In an impressive punching display, former WBC 168lb champion Anthony Dirrell (29-1-1, 23 KOs) smashed the game but limited 32-year-old Caleb Truax (26-3-2, 16 KOs) in stopping him in the 1st round after putting him down twice in the 1st round on Friday night at the Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Dirrell stunned Truax with a right hand and then put him on the canvas with another right. Truax was able to continue fighting, but he was knocked down with the first clean landing shot that Dirrell threw. The fight was stopped immediately after the second knockdown. The fight was stopped at 1:49 of the round.
In the main event, super middleweight Andre Dirrell (25-2, 16 KOs) out-boxed Blake Caparello (22-2-1, 6 KOs) in winning a 10 round decision. Caparello knocked Dirrell down in the 2nd round with a chopping left hand. Dirrell got back up and was able to dominate the remainder of the fight. The judges scored it 98-91, 98-91 and 98-91.
Dirrell was pretty loud and vocal after the fight, making it seem like he felt he had done a great job tonight. He didn’t. Dirrell did not impress at all. He was wrestling on the inside and smothering his work all night long. Dirrell did not look like a top super middleweight. At 32, Dirrell is running out of time to make the improvements he needs for him to win a world title.
It had been 11 months since DIrrell last fought in May of last year against James DeGale, and he showed no improvement from those fights. Dirrell looked worse tonight. His punches lacked the speed and explosiveness we saw in the past from him. Dirrell was mostly just sluggish. Dirrell looked incapable of throwing sustained punches like he had been able to do in the past.
The only time in the fight that Dirrell was able to throw continuous punches was briefly in the 10th round. Even then, he fell forward and started leaning and resting against Caparello. Dirrel’s stamina looks shot, as does he as a whole.
