Andre Dirrell (20-1, 14 KOs) is tentatively scheduled to return to the ring on January 19th. He’ll be fighting in New York City, at Madison Square Garden, on the undercard of the Gennady Golovkin vs. Gabriel Rosado headlined event.
Dirrell’s promoter, 50 Cent of SMS Promotions, disclosed the details of Dirrell’s return in a phone interview this afternoon.
“Dirrell will be fighting in January, January 19th, and he’ll be fighting in New York,” he said.
It looks as if the deal for his opponent is still being worked out, but the lead candidate is Rowland Bryant. Bryant (16-2, 11 KOs) is coming off a 12-round decision loss to Thomas Oosthuizen this August, also in New York.
Dirrell has only fought once since his DQ win over Arthur Abraham as a part of the Super Six Tournament in March 2010. Abraham — viewed as being on his way to a decision loss in the fight but coming on strong in the closing rounds — hit Dirrell while he was on the canvas, rendering him unconscious.
His return bout was nearly a year ago, a quick TKO2 victory over Darryl Cunningham in December 2011, so it’s been disappointing he’s been off for so long.
But now he’s ready to re-launch his career with the help of SMS Promotions. If he stays active, it shouldn’t be long before he’s competing for titles once again in the loaded Super Middleweight division.
