Dirrell vs Yildirim

Who won Dirrell vs Yildirim?

Anthony Dirrell beat Avni Yildirim by technical decision in their 10 round contest on Saturday 23rd February 2019 at Minneapolis Armory in Minnesota.

The scorecards were announced as in favor of winner Anthony Dirrell.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Super Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 168 pounds (12 stone or 76.2 KG).

This contest was for the WBC super middleweight championship of the world.

Dirrell vs Yildirim stats

Anthony Dirrell stepped into the ring with a record of 32 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw, 24 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Avni Yildirim made his way to the ring with a record of 21 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, with 12 of those wins by knock out.

The stats suggested Dirrell had advantage in power over Yildirim, with a 75% knock out percentage over Yildirim's 57%.

Anthony Dirrell was the older man by 7 years, at 38 years old.

Dirrell had a height advantage of 3 inches over Yildirim. That also extended to a 4-inch reach advantage.

Both Anthony Dirrell & Avni Yildirim fought out of an orthodox stance.

Dirrell was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 12 more fights, and made his debut in 2005, 9 years and 1 month earlier than Yildirim, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 39 more professional rounds, 184 to Yildirim's 145.

Anthony Dirrell went into the fight ranked number 1 by the WBC at super middleweight.

Avni Yildirim was ranked number 2 by the WBC in the 168lb division.

Dirrell vs Yildirim form

Dirrell had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Denis Douglin on 17th November 2017 by technical decision in their 6 round contest at Dort Federal Event Center, Michigan, Afghanistan.

Previous to that, he had won against Norbert Nemesapati on 13th January 2017 by technical knockout in the 6th round at Hialeah Park Racing & Casino, Hialeah, United States.

Going into that contest, he had beat Caleb Truax on 29th April 2016 by technical knockout in the 1st round at Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City.

Before that, he had defeated Marco Antonio Rubio on 6th September 2015 by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at American Bank Center, Corpus Christi.

He had been beaten by Badou Jack on 24th April 2015 by majority decision in their WBC World Super Middleweight championship fight at UIC Pavilion, Chicago.

Yildirim had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Lolenga Mock on 15th September 2018 by majority decision in their 12 round contest at Friedrich-Ebert-Halle, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.

Previous to that, he had lost to Chris Eubank Jr on 7th October 2017 by knockout in the 3rd round at Hanns-Martin-Schleyer Halle, Stuttgart.

Going into that contest, he had won against Marco Antonio Periban on 13th May 2017 by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Teatro Palcco, Jalisco, Mexico.

Before that, he had defeated Aliaksandr Sushchyts on 18th February 2017 by knockout in the 1st round at Teatro Principe, Milan, Italy.

He had beat Schiller Hyppolite on 5th November 2016 by technical knockout in the 3rd round at Ballhaus Forum, Munich, Germany.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Avni Yildirim had been fighting more than Anthony Dirrell.

Going to this contest, Anthony Dirrell had last fought 5 years, 6 months and 21 days ago, while Avni Yildirim's last outing had been 4 years, 8 months and 23 days ago.

Dirrell's last 5 fights had come over a period of 8 years, 1 month and 14 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 7 months and 16 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 35 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 7 rounds on average.

Yildirim's last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 7 months and 2 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 3 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 31 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 6.2 rounds on average.

What time did Dirrell vs Yildirim start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 11:00 PM EST / 8:00 PM PST at Minneapolis Armory, Minnesota, United States, which was around 4:00 AM GMT in the UK.

Who broadcast Dirrell vs Yildirim?

Dirrell vs Yildirim was broadcast on Fox Sport 1 in the US, while the fight was broadcast in the United Kingdom by ITV Box Office.

What were the odds on Dirrell vs Yildirim?

Anthony Dirrell was a 7/50 (-710) favourite going into the contest, while Avni Yildirim made his way into the ring at 9/2 (+450) with oddsmakers.