Through 'rocky' career, Andre Dirrell resumes his chase for elusive title

On Oct. 17, 2009, Andre Dirrell, a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and one of the rising stars in American boxing, traveled to Nottingham, England, to take on tough British champion Carl Froch in Showtime's Super Six tournament, featuring the six best super middleweights in the world.

When it was over, many in the media thought the quicker Dirrell, nicknamed "The Matrix," had squeaked out a victory with a late surge, even with the referee taking a point from Dirrell in the 10th round for "pulling Froch towards him." But Froch came away with the split decision victory on his home turf to hand Dirrell, 26, the first loss of his career.

Five months later at Joe Louis Arena in Dirrell's home state of Michigan, Dirrell was comfortably ahead of Germany's Arthur Abraham when he slipped on the wet canvas in the 11th round. While he was down on both knees, Abraham unleashed a right uppercut that knocked Dirrell unconscious, and he went into convulsions, a scary scene before the ring doctor was able to restore consciousness.

Abraham was disqualified and Dirrell was named the winner. But the damage was done. Dirrell didn't fight again for 21 months and, in fact, in the seven years since that cowardly act, has fought only seven times. His only shot at a world title came two years ago when he lost to James DeGale for the vacant IBF title.

Many felt Dirrell was never the same fighter after the Abraham slam.

But the Flint, Mich., native, now 33, persisted through tough times and on Saturday night at the MGM National Harbor, Dirrell (25-2, 16 KOs) has another chance to gain a shot at a coveted and elusive title. And a chance to redeem himself against DeGale. But he will have to get past tough Venezuelan Jose Uzcategui  (26-1, 22 KOs) to earn that shot.

The 12-round IBF super middleweight eliminator will be one of the televised bouts on Showtime (6 p.m. ET), which will kick off with the title fight in London between super featherweight champ Gervonta Davis (17-0, 16 KOs) and Liam Walsh (21-0, 14 KOs). The night will culminate with Gary Russell's featherweight title defense against Oscar Escandon.

The "Matrix" is gone and replaced by "The Resurrected." Dirrell talked about his career this week.

“My career has been rocky. I’ve been out for about 13 months," Dirrell said. "I’m back in the ring but nevertheless I’ve always been in the gym, always training and most importantly staying positive.

"So everything is going upward, man. I got this great opportunity and I plan on taking advantage of it.”

Dirrell was asked about the perception that his career hasn't been the same since the Abraham incident.

“It’s funny. They say I was faking it, then they say I’m not the same guy afterwards," he said. "So for them to think that, that’s just run-of-the-mill talk. That’s just how it goes from the fan’s perspective. I don’t feel that a fan has the right to determine whether a fighter should retire at that moment. Now the fighter can look bad, the fighter cannot look himself, but they don’t know what we go through every day in that gym. They don’t know our determination and our will. We decide that.

"If my team tells me it’s time to retire, then maybe it’s time for me to think about it. But if it comes from that fan that's just running his mouth, then you’re just running your mouth at the end of the day. For them to say I’m not the same fighter, well, we’ll just have to see on May 20th."

Dirrell showed much respect for Uzcategui, the 6-2 power puncher whose most impressive moment was a KO of undefeated American Juluis Jackson in 2015.

"He’s tough, he’s tall and he’s strong. Three attributes right there," Dirrell said. "He has everything you need to become a world champion. He’s just facing a very, very skilled opponent come May 20. But when it comes to a world championship fight, this guy is deserving. I have respect for the boy. I respect his power, his determination, his will. That’s why I trained so hard. I take no opponent lightly.”

Uzcategui, on the other hand, felt disrespected Thursday by Dirrell's team and spoke up about it.

“We had a great training camp, we trained to win, we trained for his type of fight," Uzcategui said through a translator. "His whole team’s been talking about it, they keep running their mouths and we’re going to shut it. His team’s mouth and his mouth. . . In the ring, it’s just me and Dirrell. Just two men. There’s no need for the teams to talk.”

Can Dirrell finally get the monkey off his back and gain another shot? What would it mean to someone with his career path to finally break through?

"The world, man, simple as that," he answered. "We fight for them titles first. You know you hear them say ‘it ain’t about the titles, it’s about the money.’ Yeah, it’s about the money but it’s about them titles first. We’re all boxers, we all came out of the amateurs, we were happy getting trophies, and medals and belts.

"Today, we’re getting the money. I’ve been in it for 12 years I’ve been getting paid. I’m ready for them straps. My love for the sport will always be there until the day I retire.”

For Uzcategui, it will be a chance to bring a glimmer of hope to his home country of Venezuela, where the political climate has exploded recently. Uzcategui, who now lives in Mexico, said, “It’s been my dream since I was six years old to be here, and I’m here now. We’ve done everything, and I’m ready to die on the line in order to bring that belt home so everybody in my country can see it.”