Andre Dirrell made the weight at the second time of asking ahead of his fight with Nottingham WBC super-middleweight champion Carl Froch on Saturday.

He managed to shed enough weight so that the fight could happen at the at the trendy Trent FM arena in Nottingham.

American Dirrell was 4oz over the 168lb limit when he weighed in this afternoon and was given until 7.21pm to lose the excess pounds. But after an hour he managed to get his weight down to 167.5lbs.Super Middleweight limit. Froch, who weighed in at 167.4lbs, was cheered by his local fans and traveling boxing fans in a crowd of more than a thousand during the event at Old Market Square.

American Dirrell afterwards blamed a “misjudgement” in his failure to make the weight at the first time of asking.

Carl Froch and Andre Dirrell will clash in the early hours of Sunday when the intriguing Super Six super-middleweight tournament gets under way.

After making the weight at the second time of asking, Dirrell, 27, said: “It was a simple misjudgment on my part, my scales at the hotel said I was on the weight.

“I didn’t have to train yesterday or today so I haven’t had to work hard to make the weight. In fact I was on the weight yesterday but it was just a misunderstanding.”

Froch, 32, and who looks up for this fight as I’ve seen him, said: “He can say what he wants but to miss it by that much, he must have really struggled.

“I’m a consummate professional and I never miss the weight. That’s why I’m still punching hard in the last few rounds when the other guys are fading late on.

“It’s obviously a good sign for me but I’m not going to waste too much time thinking about it. I’m better than him, stronger than him and I’m going to beat him regardless of the weight issue.”

Froch won the WBC super-middleweight belt here in Nottingham where in December 2008.

He defeated Canadian Jean Pascal on points, in a tough slug fest which was probably fight of the year, before he dramatically knocked out Jermain Taylor in the final round of his first defence in Connecticut, USA in April.

This fight against Durrell in Nottingham will be Froch’s first fight in the Super Six tournament, which guarantees at least three bouts for its entrants.

Froch and Denmark’s WBA champion Mikkel Kessler, who will fight Andre Ward in November, put their World Championship belts on the line and Froch, who has 20 knockouts from his 25 fights is relying on his home support to help him punch his way to victory.

“I think home support helps in a massive way, I’ve been in America, fighting in front of Jermain Taylor’s crowd all booing me and cheering him,” said Froch

“Even if a shot just misses your chin the crowd think it has landed and they cheer. You think ‘this is bad’ you can feel it.

“When you get to round 10 or 11, you’re feeling the pace and if the crowd are booing you, it doesn’t help.

“I boxed Jean Pascal at the Nottingham Arena for my world title fight and the crowd really lifted me, they really did.”

Dirrell, who won a bronze medal at the Athens Olympics and has 13 knockouts from his 18 fights, has been in confident mood since arriving in England.

“I’ve had my best training camp ever and I’m ready to shiver Froch’s timbers from stem to stern,” he said.

“This is step one in showing that I am the heir apparent to the throne Joe Calzaghe vacated as the king of the super-middleweight division, something Froch has never been able to achieve.”

Froch has refused to let his opponent’s trash talking throw him off his game ahead of the fight

And the champion says that the unbeaten American will regret bad mouthing him.

Froch, said: “I don’t get wound up by words and Dirrell has had a lot to say.

“I met him in New York three months out from the contest and we exchanged friendly banter, handshakes and hugs because fight time’s not really on the agenda at that point. But the minute my back was turned I was reading a lot of trash in the papers and seeing interviews on the internet, added Froch.

Dirrell and his team lack class as far as I’m concerned. The language has been bad, the banter’s been terrible and I don’t want to get involved in any of that nonsense.”

Dirrell, 27, has vowed to open his Super Six account by claiming Froch’s WBC title.

But the self proclaimed Cobra insists that all the former Olympic champion will be heading back to America with is an headache. He added: “Dirrell certainly talks a good fight but all 25 of my previous opponents also talked a lot of trash and it didn’t get them anywhere.

“Talk is cheap and I’m not going to get involved in a slanging match. The fists are going to do the talking on the night.

“My fans know what I’m capable of and what I’m about. I’ve proved that time and time again.

“The one thing the fans know it’s always going to be an exciting night.

“They’ll get value for money and I’ll return their support with a great performance.

“I’ve fought top quality opposition throughout my career and made short work of 80 per cent of them.”

The Super Six series also includes German Arthur Abraham and American Taylor, who meet on 17 October.

In the first phase of the event, each fighter will face three different opponents over the next 12 months.

The four leading points scorers advance to the semi-finals, prior to a final in early 2011.

Andre Durrell has fast hands and starts his fight fast, often switch hitting. Froch is a slow starter and takes a few rounds to get into the fight, while working out his opoinents weeknesses befor pouncing on there mistakes.

In his last fight against Jermain Taylor, Froch started slow and never really got into the fight atall, and going into the 12th and final round needed a knockout, and what was a dramatic ending, got it!

I think in this fight Froch will be a differant animal than he was against Taylor. That fight was top billing in the states against a genuine world rated opoinent, and we remember the British Fighters who have won and indeed defended world titles in the States, because in terms there wasnt many of em, and the ones who did are rated the best.

Britain have in Carl froch, no doubt a World class fighter, who is willing to take on the best in the world in all his fights from this stage, and its a good stage to learn on if you survive it, because I believe Froch as learned valueble lessons from the Taylor fight which will stand him in good stead in this one. I believe Carl will fight the heart and stamina out of Dirrell and stop him late on? the 9th round, in what promises to be an exciting fight at this the start of the Super Six super-middleweight tournament, bring em on! By Chris Maylett British Boxers

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