Andre Dirrell’s stated injury should be respected
The ripples of Andre Dirrell withdrawing from the Super Six tournament and citing “neurological problems” have dispersed throughout the boxing world.
Analysts have been either critical or supportive. Some say that Dirrell, who was scheduled to fight his friend Andre Ward on November 27, pulled out of the tournament conveniently to avoid fighting a friend. Others say he was disappointed with financial
figures. Others still say we should give him the benefit out of the doubt and take him at his word.
On March 27, 2010, Dirrell stepped into the ring with German former middleweight champion, Arthur Abraham in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. For eleven rounds the two fought it out, with Abraham pressing and Dirrell countering and adapting a defensive
but winning position in the fight. In the eleventh Abraham managed to get Dirrell into a corner. Dirrell attempted to sidestep any danger, but slipped in so doing, falling somewhat so that his head was at Abraham’s waist. Abraham, likely out of frustration
(though he’s never admitted as much) tagged Dirrell significantly in the head, causing the fighter to hit the canvas and immediately go into what appeared to be a prophylactic seizure.
Abraham was immediately disqualified. After much ado, Dirrell gave one of the most incomprehensible post-fight interviews in the history of the sport. Since then there was a lot of talk about whether Dirrell was faking the injury, whether it was real,
or whether he had used the occasion as an opportunity to gain a win. Otherwise, the matter was essentially dropped.
That was until a week ago, when Dirrell’s camp stated he will not be competing anymore in the tournament because of “neurological problems.” In an interview with noted boxing analyst Dan Rafael, Leon Lawson, Dirrell’s trainer, revealed that Dirrell had
been experiencing lingering headaches and dizziness since the Abraham blow, and that he wasn’t fit to fight. That comment sparked all kinds of comments from fans ranging from those accusing Dirrell of faking the injury (again) to those wishing him well.
Dan Rafael himself adopted a characteristically wise position, saying: “Why would you make up a head injury of all injuries? Even if he comes back fine and it was all fake, you’re giving every commission a reason to look at you more closely. What would
be the point of that?”
But just because it appears pointless doesn’t mean it’s implausible. At the same time, many have pointed to other historical cases in boxing where head injuries arguably weren’t respected and the results were tumultuous and tragic.
One such story is that of Gerald McClellan, who, trained by hall-of-famer Emanuel Steward, captured the WBO and WBC middleweight titles within five years of becoming a professional fighter. Then, in 1995, he decided to move up to super middleweight to challenge
champion Nigel Benn. In the first round of the fight, McClellan managed to drop Benn. However, after several other rounds of back and forth action, McClellan was hit by a seemingly innocuous blow in the tenth and took a knee. Though he recovered momentarily,
he quickly took another knee, and was counted out by the referee.
Nobody could have predicted what happened next: while Benn celebrated on one side of the ring, McClellan went unconsciousness in his corner, and was rushed away by ambulance.
At a hospital it was determined he had a blood clot in his brain.
Following an operation, McClellan spent eleven days in a coma. He woke without eye sight, 80 per cent of his hearing shattered, and unable to walk. For the most part he remains in a similar condition today.
If anything, the tragic story illustrates that, whether or not Dirrell is lying or exaggerating his injury, his case should not be shrugged off.
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