Super Six Round by Round Coverage: Abraham vs Taylor & Froch vs Dirrell

Welcome to The Boxing Bulletin's round by round blog coverage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic opening night fights.

Showtime's broadcast is set to begin at 8 PM EST, and updates will start as soon as the show starts.

Arthur Abraham 30-0 (168) vs Jermain Taylor 28-3-1 (166 1/4) - This bout is being broadcast on tape delay, and so will our round by round coverage. If you're watching live in Europe, we ask that you please don't post results in the comments section. Thanks.

Carl Froch 25-0 (167 1/2) vs Andre Dirrell 18-0 (167 1/2)

If you are here early, check out some of our stories on tonight's fights... The Brave & The Bold: The Super Six Shoot-out by Jeff Pryor Andre Dirrell Ready To Show He Belongs With Heavy Hitters by Michael Nelson Carl Froch Is Too Rough And Tough For Andre Dirrell by Lee Payton Can Jermain Taylor Upset Arthur Abraham by Lee Payton Super Six Opening Night Predictions: Froch vs Dirrell & Abraham vs Taylor by The Boxing Bulletin Writers

Refresh this page often as updates will be frequent 5:00 PM EST... Coverage will start in 3 hours. 7:10... We're less than an hour away. Make sure to check back in with us at 8 sharp for the start of our coverage. 7:45... We are 15 minutes away from the start of tonight's action. Just a reminder that the Abraham/Taylor fight is being broadcast by Showtime on tape delay. Please don't post any spoilers in the comments. 8:02... The show's started. First up, Abraham vs Taylor from Berlin and then Froch vs Taylor from Nottingham. Gus Johnson is hosting the show from Nottingham. 8:03... Al Bernstein and Antonio Tarver are with Johnson in Nottingham. 8:04... Right now, Johnson is just going over the first round match-ups along with the tournament format. 8:07... Steve Albert and Steve Farhood will be handling the Berlin commentary. 8:09... Just chatter going on right now. 8:12... Looks like we're ready to go. Michael Buffer... "Let's get this party started..." 8:13... You can sense a real buzz in the arena, as the crowd is clapping as Taylor makes his way in. Good to see the visiting man getting a nice welcome. 8:14... Farhood just mentioned that Taylor had to lose 20 pounds in 20 days before the Froch fight, but has been on weight since arriving in Berlin. Taylor's now in the ring, bouncing up and down. 8:14... Albert just mentioned that Abraham has a very elaborate entrance planned. 8:17... Here comes Abraham being lowered down from a suspended platform to the sounds of a live band playing on a stage at one end of the arena. We've got some smoke and flashing lights happening as well. 8:19... Michael Buffer with the formal introductions. 8:20... The ref is Guadalupe Garcia. 8:21... Abraham is introduced first and leaps in the air as his name is called out. 8:22... Taylor does that thing where he rubs his feet back and forth on the canvas with his glove in the air as he's introduced. 8:22... We're ready to go! 8:26... Round 1 is underway. Taylor circling to his left to start. He flicks out a jab into the guard. Abraham in ring center, as Taylor slowly circles and pumps the jab into the guard. Abraham has his gloves up high as usual as he peers out between hsi guard. Taylor with a swinging left hook that misses. Taylor now fires a hook into the guard. Abraham slowly edges forward, and Taylor sticks a few jabs out. Maybe 1 got through. Abraham now comes forward and fires a right hand that Taylor appears to have blocked. Abraham now tries to jab to the body. Taylor with a couple more jabs into the guard. 1:10 to go. Taylor has his left low as usual, with his right poised. Now he fires a right hand to the body. Abraham misses over the top with a big hook as Taylor ducks underneath. Taylor now with a left/right combo, but those seem to have been picked off. Abraham edges forward, not really letting his hands go though. Taylor now moves right and then left. Abraham is short with a jab. Taylor with a 1-2, not sure if either got through, but he fires a right hand to the body that landed. Taylor with a left that may have got through. There's the bell. Solid round for Taylor. 8:27...We just saw a highlight of Abraham getting through with a right hand. I had initially thought the shot had been blocked, but it got through. 8:31... Abraham edging forward here. Taylor flicking the jab and and slowly moving from left to right. Abraham with the gloves up high, picking off most of these jabs. Now he fires his own jab which is blocked. Taylor with a couple jabs, and then flurries to the body, and one appeared to stray low there. Abraham reacts by backing away and the ref has called time. Replay confirms it was definitely low and Abraham is getting some time to recover. We're back at it. Maybe 30 seconds break there. 1:35 to go in the round. Taylor sticking the jab out. Abraham responds with his own jab that gets through. Now Abraham comes forward and fires a winging right that seemed to catch Taylor around the guard. Taylor flicking a couple more jabs out. A couple more. Now he digs an uppercut on the inside that seemed to land. Taylor with a 1-2. Taylor now tries to dig to the body, and then wings a hook that misses. Abraham with a 1-2 that's short. Taylor the busier of the two fighters. Abraham comes forward with a 1-2, and then fires a left that I think got through. Now Abraham comes forward, fires a 1-2, and Taylor grabbed a hold of him, and Abraham then appeared to land a shot to the back of Taylor's head in the clinch. Taylor got a little turned around in the clinch there, and Abraham whacked him. 8:35... Valuev is in attendance. We just saw a shot of him. Farhood has Taylor winning the first 2. Taylor is sticking out the jab to start the 3rd round, and moving from left to right. Abraham patiently following. Abraham sticks out a jab that's short. Action mostly in the middle of the ring, although Taylor is doing a fair bit of moving, but never getting pinned on the ropes. He's looking fairly comfortable. Taylor with a hook that might have got around Abraham's guard. Abraham with the gloves up catching a jab. Taylor with ac couple more jabs into the guard, but then gets a jab through. Then fires a couple more into the guard. And a couple more. Albert commenting that Taylor's expending energy here. Taylor with a 1-2. The right hand might have got through around the guard. Now Abraham fires a big right hand that misses. Now he fires one that lands clean. Best punch of the fight by either man there. Taylor fires back with a jab. Now Abraham digs to the body with a 1-2. Abraham fires a hard right hand again. Might have got through with that one. Now Abraham comes forward, and Taylor ties him up and Abraham again fires to the back of Taylor's head. Garcia doesn't seem interested though as Taylor complains. 8:35... Garcia just came to Taylor's corner and said he wants a clean fight. Perhaps he should warn Abraham for whacking Taylor behind the head if that's the case. 8:39... Taylor comes charging out of his corner to start round 4, firing off a combo. Not sure though if anything landed though. Albert comments that Taylor appears really ticked off about some of those rabbit shots. Taylor now fires a combo to the body and he's warned by Garcia. That did appear low, but he's got to be calling this from both sides as I didn't notice him saying a word to Abraham earlier. Now Taylor resumes firing the jab into the guard. He fires a right hand in behind a jab that was also blocked. More jabs from Taylor and another right is blocked. Taylor is having a hard time getting through Abraham's guard. Now Abraham edges forward, and almost slipped. Abraham edging forward, firing the jab, but Taylor slips out of trouble before Abraham could fire off a right. Now Abraham comes forward and flurries to the body. Abraham a little more active now. Now Taylor fires an uppercut into the guard, and then fires a body shot. Abraham comes back with some hard body shots. Abraham flicking the jab out. Abraham tries to flurry with about 10 seconds left. Taylor tries to respond. There's the bell, and the fighters touch gloves to acknowledge the fight heating up. 8:40... Abraham's corner telling to trust himself, and they want some action from their fighter. 8:44... Round 5 is underway. Taylor flicking the jab out. Abraham responds with his own jab that lands. Taylor with a jab that gets through. Abraham digs to the body. Now Abraham with a jab. Abraham getting busier. He's landing that jab when he throws it. Taylor short with his own jab. Abraham's guard has come down, he looks a little looser here in the 5th. Now Taylor with a couple jabs and Abraham has the guard back up and catches them both. Taylor then tries to flurry to the body, but Abraham gets in that shell and catches the shots on the elbows. Abraham coming forward, and lands a jab. Now Abraham flurrying to the body. Abraham with a 1-2. Abraham flicks out a jab, that's just short. Farhood comments that this has been by far Abraham's most effective round and it definitely has been. Action in the center of the ring. There's a decent but messy exchange as both fighters let their hands go. Abraham with a jab. Abraham with a jab and a hard right hand. That pushed Taylor back. Taylor now edging ever so closer towards the ropes, and now gets back into the center of the ring. There's another exchange just before the bell. 8:45... Jim Gray is with Carl Froch in Nottingham. He's asking Froch about his comment regarding Dirrell only arriving in England 6 days before the fight. Froch mentions that he feels you need a longer period to get comfortable. 8:49... Back to Berlin. Round 6. Abraham with a left hand, and a right hand. Abraham looking determined here. Taylor though responds with a flurry, although Abraham's got those ear muffs on and appears to catch most of it. Abraham edging forward. He fires a jab, that's short, and then the fighters get tied up. Taylor jabs into the gloves. More jabs from Taylor, one might have got through. Abraham tries to flurry, but his shots are blocked as well. Abraham now digs hard to the body. Taylor jabs, and then eats a counter jab. Taylor flicking out the jabs, and then fires a combo downstairs. Abraham reacts saying it's low and Garcia agrees. He's taking a point! Come'on! It's been a chippy fight. Abraham's committed his share on infractions, and now to take a point from Taylor!? Taylor gets back to jabbing as the action resumes. Abraham with a 1-2. Now the ref again cautions Taylor to keep them up. Abraham has the shell defense, and the elbows tucked, and there's not much room to find an opening. Now Abraham backs Taylor up with a jab and a right hand. Taylor trying to jab back. Abraham with a hook that's just short. Taylor misses with a counter. That's followed by a sloppy exchange. There's the bell. Things getting a little frantic. 8:49... They showed a replay. It was low, and Taylor has been warned. But I think a point was still very harsh, given the chippy nature of the bout. Neither man has been totally clean. 8:53... Round 7. Taylor with a jab, and fires a right hand. Abraham with the gloves up, comes forward and sticks a jab. Taylor now short with a jab, and fires a couple into the guard. Taylor now short with a jab. Taylor misses with a right uppercut. Now he does get a jab through. Abraham fires a hook that misses. Taylor jabbing and moving to his left. Abraham with a right into the guard. Taylor with a jab. Abraham with a jab and an overhand right that I think got through. Now Abraham digs with a flurry to the body. Abraham now lowering his hands a bit and slips a Taylor jab as he backs away. Now he's got the gloves up again. Taylor jabbing and gets one through. Albert comments that the jab is the only thing getting through for Taylor and it's not doing any damage. Now Abraham fires to the body. He lands a chopping right as well. Now there's a clinch, and the fighters heads almost came together. Taylor looked tempted to whack Abraham in the back of the head during the clinch but resisted. Now Abraham comes forward with a 1-2. Now he digs to the body and has Taylor backing up. Taylor quickly on the retreat. Taylor tries to jab, but misses as the round ends. 8:53... Taylor's corner is telling him to watch Abrham's right hand. He says he's seeing it. 8:56... Albert comments that things are getting urgent in the Taylor corner. The fight has definitely turned during the last 3 rounds. Taylor though keeps working the jab. He now tries to counter Abraham who lunged in with a right hand, but misses. Taylor comes forward and Abraham slips a right hand. Abraham with the gloves up, comes forward and fires a right hand. Another one, but that missed. Action in the center of the ring. Taylor short with a jab. Abraham short with a right as Taylor backs away. 1:30 to go. Farhood comments that Abraham is inconsistent with his offense and Albert agrees that his attacks are sporadic. Taylor with a nice jab. Another nice jab. Abrham with his gloves down now as he backs away. Now Abraham fires back with a right, although it missed. Taylor tries to respond with his right, but doesn't get through. Now Abraham attacks and backs Taylor up with a flurry to the body. Abraham is fighting in spurts, but they are more effective than Taylor's steady jabs that are mostly blocked. Another round to Abraham says Farhood at the bell. He's got the hometown fighter up by 1 after 8. 8:58... Jim Gray is with Dirrell. Andre admits being a little nervous. He says if Froch thinks he's going to get tired, he's in for a big shock. 9:01... Taylor sticking the jab out to start the 9th. Not really getting through with it. Abraham has the gloves up, catching these. Now Abraham with his hands down low and he avoids a couple shots from Taylor as he backs off. Abraham now blocks a couple shots to the body. Abraham with a big right hand! That staggered Taylor. Taylor is looking a bit unsteady as Abraham chases him. Abraham trying to flurry, but Taylor holds on. Abraham fires a big right, but misses. Taylor seems to have his legs back. Some nervous moments though for 15-20 seconds. Abraham following, but not letting his hands go. Now they tie up. Farhood comments on the inconsistency of Abraham's attack as he felt he could have really tried to pour it on but didn't. Taylor now back to firing the jab. He lands one. Abraham not throwing. Now he's backing off with his hands down. Perhaps a bit winded from the sudden rush of energy. Now Taylor with a jab that's short. 10 seconds to go. Abraham with his left hanging low, backing away as the bell rings. 9:02... It was a short straight right that hurt Taylor. He looked in a fair bit of trouble for a few seconds, but managed to move and hold. 9:05... Round 10. Taylor back to the jab. Abraham with the gloves up, edging forward. Taylor jabbing into the guard. Abraham with a jab into the guard. Farhood comments that Taylor has just not been effective since the 5th round. Abraham misses with a right. Taylor jabbing, and circling. Now they clinch. 2:00 to go. Taylor short with a hook. Abraham short with a jab. Taylor with a jab. Strange that Abraham hasn't really pressed and tried to test Taylor. He might be a bit tired as well. Now he comes forward and flurries to the body. Albert comments that Abraham looks a bit winded. Now Abraham with his guard down. He tries to flurry, but misses as Taylor backs away. Now he attacks with both hands. I think a couple got through, although Taylor had his gloves up. Now Taylor backing away, as Abraham edges forward. Abraham with a right. Now Abraham with a 1-2. Abraham pressing a bit over the last 30 seconds. Now he misses with a couple hooks. 10 seconds to go. Abraham fires a right at the bell, which I think was blocked. 9:10... Round 11. Abraham appears to be in control at the moment, but he's got an issue with his trunks slipping down in the back. His corner has tied them up to avoid a potentially embarrassing mishap. Albert comments that it's been a very difficult second half of the fight for Taylor. Taylor flicking out the jab to start the round. Abraham with the gloves up, patiently stalking. Taylor with a shot that strayed low, but Garcia missed it. Abraham with a jab. Taylor with a jab. Abraham comes forward, firing shots to the body as Taylor backs into the ropes. Abraham tries to flurry, but Taylor gets out of there. Action moves back to the middle of the ring. Abraham now is the one circling, as Taylor pressing. Taylor fires a right hand that lands. Now Taylor jabbing into the guard. Now Abraham with a jab into the guard, and he backs up Taylor. A jab, and a 1-2 from Abraham who backs Taylor into the ropes and flurries to the body. Taylor gets out of there though. Abraham with his left hand hanging low now as he's boxing from the outside. Taylor tries to dig to the body. Now Taylor misses with a right. I think both fighters are looking a little tired here. Abraham fires a 1-2 that backs Taylor off. Abraham edges forward with the jab. Now he fires a right hand that backs Taylor off, and fires another right hand. There's the bell. 9:15... Round 12. Taylor needs something dramatic here. Albert says that he has to know he's behind. Taylor edges forward behind the jab. He fires a right hand, but it's blocked. Abraham with the guard up. Taylor with a jab into the guard. Both Albert and Farhood comment that Taylor is showing no urgency. He's just firing jabs and the occasional right from a distance, but not pressing. He sticks a couple jabs in. Abraham fires a right. Abraham now digs to the body. Every once in awhile, Abraham goes on the offensive, usually with more success than Taylor. Now Abrhaam tries to flurry with some big shots, but caught mostly air. 1:00 to go. Abrhaam lands a left hook. Abraham with a right hand. Abraham turning it up here. He landed a right hand. Now he's circling as Taylor comes forward. Taylor is short with a jab though. 30 seconds to go. Taylor has a right hand blocked. Abraham with his hands down, backs away as Taylor misses a right. Wow! A huge shot by Abraham. Taylor is flat on his back! He's out. He crashed straight backwards towards the canvas. Garcia started to count, but there was no point! This is over. 9:16... Taylor is thankfully up and appears to be okay. Abraham is on the turnbuckle saluting the crowd. There's a shot of Mikkel Kessler clapping with a smile. 9:17... That was a one shot deal there, and looked scary for a moment as Taylor was flat on his back. Credit to Abraham for going over to check on Taylor before he started celebrating too wildly. The replay just showed that it was a short right hand on the button that followed a wild left hook. 9:18... Taylor is walking around the ring. He's okay, which is good to see. He went down VERY hard. 9:20... Albert mentions that Taylor is not eliminated - it's a round robin format - not single elimination, and that he'll be fighting Andre Ward next. You have to ask if that's a good idea? After 2 straight KO's? Granted the fights have been set, but Taylor's team and the tournament organizers I think need to consider whether that's in his best interests. 9:20... The official time was 2:54 of round 12. Now we're off to Nottingham. 9:26... Back to Berlin for an interview with Abraham. "Taylor is a good fighter, maybe I'm better." He says with a smile. "I was going for the KO, but I knew I was ahead on points." I should mention this is with the help of an interpreter. Farhood asks if going for a KO was on his mind since KO winners get an extra point. "No, only win is very important." How does he see the Froch/Dirrell fight? "My full focus has been on Taylor, and I haven't seen a single fight of Dirrell." To close, Arthur says he's looking forward to coming to America. 9:27... Now we're back to Nottingham with Johnson, Bernstein and Tarver. 9:30... After some chatter from those guys, we're back to Berlin. Farhood is with Taylor outside his dressing room. "I'm a little hurt, but that comes along with the territory. I trained hard and gave it all I had, but didn't get the victory." Where did you think you were in the fight going into the 12th asks Farhood? "I don't even remember... he just caught me. I thought I was in the best shape of my life... This is boxing, you've got expect the worst sometimes, this is a hard sport." 9:31... Back to Nottingham. Bernstein tells us the scores were 107-101, 106-102 and 105-103 for Abraham going into the 12th. 9:37... Just chatter going on right now. 9:38... Looks like we're getting underway. Jimmy Lennon Jr. with the intros and Andre Dirrell is making his way in. 9:39... Dirrell looks very relaxed as he heads to the ring. He waves to the crowd before he steps through the ropes. He's holding a US flag in each glove. 9:40... Here comes Froch to the sounds of, "We will rock you." He looks calm as well, but a little more intense than Dirrell. 9:41... Froch acknowledges the crowd before stepping through the ropes. He's got a black rope, with the hood still on and looks an intimidating figure. 9:43... Jimmy Lennon Jr. with the introductions. 9:44... The ref is Hector Afu. 9:45... "Live from Nottingham England, it's Showtime!" 9:46... Not the warmest reception for Dirrell. Some scattered boos. 9:47... The crowd is buzzing as Froch is introduced. 9:48... The fighters receiving their final instructions in the center of the ring. 9:48... Dirrell's in green and Froch in black. 9:48... We're underway. 9:52... Bernstein mentions the ring is 20*20 as will all the rings in the Super Six tournament. Both fighters very cautious to start, sizing each other up in the middle of the ring, with neither really taking the initiative. Now they both fire jabs from a distance. According to Johnson, Dirrell plans on fighting out of the orthodox stance for most of the bout. Very cagey stuff to start. Neither committing here. Now Froch comes forward with a wild left hook that misses badly. Dirrell flicking out a couple jabs that are short. Dirrell edging forward here, and he's talking to Froch. 1:00 to go. Taver comments on the difference in hand speed between the two fighters being very apparent early. Now Dirrell switches to southpaw. Froch comes forward and misses with a right as Dirrell dances away. 20 seconds left. Froch jabs to the body. 10 seconds to go. Dirrell with a jab. Froch is short with a jab. There's the bell. 9:55... Froch flicking out the jab here to start round 2. Both men still keeping their distance. Dirrell with a jab. Froch trying to edge forward, but not committing to the attack yet. Dirrell again flicks out a jab. Froch edges forward with the jab. Dirrell is short with a jab. 1:30 to go. Dirrell with a jab to the body. Froch tries to fire back with a right, but Dirrell backs away quickly. Dirrell now with a right hand to the body. Froch short with a right to the body, and is short with a jab. 1:00 to go. Froch edging forward with his left low, and fires a really wild right that misses badly. Now he chases Dirrell to the other side of the ring. Froch short with a couple jabs. 30 seconds left. Froch is having a problem getting close says Johnson. Dirrell with a sharp jab. 15 seconds left. Froch edges forward, but not throwing and Dirrell slips away. 9:58... Froch edging forward, as Dirrell moving to his left, and now to his right. Dirrell now boxing out of the southpaw stance. Froch edging forward, flicks the jab out but not landing it. Now he tries to chase Dirrell who slides away to his left. Froch moving forward, but Dirrell fires a jab, and a left to the body that's short. Froch showing respect for Dirrell's countering ability, as he's not just rushing in hard. 1:30 to go. Froch now edges forward, and misses. Dirrell misses with a counter. Froch is stalking, Dirrell is using the whole ring, and Froch is having a very hard time getting close enough. Dirrell hasn't really landed too much himself, but the occasional jab is finding the mark. Froch gtting closeer, and eats a counter, but then charges forward and Dirrell escapes to the other side of the ring at full speed. Froch fires a right hand, that is short. Dirrell really using a lot of movement here. Froch with a jab, that may have got through. Dirrell with a jab at the bell. 9:59... We just saw a replay of Froch chasing Dirrell accross the ring and getting a right hand in. 10:02...Dirrell fighting out of the southpaw stance here to start the 4th. He fires a straight left to the body that's short. Now he fires a left that may have got through. He's now edging forward a bit. Action now in the middle of the ring. A lot of feinting going on. Nice combo from Dirrell as Froch came forward. Now Dirrell with a sharp jab. Forch comes forward and Dirrell escapes to his left. Bernstein comments that it's important for Froch to go to the body. Johnson comments that there may be some blood coming from Dirrell's upper lift. Froch is short with a jab. Dirrell on the move to his left, now to his right. Froch misses with a right. Froch is chasing Dirrell as Dirrell going from one side of the ring to the other. Dirrell then stops and tries to fire a right that misses as Froch backs off. Froch trying to get closer. He fires a right hand as Dirrell backs into the corner and Dirrell ties him up. Action moves back to the middle of the ring. 10:05... Not thrilling stuff so far. Dirrell has landed the more effective shots, but he's doing a hell of a lot of running. Now Dirrell is back to righty to start this round, and he lands a right hand. Forch edging forward, but not fully committing to the attack as he's respecting Dirrell's speed on the counter. 2:00 to go. Dirrell fighting southpaw again. Forch feints with a right, but doesn't throw it, and Dirrell fires back with a right, and then they get tangled and Froch throws Dirrell down. Froch is given a warning which he acknowledges and the action resumes. 1:30 to. Dirrell comes forward and lands a right. Froch having a hell of a hard time getting close. Everytime he gets into range, Dirrell gets out of there quick. 55 seconds left. Froch is short with a jab. Dirrell short with his own jab. Dirrell with a right, then they clinch and Froch with a right hand in the clinch. Dirrell charges forward and they get tied up. The action has been fairly awkward at times here. Froch tries to mix it up, but Dirrell again gets out of there. 10:09... Action in the middle of the ring to start the 6th. Dirrell boxing out of the southpaw stance. Froch throwing the jab, an then lunges forward with a wild 1-2 that misses. Then Dirrell slips to the canvas. No knockdown there, and the ref wipes his gloves and they are back at it and there's a clinch. Dirrell now edging forward, and Froch tries to counter, and ends up getting Dirrell in a head lock. Some sloppy stuff here. Now Froch edges forward, is short with a jab, and Dirrell misses a counter and they clinch. Froch charges forward, and lands a decent left hand. Dirrell I think was bothered by that and he grabbed Froch. Froch responded by banging Dirrell in the clinch, and the ref tells them to keep it clean. Now Dirrell fires a hard 1-2. Froch keeps coming. Dirrell on his toes, going left, then right. Now Froch tries to attack and Dirrell locks up Froch's arm. More messy stuff. "Froch wants to get it a little ugly in there." - Bernstein. Now Froch presses forward and misses with a right as Dirrell slips away. Now Dirrell tries to grab Froch and Froch backs away and Dirrell slips to the canvas. Dirrell's winning this here, but his style is not a pleasing one. A lot o moving with some holding to go with it. 10:12... Froch misses with a jab, and Dirrell lands a coutner. Action in the middle of the ring as round 7 is underway. Froch edges forward. Dirrell sticks the jab and backs off. Froch trying to attack, but Dirrell slips away and they clinch. Dirrell with a jab. "A lot of close rounds." - Bernstein. Al has it 58-56 for Dirrell. Now Froch edges forward, backs Dirrell into a counter, but misses and Dirrell gets out of there. Now Froch lands a right, and Dirrell grabs a hold of him immediately. Now Dirrell grabs Froch again on the inside. The ref now warns Dirrell for all the holding. I'm not enjoying Dirrell's style at all tonight. Now he grabs Froch again. 1:00 to go. Froch comes forward, and Dirrell misses with a counter and ties Froch up who whacks Dirrell in the clinch. More holding from Dirrell. If this keeps up, the ref would be well within his rights to take a point. The ref is again warning Dirrell. Froch whacks Dirrell in the clinch and Dirrell doesn't like it. He had a word for the ref there. Froch then attacked and was caught with a hard left hook. Good shot there from Dirrell. 10:13... We just a replay of a couple of shots Froch landed on the inside. 10:16... Round 8. Al has it 1 point fight for Dirrell. Action in the middle of the ring. Dirrell with a decent counter over Froch's jab. Dirrell sticking the jab. Froch coming forward, Dirrell backing up and now moving to his left. He tries to jump in with a right, but is short. Now Dirrell again tries to jump in, but he slips to the canvas. Dirrell with a good right hand counter that catches Froch on the way in. Froch took it well and comes forward. Dirrell ties him up though. Froch trying to work in the clinch. Again Dirrell ties him up. Froch is getting rough in those clinches. Now Dirrell again holding and Froch trying to fight out of it. Nice to see the ref letting him do that. Dirrell with a solid counter right again. Froch though keeps coming and lands a hard left hand. That got Dirrell's attendion. Now Dirrell tries to hold on. Froch backs him. Dirrell grabs a hold of him. Yet another clinch. 10 seconds to go. Froch presses forward and gets tied up again. Messy stuff. 10:19... Round 9. Scorecards should be interesting. Direll with a couple of jabs to open the round. He's boxing righty at the moment. Froch edging forward. Froch is short with a jab. Dirrell backing away. Direll now with a jab, and then gets out of there. Froch charges forward as Dirrell backs away. Froch with a jab. Froch misses with a hook. Froch edging forward. Dirrell moving to his left. Tarver comments that Dirrell has a knot by his right eye and it might matter later on. Nice counter left from Dirrell as Froch was coming in. Now Dirrell switches southpaw. Froch tries to attack, and they clinch. Froch comes forward and lands with a hook, while Dirrell lands with a counter and grins. Froch comes forward and tries to rough Dirrell up as they clinch. Froch edges forward and Dirrell ducks down and Froch nails him, an the ref warns Froch for hitting behind the head. He was guilty of it there. Now they clinch again. 20 seconds left. Froch comes forward and tries to bang the body as Dirrell backs along the ropes. Froch again tries to dig downstairs, and they mix it up along the ropes. Al though that was a good round for Froch, while Johnson thought it was a good round for Dirrell. 10:23... Dirrell with a couple jabs to start the 10th. Dirrell with a counter right. Dirrell in the southpaw stance. Froch comes forward and presses Dirrell in the counter, only to get tied up. Froch keeps coming. He misses wildly with a right and gets tied up again. 2:00 to go. Froch coming forward, but Dirrell lands a counter and ties him up. Dirrell with a left hand. Froch with a jab. Froch presses forward, and they get tied up in the corner. Froch with a jab, and a right hand in the clinch. Froch now bangs the body with a right hand, and Dirrell ties him up along the ropes and walks him into the corner. Now Dirrell is going to lose a point for holding. Al's not a fan of the deduction, pointing out that both men have been breaking the rules. Froch pressing forward. Dirrell slips away to his left, but eats a right hand. Froch now misses with a big right, and eats a big counter left hand. That caught Froch flush. Now Dirrell goes after Froch, but is wild in doing so. Froch now resumes the chase, and Dirrell gets back to moving. 10 seconds left. Froch attacks, and got hurt by a counter left. Froch looked in a bit of trouble as Dirrel went after him, but Froch fires back before the bell. 10:24... Froch's corner isn't pleased. "You're walking in with your hands down!" 10:24... It was a counter right from Dirrell that landed hard near the end of the 10th. 10:27... Al points out that this is first time Dirrell has seen the 11th round. Dirrell is fighting southpaw again. Froch comes forward and tries to bang the body. He presses Dirrell in the corner, but Dirrell makes him miss and fires back with a counter. Froch follows as Dirrell escapes. Now Dirrell lands a hard left hand! That caught Froch flush, and Dirrell goes after him. Now Froch with a hard right hand! Dirrell ties him up immediately. Some decent shots getting exchanged here in the 11th. Froch with a left hand misses over the top with a right. Now Froch bangs the body. Now FRoch with a jab and chases Dirrell accross the ring. Froch trying to flurry, but Dirrell rolling with these shots on the ropes. Now Froch smacks him with a short right in the clinch. Fronch with a nice combo. 30 seconds left. Dirrell with a nice counter. Now they clinch again. Dirrell misses with a right. Now Froch comes back with a right hand just before the bell. 10:28... Round 12 coming up. 10:28... "Back him up." - Froch's corner. 10:31... Froch coming forward here in the 12th, but Dirrell lands a counter. Now Froch tries to flurry, but can't land. Dirrell gets out of there. Now Dirrell firs a hard right, that's blocked. Now they clinch again. Dirrell with a left hand counter. Froch coming forward. Dirrell moving to his right. Dirrell jumps in with a combo. Froch witha right hand uppercut. Now they clinch. Dirrell walks Froch into the ropes in the clinch. 1:30 to go. Froch with a jab. FRoch just misses with a right hand, and Dirrell escapes to his right. 1:10 to go. They exchange jabs. Dirrell comes forard with a 1-2, and they clinch. Froch trying to come back, but Dirrell again fires back. Froch presses Direll into the corner and tries to flurry. Now Dirrell ties him up. 30 seconds to go. Froch again backs Dirrell into the corner and tries to Flurry. Dirrell though comes back with his own flurry. 10 seconds left. Froch trying to close strong. Dirrell back pedals and Froch chases. Froch tries to flurry along the ropes, and there's the bell. This one is going to the cards. 10:32... I think Dirrell's got this one. His tactics weren't pleasing, but he landed the cleaner shots. 10:33... Here's Jimmy Lennon with the decision. It's a split one. 114-113 for Dirrell. 115-112 for Froch. The fighters are seated on one knee together in the middle of the ring awaiting the final card. 115-112 for the winner... Carl Froch. 10:34... Great sportsmanship from both men there. 10:36... Jim Gray is with Dirrell. Dirrell feels like he earned the decision, but isn't too angry. He's not pleased though about the point deduction. 10:37... Gray asks Dirrell if he felt he had a chance to win the decision in Nottingham. "Of course I did, or I wouldn't have come out here." 10:38... Very classy from Dirrell. He says he'll be back in the gym working harder, and takes nothing away from Froch. 10:39... Gus and Al are chatting now, as they wait for Gray to get a hold of Froch. 10:40... Press row had it 115-113, 115-114 for Froch and 114-114. Al likes the 114-114 card. 10:41... Froch is now with Gray. He feels he won the fight. He says that Dirrell just didn't want to stand and fight and though very negatively. "What am I supposed to do if he's not going to stand and fight?" 10:42... Gray asks Froch what he thinks of Dirrell calling it a hometown decision. "That's nonsense." You know, that's not fair at all from Gray. Dirrell was very respectful in the interview and accepted the result, and Gray really had to bring any complaints out of him. To then tell Froch that Dirrell's full of complaints is bull-shit. 10:43... Gray asks Froch about Kessler... "I'm looking forward to it... he'll stand and trade with him and that's what the fans want to see." 10:44... That's it for our coverage of the Super Six Opening Night. Hope you enjoyed it and make sure you come back and check out our future round by round blogs. 10:45... One final note. Jermain Taylor was taken to hospital for observations as he suffered a concussion. Sounds like it's strictly precautionary.