Andre Dirrell was less than impressed with James DeGale in Boston on Saturday, with the American criticising the new champion for running in their bout.
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DeGale claimed a unanimous points decision win over the American to secure the IBF super-middleweight world title, but Dirrell was adamant that he had done enough to triumph.
The British star floored his rival in the second round with a big left hand over the top, and that shook the American who fell to the canvas again shortly after.
However, instead of finishing the fight off, DeGale retreated from the sixth round onwards which in turn allowed his opponent to regain his focus and take the front-foot in the bout.
While one of the judges was criticised for the margin of his win in DeGale’s favour, the other two had it 114-112 to the 29-year-old, but Dirrell feels as though he was the more aggressive fighter and deserved more recognition.
“They said I ran from Carl Froch and they took that fight from me,” said Dirrell, according to Fightnews.com.
“He ran tonight and they gave it to him. All he did was run, no way I lost this fight!”
His comments are in stark contrast to DeGale’s post-fight thoughts, with the new champion complimentary towards his rival as he insisted that he was a skilled and tough opponent and considered him the third best fighter in the division.
However, after the controversy of losing to Froch, Dirrell now has two losses on his record and although he may have a point regarding his comeback and forcing the fight through the middle rounds, he ultimately didn’t do enough to recover from his poor start.
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