DIRRELL STAYS UNDEFEATED
WITH SIXTH-ROUND TKO OVER FINDLEY,
YORGEY KNOCKS OUT HEARNS
IN NINTH IN BATTLE OF UNBEATENS
ON A SPECIAL EDITION OF SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION
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Saturday, March 28, 2009, at 11 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME
Buffalo Run Casino, Miami, Oklahoma
MIAMI, Okla. (March 29, 2009) – Undefeated super middleweight Andre Dirrell outclassed Derrick Findley and Harry Joe Yorgey outfought Ronald Hearns in a battle of unbeaten junior middleweights en route to impressive victories on a special Saturday edition of ShoBox: The New Generation on SHOWTIME.
Dirrell, of Flint, Mich., who is ranked No. 1 in the World Boxing Organization (WBO), No. 3 in the World Boxing Council (WBC) and No. 7 in the International Boxing Federation (IBF), won by sixth-round TKO to improve to 18-0 with 13 knockouts. Findley, of Gary, Ind., who couldn’t answer the bell for the seventh, fell to 13-3 with 8 KOs.
Yorgey (22-0-1, 10 KOs), of Bridgeport, Pa., triumphed by ninth-round knockout. In a terrific action fight, he registered three knockdowns, the last coming at 2:59 of the ninth. Hearns, of Detroit, scored one knockdown but suffered his first defeat. He is 21-1 with 17 KOs.
The doubleheader took place at the Buffalo Run Casino and was promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, and DiBella Entertainment. It aired live on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).
Dirrell was making his fifth appearance on SHOWTIME – he’s fought three times on ShoBox and twice on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING. He could not floor Findley, but he had his way throughout.
After ending Findley’s winning streak at seven, the six-foot-1, 25-year-old Dirrell proclaimed himself ready for any boxer in the 168-pound division.
“I’ll fight any of the champions right now,’’ the 2004 Olympic Games bronze medalist for the United States said. “It doesn’t matter which one. I’m greedy. I want all the belts.’’
Dirrell did the vast majority of the belting Saturday as he made it look easy against Findley, who accepted the assignment on short notice. It was Dirrell’s sixth consecutive win inside the distance.
“It was target practice all day, all the time’’ said Dirrell, who switched from orthodox to southpaw several times. “Crazy as this might sound, I actually wanted the fight to go 10 rounds just to get in some work and to get more time to show off some of my ability.
“But this isn’t all about talent. It’s about hard work and dedication.’’
Yorgey, who knows all about hard work and dedication, dropped Hearns in the fourth, fifth and ninth rounds.
“I waited and waited for a chance to fight on SHOWTIME so when I got the call I said, ‘sure, let’s do it.’ ‘’ Yorgey said. “I’m a TV fighter. My fights are always exciting. I knew after the fourth round when I froze him with a body shot that I had him. I can adapt to any fight. Tonight, I was the aggressor.’’
Entering the ninth round, Yorgey was ahead on two of the scorecards (78-73 and 76-75) and behind on the other (76-75). After decking Hearns the first time, Yorgey also went down in the fourth, but it may have been more the result of a slip than from a clean punch.
“He never hurt me,’’ Yorgey said. “I felt great throughout. I usually don’t look to load up with the right hand, but I knew the opportunities were there. I told everybody I wasn’t just an opponent and I was coming to win. I’ve always believed in myself and that all the hard work I put in daily would pay off.’’
Yorgey dedicated the fight and the proceeds from a raffle that his family held during the show to his friend and Hatfield, Pa. resident Shannon Yoder, who has cancer.
Hearns, the oldest son of legendary eight-time world champion Thomas “Hit Man” Hearns, was making his fourth appearance on ShoBox. He offered no excuses afterward.
“I’m obviously very disappointed, but it’s just something that I have to write off as a learning experience,’’ Hearns said. “I was knocked down hard but I kept getting up. I never thought for a second that I wasn’t going to get him and that I was not without a chance. This is a very difficult moment, but I know I will bounce back. Give me two or three more fights and I would love to fight him again.’’
Nick Charles called the action from ringside with Steve Farhood serving as expert analyst. The executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
Saturday’s bouts will re-air this week as follows:
DAY CHANNEL
Wednesday, April 1, 10 p.m. ET/PT SHOWTIME TOO
It will be available ON DEMAND from Tuesday, March 31-April. 27.
Upcoming: Next Saturday, April 4, on SHOWTIME (10:45 p.m. ET/PT), WBC champion Timothy Bradley (23-0, 11 KOs) takes on his WBO counterpart Kendall Holt (25-2, 13 KOs) in what will be a hotly contested 140-pound world title unification bout in the main event on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING at the Bell Centre in Montreal. In the telecast’s opening match, Librado Andrade (27-2, 21 KOs) will be opposed by Vitali Tsypko (22-2, 12 KOs) in an IBF super middleweight eliminator.
The highly anticipated debut of Strikeforce on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT) takes place Saturday, April 11, live from the HP Pavilion at San Jose, Calif. The five mixed martial arts fights: Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz at 179 pounds, Josh Thomson defends his Strikeforce lightweight title against Gilbert Melendez, Cris Cyborg and Hitomi Akano clash in a women’s fight at 145 pounds, Scott Smith takes on Benji Radach at 185 pounds and unbeaten heavyweight Brett Rogers faces “Abongo” Humphrey.
Six days later on Friday, April 17, ShoBox returns with a clash between featherweight phenom Yuriorkis Gamboa (13-0, 11 KOs) and Jose Rojas (25-6-1, 17 KOs) for the interim WBA featherweight title. In the co-feature at Buffalo Bills Casino at Primm, Nev., undefeated Selcuk Aydin (17-0, 14 KOs) collides with Said Quali (25-2, 17 KOs) in a welterweight bout. The telecast begins at 11 p.m. ET/PT.
An eagerly awaited WBC super middleweight title fight between defending champion Carl Froch (24-0, 19 KOs) and former undisputed middleweight titleholder Jermain Taylor (28-2-1, 17 KOs) will highlight a tripleheader Saturday, April 25, on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT). In other fights at MGM Foxwoods in Mashantucket, Conn., WBC 154-pound kingpin Vernon Forrest (41-3, 29 KOs) meets Jason LeHoullier (21-1-1, 8 KOs) in a 10-round non–title fight and Allan Green (27-1, 19 KOs) will be opposed by Carlos De Leon Jr. (21-2-2, 14 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight fight.
Two 10-round fights will be featured on ShoBox on Friday, May 1. Luis Carlos Abregu (25-0, 21 KOs) will take on Irving Garcia (17-3, 8 KOs) in a welterweight skirmish and Marvin Quintero (15-1, 12 KOs) battles Wes Ferguson (20-3-1, 6 KOs) in a lightweight encounter. The ShoBox doubleheader at Chumash Casino Resort at Santa Ynez, Calif., will air on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT.
For more information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please go to the SHOWTIME Sports website at http://sports.sho.com.
About ShoBox: The New Generation
Since its inception in July 2001, the critically-acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. The growing list of fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Leonard Dorin, Scott Harrison, Juan Diaz, Jeff Lacy, Ricky Hatton, Joan Guzman, Juan Urango, David Diaz, Robert Guerrero, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Malignaggi, Kendall Holt, Timothy Bradley and, most recently, Bernard Dunne.