Anthony Dirrell snatches a must-win victory against Marcos Hernandez!
In his latest in-ring skirmish, super middleweight fighter Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell (32-2-2, 24 KO’s) snagged a clutch win over tough competitor Marcos “Madman” Hernandez (15-4-2, 3 KO’s). The Dog, 37, achieved his goal by stopping Hernandez in the fourth round of their ten round bout. The dustup was especially important to Dirrell. This is because it both kept his dream of fighting for a world title alive and it took place on the high profile undercard of Alvarez vs Plant.
Heading into the fight, Dirrell was ranked #5 (WBC), #9 (WBA) and #13 (IBF). The Flint, Michigan native firmly knew that he’d have to win impressively to improve his standings. This realization was reinforced by his exceedingly lackluster, surprise draw against Kyrone Davis in his last at bat. With the knockout win however, Dirrell has blown new life into his career. It will be interesting to see who the former two-time super middleweight champion will dance with next.
As for Marcos Hernandez, this loss will be viewed by many as simply being par for the course. Coming in he was viewed as nothing more than a tune-up opponent. That is not to say he is without any merit whatsoever. Even though he was a heavy underdog, his resume does have some solid names that pop out. He’d previously fought Alantez Fox, former unified junior middleweight champion Jesion Rosario and the late Patrick Day. With that being said, he did lose to all three. At 28 years old, and with little practical punching power to speak of, Hernandez had little more than youth on his side to edge out Dirrell. Clearly, that was not enough.
A WIN IN STYLE
Right from the very first hard punch that he landed, Dirrell seemed to bother and rattle the rather soft looking Hernandez. Aside from the brisk and exciting opening, there was not an overabundance of action to report. Dirrell did connect with a short uppercut in the closing second of the opening period, but it was largely an information gathering session.
Just as the Dog was getting a bit overly aggressive in the first minute of the second, the Madman clipped him with a sobering left hook. About thirty seconds later, he popped Dirrell with a crisp uppercut. It certainly must have been troubling for Dirrell fans to see him falling short of his mark with greater frequency. Along with this, the Dog was beginning to stumble off his own feet from time to time. Meanwhile the Madman was finding his groove in the second. He was more in control during the third.
When fighting on the inside, where most of the action was conducted, Hernandez did well blinding Dirrell with a peppering, range-finding jab and ripping hard hooks to the head and torso. Just as it appeared things may be turning nasty for Dirrell, he obliterated Hernandez with a neck-snapping right uppercut at the top of the fourth! The tough Californian crumpled to his back and started waving his gloves around like he was throwing gang signs. The Madman would make it to his feet but was in no condition to continue. Referee Celestino Ruiz quickly halted the contest. The eye-popping knockout was just the statement Anthony Dirrell was looking for.
By: Bakari Simpson
