From the time super middleweight Andre Dirrell dropped out of the Super Six World Boxing Classic after suffering a head injury in a disqualification win against Arthur Abraham in March 2010 until this past August, he had only two fights.
But since Dirrell reunited with adviser Al Haymon and returned in August, he has been on the fast track.
Dirrell fought twice in three months, a fifth-round knockout of Vladine Biosse in August and a fourth-round knockout of Nick Brinson in October. Now Dirrell (23-1, 16 KOs), a 2004 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist, is set for his third fight in short order when he faces Las Vegas’ Derek Edwards (27-3-1, 14 KOs) in a title elimination fight Friday night (Showtime, 9 ET/PT) on the undercard of light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson’s defense against Dmitry Sukhotsky at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City.
The Dirrell-Edwards winner will earn a No. 2 ranking in a sanctioning body and be a step closer to a mandatory fight with unified titleholder Carl Froch, which is music to Dirrell’s ears.
Dirrell, the heavy favorite against the 35-year-old Edwards, lost a debatable split decision to Froch in a world title fight in Froch’s hometown of Nottingham, England, in the Super Six in October 2009 in the fight before the DQ win against Abraham.
Although Froch owes a mandatory defense to British countryman James DeGale, he is undecided about what he wants to do. Froch could retire, he might fight DeGale or he could dump the belt (he still has another) and go for some other major fight. Dirrell is hoping Froch eventually fights him again -- although it seems like a long shot.
“I want that rematch with Carl Froch. He’s the IBF champion and a win will bring me closer to fighting him again and proving that I beat him the first time,” Dirrell said. “I’m excited to be here. It’s cold but it’s beautiful in Canada. I just can't wait for the action to start.”
Dirrell, 31, of Flint, Michigan, said he is happy to have his career back on track after such a long stretch of inactivity.
“It’s good to be back. This is my third fight in six months, and before that I fought three times in the past four years,” said Dirrell, whose younger brother, Anthony Dirrell, holds a super middleweight world title. “I’m on a very busy schedule right now and it feels good. I’m just looking forward to the fight. It will put me in a high ranking in the IBF and bring me this much closer to challenging for that title pretty soon.”