The speed of Dirrell controlled the tempo early. Froch appeared to be tentative as he tried to figure out a way to get in close. Dirrell landed some nice counters as Froch would swing and miss wildly. Looking calm and loose, Dirrell continued to pump his jab and land counters from the outside. In the third round, Dirrell began to sit down on his punches, focusing on landing hard left hands to the body. Froch would turn up the heat though, landing a nice right hand that snapped Dirrell's head back.
In the fourth round, Dirrell began to let his hands go, landing hard and fast combinations. Dirrell's speed would continue to frustrate Froch, who took his anger out by tossing Dirrell down to the canvas at one point. The action heated up in the 6th and 7th round as Froch was able to turn it into a brawl, landing some wild punches from the outside and roughing Dirrell up on the inside. Dirrell's output began to slow while Froch started to find a home for his left hook and right hand.
Dirrell picked it back up in the 9th round, landing some nice counter punches. He continued to control the action in the 10th, but when a point deduction came into play, Dirrell turned up the heat, landing several combinations and left hands that rocked Froch at the end of the round. Perhaps looking for the knockout, Dirrell really let his hands go more in the 11th, landing big shots and nice combinations as Froch continued to press forward.
In the final round, although the pace had slowed, both men landed their punches, but Dirrell appeared to have done enough to win the fight and earn his first world title. That was until the scorecards were read: 114-113 (Dirrell), 115-112 (Froch), 115-112 (Froch). Carl Froch retained his title with a close, perhaps controversial split decision victory over Andre Dirrell. With the win, Froch earned himself 2 points in the Super Six World Boxing classic Super Middleweight Tournament.
[ Follow Ben Thompson on Twitter @fighthype ]