when the robbery took place.

Professional boxing record[]

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
38	Win	34–2–2	Marcos Hernandez	KO	4 (10), 0:56	Nov 6, 2021	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
37	Draw	33–2–2	Kyrone Davis	SD	12	Feb 27, 2021	Shrine Exposition Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
36	Loss	33–2–1	David Benavidez	TKO	9 (12), 1:39	Sep 28, 2019	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, US	Lost WBC super middleweight title
35	Win	33–1–1	Avni Yıldırım	TD	10 (12), 1:55	Feb 23, 2019	Minneapolis Armory, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.	Won vacant WBC super middleweight title; Split TD after Dirrell cut from accidental head clash
34	Win	32–1–1	Abraham Han	UD	10	Apr 28, 2018	Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, U.S.
33	Win	31–1–1	Denis Douglin	TD	6 (10), 1:58	Nov 17, 2017	Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center, Flint, Michigan, U.S.	Unanimous TD after Dirrell cut from accidental head clash
32	Win	30–1–1	Norbert Nemesapati	RTD	6 (10), 3:00	Jan 13, 2017	Park Race Track, Hialeah, Florida, U.S.
31	Win	29–1–1	Caleb Truax	TKO	1 (10), 1:49	Apr 29, 2016	Etess Arena, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
30	Win	28–1–1	Marco Antonio Rubio	UD	10	Sep 6, 2015	American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
29	Loss	27–1–1	Badou Jack	MD	12	Apr 24, 2015	UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Lost WBC super middleweight title
28	Win	27–0–1	Sakio Bika	UD	12	Aug 16, 2014	StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S.	Won WBC super middleweight title
27	Draw	26–0–1	Sakio Bika	SD	12	Dec 7, 2013	Barclays Center, New York City, New York, U.S.	For WBC super middleweight title
26	Win	26–0	Anthony Hanshaw	TKO	3 (10), 2:36	Jul 27, 2013	AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
25	Win	25–0	Don Mouton	UD	8	May 3, 2013	The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
24	Win	24–0	Renan St-Juste	TKO	4 (12), 2:54	Dec 2, 2011	Chumash Casino Resort, Santa Ynez, California, U.S.
23	Win	23–0	Kevin Engel	KO	2 (10), 1:44	Jul 22, 2011	Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California, U.S.
22	Win	22–0	Dante Craig	KO	5 (10), 1:50	Jul 2, 2011	Atwood Stadium, Flint, Michigan, U.S.	Won vacant UBO InterContinental super middleweight title
21	Win	21–0	Alberto Mercedes	TKO	3 (8), 2:48	May 13, 2011	Chumash Casino Resort, Santa Ynez, California, U.S.
20	Win	20–0	Daryl Salmon	TKO	3 (8), 2:34	Oct 15, 2010	Buffalo Run Casino, Miami, Oklahoma, U.S.
19	Win	19–0	Jimmy Campbell	KO	1 (6), 2:06	Sep 17, 2010	Star of the Desert Arena, Primm, Nevada, U.S.
18	Win	18–0	Alfredo Contreras	TKO	7 (8), 2:32	Aug 7, 2009	Star of the Desert Arena, Primm, Nevada, U.S.
17	Win	17–0	Alexander Pacheco Quiroz	TKO	1 (6), 0:51	May 1, 2009	Chumash Casino Resort, Santa Ynez, California, U.S.
16	Win	16–0	Dominique Azeez	KO	1 (4), 2:59	Mar 28, 2009	Buffalo Run Casino, Miami, Oklahoma, U.S.
15	Win	15–0	Jose Medina	UD	4	Feb 14, 2009	BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, Florida, U.S.
14	Win	14–0	Robert Kliewer	TKO	2, 1:03	Dec 5, 2008	Chumash Casino Resort, Santa Ynez, California, U.S.
13	Win	13–0	Andy Mavros	UD	4	Oct 11, 2008	Pearl Concert Theater, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
12	Win	12–0	James Hopkins	TKO	1 (8), 1:12	Dec 22, 2006	Perani Arena and Event Center, Flint, Michigan, U.S.
11	Win	11–0	James North	TKO	4 (6), 1:18	Nov 17, 2006	Soboba Casino, San Jacinto, California, U.S.
10	Win	10–0	Billy Thompson	UD	6	Sep 2, 2006	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
9	Win	9–0	James Morrow	TKO	1 (6), 1:37	Jun 23, 2006	Oracle Arena, Oakland, California, U.S.
8	Win	8–0	Juan Carlos Ramos	TKO	1 (6), 2:54	May 25, 2006	Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, U.S.
7	Win	7–0	Chris Grays	TKO	1, 2:59	Dec 17, 2005	The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
6	Win	6–0	Yameen I Muhammad	KO	1 (6), 0:22	Nov 4, 2005	The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
5	Win	5–0	Gabriel Rivera	TKO	2 (6), 2:53	Aug 12, 2005	The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
4	Win	4–0	Mike Walthier	KO	1 (6), 1:43	Apr 29, 2005	The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	Larry Brothers	TKO	2 (4), 1:14	Mar 10, 2005	Michael's Eighth Avenue, Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Dewayne Warren	TKO	2 (4), 1:30	Feb 11, 2005	Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
1	Win	1–0	Henry Dukes	TKO	1 (4), 1:20	Jan 27, 2005	Michael's Eighth Avenue, Glen Burnie, Maryland, U.S.

References[]

External links[]

• Anthony Dirrell profile at Premier Boxing Champions
• Boxing record for Anthony Dirrell from BoxRec
• Anthony Dirrell - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live