This certainly should be interesting. The IBF has ordered Jose Uzcategui and Andre Dirrell to rematch their controversial May fight in which Dirrell won by disqualification when Uzcategui knocked him out after the bell rang ending the eighth round. That illegal blow was only the beginning of the drama that night too. Now we will be doing it all again.
In their first fight, power punching Mexico based Venezualan Jose Uzcategui (26-2, 22 KOs) got off to a great start. He controlled the first four rounds, badly hurting and nearly finishing Dirrell in the second along the way. From there, however, Andre Dirrell (26-2, 16 KOs) was able to use his talent and high level athleticism to find his legs and begin winning rounds.
At the end of the eighth, a round in which Dirrell clearly won, Uzcategui caught him with a brutal combination along the ropes which sent him down hard to the mat face first. Unfortunately, however, the punches clearly came after the bell. Furthermore, Uzcategui had already been warned for punching after the bell earlier in the fight. He was appropriately disqualified.
Tempers flared post-fight and the two camps began to brawl. This culminated in the heinous act conducted by Dirrell’s uncle and trainer Leon Lawson Jr who took a blatant cheap shot at Uzcategui, landing bare knuckle flush on the chin to the unsuspecting fighter. He has since been arrested, handled accordingly, and to my knowledge will not be allowed to work this fight.
No potential date or venue has been disclosed as of yet, but this will be a high profile rematch when it does happen.
