Anthony Dirrell’s goal was to demonstrate on Saturday night that he remains a worthy title challenger at 168 pounds.
Mission accomplished.
Dirrell stopped Marcos Hernandez with a monstrous right uppercut 22 seconds into Round 4 of a scheduled 10-rounder on the Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant card at the MGM Grand.
Dirrell (34-3-2, 26 KOs) is 37 years old and was 0-1-1 in his last two fights, a loss to David Benavidez that cost him his belt and a draw with Kyrone Davis. Thus, the thought of retirement crossed his mind.
Now the former two-time titleholder is back in business.
The fight was competitive for three-plus rounds, although Dirrell was landing heavier punches than Hernandez (15-5-2, 3 KOs). That included a number of body shots that might’ve taken some of the fight out Hernandez.
Then came an instantaneous ending to the fight, the result of a perfect uppercut that put Hernandez flat on his back. He was able to beat the count but, unsteady on his feet, referee Celestino Ruiz didn’t hesitate to stop the fight.
The winner of the Alvarez-Plant fight will have many options in his first defense of the undisputed 168-pound title. Dirrell just demonstrated that he’s a viable one.
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