Andre Dirrell (born September 7, 1983) is an American professional boxer.

As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the middleweight division at the 2004 Olympics. His younger brother Anthony Dirrell is also a professional boxer.

Amateur career Dirrell and his younger brother Anthony began boxing while still in elementary school in their hometown of Flint, Michigan. The brothers have been trained from the beginning by grandfather Leon "Bumper" Lawson Sr., a former sparring partner of Muhammad Ali, and uncle Leon Jr.

Dirrell was a standout as an amateur and won the 2003 United States national amateur championships at middleweight. He also competed at the 2003 Pan American Games, with his results being: Lost to Yordanis Despaigne (Cuba) 20-21

He qualified for the Olympic Games by finishing in first place at the 1st AIBA American 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Tijuana, Mexico. Prior to the Athens Games he won the 2004 Acropolis Boxing Cup in Athens, Greece by defeating Cuba's Yordanis Despaigne in the final of the middleweight division.

He won the middleweight bronze medal for the United States at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. His results were: Defeated Ha Dabateer (China) 25–18 Defeated Nabil Kassel (Algeria) RSC 2 Defeated Yordanis Despaigne (Cuba) 21–20 Lost to Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan) 18–23

Dirrell completed an amateur record of 210–26.

Professional career Dirrell began his professional career in 2005. A southpaw possessing exceptional athleticism and the ability to switch-hit, he was considered among boxing's top young prospects following an extensive amateur career. Dirrell defeated future world title challenger Curtis Stevens on HBO's Boxing After Dark in June 2007.

Super Six World Boxing Classic Dirrell was one of the six super-middleweights who competed in Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic, a boxing tournament, along with Arthur Abraham, Andre Ward, Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler and Jermain Taylor. His first fight and only loss was a split decision to England's Carl Froch on October 17, 2009, for the WBC Super Middleweight Championship.Andre Dirrell – Boxer . Boxrec.com. Retrieved on 2014-08-12. Two of the judges scored the fight 115–112 for Froch, with the third scoring it 114–113 for Dirrell.

On March 27, 2010, Dirrell faced undefeated former Middleweight Champion Arthur Abraham in Detroit, Michigan. In the fourth round, Dirrell knocked Abraham down for the first time in his career. Dirrell was outboxing Abraham throughout the bout and comfortably ahead on the scorecards 97–92, 98–91, and 97–92. In the 11th round, a slick spot in the corner of the ring caused Dirrell to slip to one knee. While down, Abraham delivered a punch to the chin of Dirrell; a delayed reaction was followed by Dirrell lying on the ground, unconscious and shaking. The referee ruled the blow by Abraham an intentional foul and awarded Dirrell a victory via disqualification. Some critics contested the ending of the fight, claiming that Dirrell may have overreacted after Abraham's final punch. However, Dirrell said he was really knocked out and did not know what happened after he fell down.

On October 7, 2010, Dirrell declined to face his friend and eventual Super Six tournament winner Andre Ward, and announced that he was withdrawing from the tournament due to neurological issues.

After Super Six Dirrell took a 21-month layoff to heal from the neurological injuries sustained in the Abraham fight. Dirrell defeated Darryl Cunningham via second-round technical knockout.

Thirteen months after that, Dirrell made a return to the ring with a unanimous decision win against Michael Gbenga after knocking him down in round 9.

Andre was set to headline Friday Night Fights on April 12, 2013, but withdrew for undisclosed reasons.

Eighteen months after the Gbenga fight, Dirrell returned to score a fifth-round KO against Vladine Biosse.

Dirrell vs. DeGale On May 23, 2015, Andre Dirrell fought against British star James DeGale at the Agganis Arena in Boston. DeGale gained two knockdowns in the second round, which proved to be the difference as he won a unanimous decision over Dirrell to win a 168-pound world title. DeGale won 114–112 on two judges' scorecards and 117–109 on the third.

Dirrell vs. Uzcategui I On May 20, 2017, Dirrell faced Jose Uzcategui for the vacant IBF interim super middleweight title. Uzcategui was disqualified in the eighth round for punching after the bell, and Dirrell was awarded the DQ victory. After the fight was stopped, Dirrell's trainer and uncle Leon Lawson approached Uzcategui and sucker-punched him before fleeing the scene. After the incident, Dirrell apologized for his trainer's actions.

Dirrell vs. Uzcategui II In the rematch, Uzcategui dominated Dirrell over eight rounds, and forced Dirrell's corner to stop the fight right at the beginning of the ninth round.

Dirrell vs Cabrera In his comeback fight, Dirrell fought and defeated Juan Ubalado Cabrera via KO in the fifth round.

Dirrell vs Brooker On July 31, 2021, Dirrell fought Christopher Booker. Dirrell finished his opponent early, by dropping him three times in the third round, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes31Win28–3 Jimmy Pownall RTD3 (10), Jul 31, 2021 30Win27–3 Juan Ubaldo CabreraKO5 (10), Dec 21, 2019 29Loss26–3 José UzcáteguiRTD8 (12), Mar 3, 2018 28Win26–2 José UzcáteguiDQ8 (12), May 20, 2017 27Win25–2 Blake CaparelloUD10Apr 29, 2016 26Loss24–2 James DeGaleUD12 25Win24–1 Derek EdwardsUD12Dec 19, 2014 24Win23–1 Nick BrinsonTKO4 (10), Oct 8, 2014 23Win22–1 Vladine BiosseTKO5 (10), Aug 1, 2014 22Win21–1 Michael GbengaUD10Feb 2, 2013 21Win20–1 Darryl CunninghamTKO2 (10), Dec 30, 2011 20Win19–1 Arthur Abraham11 (12), Mar 27, 2010 19Loss18–1 Carl Froch12Oct 17, 2009 18Win18–0 Derrick Findley6 (10), Mar 28, 2009 17Win17–0 Victor OganovTKO6 (12), Nov 1, 2008 16Win16–0 Mike PaschallTKO4 (10), Aug 2, 2008 15Win15–0 Anthony HanshawTKO5 (10), May 2, 2008 14Win14–0 Shannon MillerTKO3 (6), Feb 1, 2008 13Win13–0 William JohnsonKO1 (8)Dec 6, 2007 12Win12–0 Curtis StevensUD10Jun 16, 2007 11Win11–0 Kenny KostUD8Feb 16, 2007 10Win10–0 Cullen RogersTKO3 (8), Dec 22, 2006 9Win9–0 James SundinTKO2 (6), Nov 17, 2006 8Win8–0 Marcus Don HallTKO3 (6), Jun 23, 2006 7Win7–0 Alfonso RochaUD6May 25, 2006 6Win6–0 Mike EatmonUD6Apr 21, 2006 5Win5–0 Juan CamachoKO2 (4), Aug 18, 2005 4Win4–0 Carl Cockerham6Apr 15, 2005 3Win3–0 Jacob RodriguezKO2 (4), Mar 10, 2005 2Win2–0 Walter Coles1 (4), Feb 11, 2005 1Win1–0 Carlos Jones4 (4), Jan 27, 2005

References

External links

Andre Dirrell profile at Premier Boxing Champions Andre Dirrell on Abraham, Kessler and Froch at BoxingInsider Andre Dirrell - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live