Anthony Dirrell vs Caleb Truax Preview April 29th
The Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series returns this Friday, April 29th on Spike TV as former WBC Super Middleweight champion Anthony Dirrell of the U.S. take on fellow countryman Caleb Truax. The 10-round bout will be beamed live across North America from the Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Dirrell suffered the first loss of his pro career last April when he was beaten by a majority decision by Badou Jack. However, he bounced back in September with a 10-round unanimous decision win over Mexico’s Marco Antonio Rubio. Truax’s last appearance was a fourth-round stoppage over Melvin Betancourt in February.
Dirrell vs Truax Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Caleb Truax +950
- Anthony Dirrell -1500
My Pick
The 31-year-old Dirrell of Flint, Michigan will enter the ring with a fine record of 28-1-1 along with 22 Kos while the 32-year-old Truax of Osseo, Minnesota is 26-2-2 with 16 Kos. Dirrell is a good boxer, but not quite in the upper echelon at the moment. His best performances were against Rubio and Sakio Bika, who he fought on two occasions. Dirrell fought to a draw with Bika in their first meeting and then took Bika’s WBC crown via unanimous decision the next time out last August. Dirrell is just over 6-feet-2-inches tall and has a 74.5-inch reach.
He may not be the most well-known boxer out there as he’s mainly fought against Grade B opponents. However, he’s beaten everybody who has stood in front of him other than Jack and has an impressive knockout rate of 73 per cent. Dirrell was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma back in 2007 and underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments for close to two years before fighting again. He turned pro back in 2005 and has met the likes of Bika, Anthony Hanshaw and Jack. Other than that really, there aren’t too many opponents anybody is going to recognize in the 117 pro rounds he’s fought.
Truax stands six-feet tall and possesses a 73-inch reach, which puts him at a disadvantage in both the height and reach departments. He lost in a title fight last April to WBA Middleweight king Daniel Jacobs of Brooklyn when he was stopped in the 12th round. He was on an eight-bout winning streak before running into Jacobs. Truax’s only other defeat came at the hands of former two time middleweight champ Jermain Taylor by unanimous 10-round decision four years ago. He’s fought 190 rounds since turning pro in 2007 and has a current knockout ratio of 53 per cent.
Truax hasn’t really fought anybody of note as of yet other than Taylor and Jacobs and he has fallen just short when taking on championship-caliber boxers. His draws came against Ossie Duran in and Phil Williams in 2011. He has fought a few of other good pros in Antwun Echols, Matt Vanda, Don George and Derek Ennis, but none of them are in the elite category. Truax has the ability to give anybody a tough time of it, especially if they’re not at the top of the game, so Dirrell can’t afford to take him lightly.
Prediction……
Truax will put in a good effort here and he’ll likely frustrate Dirrell at times. However, Dirrell has the better boxing skills overall. Dirrell has shown he’s got a good chin up to now and Truax isn’t really a hard hitter. In addition, Dirrell may be more motivated at this point in his career as he tries to earn another title shot to reclaim his lost crown. Look for Dirrell to take the bout by decision with a late stoppage being a slight possibility.
Truax struggles when he steps up in class.
Play: Dirrell -1500 @ BetOnline.ag
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Anthony Dirrell betting • Caleb Truax betting