By Frank Gonzalez Jr., photo by Tom Casino / Showtime- May 2nd, 2008 – Friday night in Santa Ynez California, Super Middleweight contender Anthony Hanshaw (21-2-1, 14 KO’s), made his return to the ring since losing a decision to Roy Jones Jr. in July of last year. Hanshaw gave a good account of himself against Jones until getting floored in the eleventh round. After a long lay off, this was an opportunity to bounce back and work his way back towards the limelight of the division.
Former Bronze Medal Olympian from Flint Michigan, Andre Dirrell (15-0, 10 KO’s) is unbeaten, but a recent lack luster performance against Curtis Stevens, where he did too much running and too little exchanging for the likes of the crowd, who booed constantly throughout the fight. When it was over, Dirrell said he didn’t care about the crowd. He needed a dramatic win to win back the crowd and to reinforce the notion of his marketability..
Hanshaw was the best fighter Dirrell’s ever fought and he did a good job of looking good, while winning the fight with fast hands and clean punches.
Hanshaw looked good as the first round saw him chase Dirrell into the corner ropes and let the leather fly. Dirrell was leaning into the ropes and at one point, his knee and glove touched the canvas during the exchange. The ref broke them and declared, “No knock down!” What? Technically, it was a knockdown. The replay clearly showed it was a knockdown, that’s the way it goes. Hanshaw outworked and out-landed Dirrell to easily win the first round.
Hanshaw was aggressively throwing punches; Dirrell was going backwards and slipped onto his ass. The ref said, “No knockdown.” Hanshaw pressed, always looking to cut off the ring and land power shots in close. Dirrell landed some nice counters and showed good hand speed, particularly with his jab, which was very effective. Dirrell switched often from conventional to southpaw and was starting to change the tempo of the fight. A straight left direct to the face of Hanshaw made that point late in the round.
Ronnie Shields (Hanshaw’s trainer) implored him to stay in his face and in close.
In the third, Dirrell was circling the outer ring, keeping his distance, popping his jab and an occasional combo and he was scoring well. Hanshaw looked slower and was less effective as Dirrell surged and attacked him at a weak moment and Hanshaw almost went down. Dirrell was beaming with confidence as he boxed outside and sought to counter the wild punching Hanshaw. Dirrell did a good job and then, started to showboat and the crowd booed. Dirrell showed some good ambidextrous boxing skills.
Hanshaw pressed forward in the fourth and Dirrell circled backwards around the ring. Dirrell’s hand speed won him the bulk of the exchanges. Hanshaw got rocked by a Dirrell left right combo. Dirrell got aggressive and smelled the blood and cracked Hanshaw, who went down on his seat in the corner. Upon review, it wasn’t a knock down; it was a push that felled Hanshaw. The ref was quick to call that a knockdown though. Disgusting.
Dirrell was cocky in the fifth round, jukin’ and jiving until Hanshaw came in to brawl. Dirrell quickly caught Hanshaw and landed a series of punches that saw Hanshaw wobble backwards into the ropes as the ref stepped in and stopped it. It was over. Dirrell won by TKO 5.
Congratulations to Andre Dirrell, who showed quality and beat Hanshaw in the manner that should spring board him to some big fights in the near future. Dirrell showed he’s ready. Not only is he a smart fighter with good timing but he’s got speed, power, footwork and the kind of ego that can sell tickets—especially now that he redeemed himself for the Curtis Stevens fight.
During the post fight interview with Steve Farhood, Dirrell showed some humility behind his bold persona. He said he’d go back to the gym, watch the tapes and see whatever he’s still doing wrong and get better. He says he wants to be a champion and Friday night, he looked the part. He definitely has something special. Lets hope it don’t take too long before he gets a shot at a quality contender, like Jean Pascal, Allan Green, or even Sakio Bika. One fight I’d like to see is Andre Dirrell vs. Andre Ward.
Consider that Dirrell took out Hanshaw in five. Roy Jones Jr. went the distance with Hanshaw to win a Decision. If Roy wants to fight anymore 168-pounders, Dirrell would be deemed too dangerous. But as a style match up, I like it. Jones’ unconventional style vs. Dirrell’s quick hands and mobility would be interesting.
Having two losses is not the end of a career. All is not lost for Anthony Hanshaw; he’s still a very tough fighter and can get better if he stays busy. Anymore long layoffs will wreck his career. He needs to work on throwing straighter punches to erase his defensive flaw—being open to straight punches that counter his wide ones. I always wanted to see him fight Jermain Taylor or Arthur Abraham. There are plenty of guys who he’d match up well against, like Librado Andrade, Edison Miranda or even Jeff Lacy. Slick boxers are not going to advance the cause of Anthony Hanshaw. Besides, Hanshaw vs. other slugger types will make for some great entertainment.
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