Wednesday, April 24, 2024  |

News

Aficianado

Dirrell puts Findley away in six

Fighters Network
28
Mar

Andre Dirrell (right) had no sweat beating up and then stopping Derrick Findley on Saturday in Miami, Okla. Photo / Tom Casino-Showtime

Former Olympian Andre Dirrell stopped an overmatched Derrick Findley in six rounds in a scheduled 10-round super middleweight bout Saturday in Miami, Okla.

Dirrell (18-0, 13 knockouts) almost stopped the much-shorter Findley (13-3, eight KOs) in the opening round and delivered a one-sided beating the rest of the way.

Findley, who took the fight on short notice, finally had enough and quit after the fifth round.



Dirrell has stopped his last six opponents.

“It was target practice all day, all the time” said Dirrell, who switched from orthodox to southpaw several times. “Crazy as this might sound, I actually wanted the fight to go 10 rounds just to get in some work and to get more time to show off some of my ability.

“But this isn’t all about talent. It’s about hard work and dedication.”

Dirrell, who ranked in the Top 12 in each of the four major sanctioning bodies, seems to be ready for a major challenge.

“I’ll fight any of the champions right now,” he said. “It doesn’t matter which one. I’m greedy. I want all the belts.”

On the undercard, Harry Joe Yorgey (22-0-1, 10 KOs)stopped Ronald Hearns (21-1, 17 KOs) in the ninth round of a wild junior middleweight fight.

Hearns, the son of Hall of Famer Thomas Hearns, went down three times and Yorgey went down once.

“I’m obviously very disappointed, but it’s just something that I have to write off as a learning experience,” he said. “I was knocked down hard but I kept getting up. I never thought for a second that I wasn’t going to get him and that I was not without a chance.

“This is a very difficult moment, but I know I will bounce back. Give me two or three more fights and I would love to fight him again.”

SIGN UP TO GET RING NEWS ALERTS