(FLINT, MICH.) – Andre “The Matrix” Dirrell (Flint, Mich.) (18-0, 13 KOs) and his grandfather, Leon “Bumper” Lawson have dreamt of his first World Title Fight since Dirrell was a young child, and the duo have finally gotten their wish. He will face WBC Super Middleweight champion Carl “The Cobra” Froch in Froch’s hometown of Nottingham, England, on October 17, on the opening day of Showtime’s World Boxing Classic. Dirrell and his team opened training camp today in Big Bear, Calif., in preparation for the October 17 match-up.
With the biggest fight of his career just under two months away, Dirrell is fine- tuning his focus on Froch and Showtime tournament, and believes Big Bear will be the perfect location for the upcoming training camp. Dirrell is being joined by his longtime trainer and grandfather, Leon Lawson, Sr., and uncle Leon Lawson, Jr., in Big Bear. Yet, he is making changes for the Froch fight as well, bringing in both a nutritionist and strength and conditioning coach for his first world title fight.
“I’m going to be completely focused on boxing in this training camp,” Dirrell said. “I’m going to eat, sleep and train the sport. I don’t want to leave any doubt.”
The Froch camp will be the first for Team Dirrell in Big Bear after holding past training camps in Florida, Texas and Las Vegas. Dirrell knows that the Froch fight and the Showtime Super Six Tournament are different than his previous contests and is looking forward to making a statement in his first world title fight. “I’m going to work on things that I haven’t been working on before,” Dirrell said. “We are going to go back to basics in addition to working off of my natural ability.”
While Dirrell will be traveling to Froch’s own backyard for the world title fight, he isn’t concerned about facing a hostile crowd. The 25-year-old Olympic medalist became accustomed to boxing in foreign lands during his stellar amateur career and battled boos in each of his bouts at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece en route to a bronze medal. He looks forward to silencing Froch’s fans with a victorious performance at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham.
In addition to preparing for his Super Six debut, he is always there to support his younger brother in his own career in the boxing ring. Dirrell recently traveled to Primm, Nev., to cheer on younger brother, Anthony, as he notched his 17th professional victory. A father of two young children, Dirrell enjoyed a week at home with his family prior to traveling to Big Bear for training camp.
Follow Andre Dirrell on twitter at www.twitter.com/andredirrell to get the latest updates on his training camp and his thoughts on the Froch fight.