Battling Badou Jack over the course of 12 rounds last Friday night at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Anthony Dirrell knew he had to dig in late in the fight if he was going to have a shot to pull out the win.
Anthony Dirrell immediately got back in the gym after Friday's loss to Badou Jack.
When the scoring came down, the first card by judge Roberto Hecko had it 114-114. Disappointing, sure, but not insurmountable. Then came the results from judges Hubert Minn and Rey Danseco: 116-112 and 115-113, respectively, for Jack.
“I felt like the fight was close, but I still feel like I pulled it off,” Anthony Dirrell said. “I think I won the last two rounds. He didn’t really hit me the last two rounds and those are the championship rounds.
“It was a bad day for me. I don’t want to come up with any excuses at all. He fought an excellent fight, but it was a bad day for me. I didn’t feel right going in there. I felt sluggish. Big ups to him. I couldn’t shoot my shots like I wanted to. If anybody’s watched my fights before, you know how I fight, and I don’t fight like I fought. But I’m not making any excuses. He came in there and did his job, and I guess he got the job done.”
With the loss, Dirrell falls to 27-1-1 (22 KOs). He wants to make sure it doesn’t get to 27-2-1. He’s already back in the gym and hopes to fight within 90 days. Whether that fight comes in the form of a new opponent or a rematch with Jack is long from being decided.
“He is the champion now,” Dirrell said. “I would love a rematch if you give it to me, but if not, I’ll just work my way back up and get it.”
For the full recap of Dirrell vs Jack, visit our fight page for highlights, photos and video.
