BOSTON — Championship boxing will be center stage Saturday at Agganis Arena with the IBF super middleweight title on the line in the main event.
Andre Dirrell, a former Olympic bronze medalist, will take on James DeGale, who’s trying to become the first boxer from Great Britain to win Olympic gold and a world title.
These fighters are similar in styles — both are southpaws and both like to be on the attack. They each have more than 10 knockouts on their resumes and just a single loss apiece. It should make for an entertaining bout, which begins at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
Keep it right here with NESN.com for live score updates, highlights (if available) and round-by-round analysis of Dirrell-DeGale.
DECISION
In a unanimous decision, DeGale has won the fight and the IBF super middleweight championship over Dirrell. He’s the first man from Great Britain to win Olympic gold and a world title.
ROUND 12
— DeGale attacks Dirrell in the corner with a quick combo, but none of the punches land. Dirrell does the same thing seconds later in the same corner.
— Dirrell goes for the knockout in the final 10 seconds but can’t land anything as DeGale dances around to end the round and the fight.
— DeGale wins the round, slightly. Both fighters embraced each other after the final bell. We now await the official scores from the judges. Will Dirrell’s strong showing in the last six rounds be enough to overcome two knockdowns in Round 2?
— Nick Goss’ Unofficial Score: 113-113
ROUND 11
— Lots of punches attempted in that round, but few of them land. Dirrell leaves himself exposed a few times, but DeGale is unable to fire back with a quick counter. We’re set up for a fantastic final round.
— Nick Goss’ Unofficial Score: Dirrell 104-103
ROUND 10
— Dirrell pushes DeGale right into the ropes and throws a combo, and one of the punches appears to land. That’s a pretty good strategy at this stage of the bout.
— DeGale also is more involved and more aggressive, perhaps realizing the last few rounds have made this a closer fight than it was through six rounds.
— Dirrell pushes DeGale into a corner again, but the Englishman gets out of it and attempts two left-handed jabs.
— Dirrell leans on DeGale and pushes him into the ropes after firing some good left-handers. Another strong round for the former Olympic bronze medalist in what is turning into an impressive comeback. DeGale appears to be exhausted.
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— Nick Goss’ Unofficial Score: Dirrell 95-93
ROUND 9
— Dirrell was on the attack all round and noticably taunting DeGale, likely telling him to get more involved in the fight. DeGale either is in full defense mode, has run out of steam — or both.
— Another win for Dirrell, but will these last three good rounds be enough to make the judges forget about the early knockdowns from Round 2?
— Nick Goss’ Unofficial Score: Dirrell 85-84
ROUND 8
— Dirrell again comes out swinging, but very few of his punches land.
— Dirrell catches DeGale with a decent left-hander and knocks him back a bit. He continues to unleash right jabs, but DeGale is able to withstand the power.
— It’s easily Dirrell’s best round of the fight. He constantly was on the attack and had DeGale on the ropes several times.
— Nick Goss’ Unofficial Score: 75-75
ROUND 7
— DeGale catches Dirrell with the left hand, but he was leaning back when he threw it and couldn’t get too much power behind it.
— Dirrell gets DeGale against the ropes and unleashes multiple jabs, but none of them do much damage as DeGale has his gloves up to protect himself. That said, it’s a decent display from Dirrell, who hasn’t shown too much confidence in the last four rounds.
— Dirrell continues to pummel DeGale, but again, the Englishman has his guard up. It’s easily Dirrell’s best round since the opener.
— Nick Goss’ Unofficial Score: 66-64 DeGale
ROUND 6
— Both men go into one of the corners and exchanges punches, with each guy landing at least one. Dirrell appears to have a bit more energy, perhaps knowing he has lost the majority of the rounds thus far.
— DeGale gets Dirrell into a corner again and goes for the knockout blow, but his huge left-handed punch is a swing and a miss.
— DeGale ends the round with a solid flurry of combos, and it appears one of the punches cut Dirrell around the mouth area. Dirrell again is saved by the bell, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to survive many more rounds like that.
— Nick Goss’ Unofficial Score: 57-55 DeGale
ROUND 5
— DeGale goes in for a left-hander, but Dirrell evades it and counters with a good right-hand jab. It’s one of his better punches in the last few rounds.
— DeGale backs Dirrell into a corner at the 10-second mark and throws some decent shots to the body and head, but Dirrell is able to dance around the ring to end the round.
— Nick Goss’ Unofficial Score: 48-45 DeGale
ROUND 4
— Dirrell has switched to an orthodox stance. He started southpaw, but early round results pretty much forced him to make some sort of adjustment.
— Not a ton of landed punches from either fighter in that round.
— Nick Goss’ Unofficial Score: 39-35 DeGale
ROUND 3
— DeGale comes out swinging for the knockout, but Dirrell withstands the early flurry and is able to move DeGale back a bit with his reach.
— DeGale backs Dirrell into a corner and nearly knocks him down again. All Dirrell can do is hold him and wait for the referee.
— Nick Goss’ Unofficial Score: DeGale 30-25
ROUND 2
— DeGale comes out swinging, getting right up into Dirrell and trying to pummel his body.
— Dirrell immediately responds with some powerful left-handed jabs to the head, drawing a pretty strong reaction fromt he crowd. One of those punches cut DeGale above his right eye. Dirrell continues his onslaught with several more left-handed punches and quick combos.
— DeGale rebounds beautifully with a huge knockdown. After Dirrell gets back up, he’s repeatedly pummeled on the ropes and again is knocked down from a huge left-handed square to the face. He manages to get up but is saved by the bell.
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— Nick Goss’ Unofficial Score: DeGale 20-16
ROUND 1
— We’re underway!
— After about a 30-second period of feeling each other out, Dirrell and DeGale both go on the attack. Dirrell is a bit more aggressive and lands a few decent body shots in the middle of the round. Most of the punches from each fighter are blocked, though.
— Nick Goss’ Unofficial Score: Dirrell 10-9
INTRODUCTIONS
— There isn’t a huge crowd here at Agganis Arena, but the folks in attendance sure are making a lot of noise. The fighters are moments away from entering the arena and making their way to the ring.
— James DeGale has entered the arena to a track from rapper Lil Wayne.
— Andre Dirrell enters the arena to a track from Roy Jones Jr.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@OddsChanger
