BROOKLYN — In an anticipated rematch from last year’s controversial post-fight outcome that almost was scrapped during the broadcast, Jose Uzcategui outclassed Andre Dirrell by gaining the stoppage in the eighth round of action and got his revenge from the Barclay’s Center on Saturday night.
Uzcategui came out as the aggressor, as he said he would before the bout, and utilized a left hook to Dirrel’s body in order to keep him in potential positions for further combinations. The orthodox Dirrell attempted to establish his jab, but could not find a consistent rhythm in order to shift the momentum in his favor. Uzcategui’s (27-2, 23 KOs) shots were so connected, that Dirrell’s face began experiencing swelling in the first half of the fight.
Dirrell (26-3, 16 KOs), who seemed timid at times, felt the harsh words from his corner as the end of the bout came closer. His new trainer, Virgil Hunter, became blunt with him, as he [Hunter] realized a victory on the cards was out of reach.
“We need a knockout to win,” Hunter exclaimed to Dirrell.
Dirrell, who was the victor by a disqualification result last May in their initial meet up, seemingly adhered to his corner’s advice for a brief time, however, this did not last long as Uzcategui still found openings for further damage. As the eighth began, Dirrell stood in the corner with his cut team and the ringside physician examined him for an extended period of time. By Dirrel’s body language, it did not seem as though he wanted to continue and the physician waved his hands which prompted Dirrell to show his displeasure.
Uzcategui jumped into the air after the announcement as he realized he got what he came for — revenge. Following the conclusion, the Venezuelan Uzcategui stated he wanted a shot a WBC super middleweight world champion David Benevidez, who just recently defeated Ronald Gavril on the undercard of Danny Garcia and Brandon Rios. With fighters such as Benevidez, WBO world champion Gilberto Ramirez and now Uzcategui, the super middleweight division is looking like one of the more prominent divisions to monitor as time progresses.
(Feature photo: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME)
