Cancer Battle Bolsters Bond Between Brothers, Andre and Anthony Dirrell

Like many siblings, the bond between the fighting Dirrell brothers, Andre and Anthony, seems unshakable.

Whether theirs is a fistic synergy, or a sibling symbiosis, their abilities to thrive off of one another is undeniable in the ring, where they boast identical 18-0 records as super middleweights (168 pounds).

Anthony Dirrell, a right-hander who turns 25 on Oct. 14, has 15 knockouts, the last being in the seventh round over Alfredo Contreras in August. Andre Dirrell (pictured right), a left-hander who turned 27 on Sept. 7, has 13 knockouts, the last being a sixth-round KO of Indiana's Derrick Findley in March.

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During the early portion of their career, the brothers fought on the same cards seven times. When they weren't on the same card, they fought during the same month -- within days of each other -- twice.

During that time, Anthony, nicknamed "The Dog," knocked out all nine of his opponents -- one in four rounds and the others in two rounds or less. Andre, "The Matrix," won twice by decision, once with a fourth-round knockout, and six times with KOs in three or less rounds.



But in early in 2007, Anthony was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a curable yet potentially deadly, strength-sapping disease, which, like any form of cancer can take a mental and physical toll on its victims.

"They're two brothers who care very much for each other, and who are forever in each other's corner," said the Dirrell's promoter, Gary Shaw, a prostate cancer survivor. "Each is affected by the other when he's fighting. They're the single biggest cheerleaders for each other."

Three days before Christmas in 2006, the brothers thrilled their home crowd in Flint, Mich. Anthony KO'd his man in one round, and Andre, in three.

Anthony was out of the ring for the next 26 months.

"The hardest part was watching him deal with the chemotherapy," said Andre Dirrell. "He was vomiting a lot and it made him tired, but he wasn't losing hairs or anything."

Anthony Dirrell made it to his brother's fights as often as he could during his illness -- a period during which Andre Dirrell won six times from June 2007 through August 2008.

"I did miss seeing him in the ring as far as some fights were concerned, but I didn't stress at all because he always told me that he felt fine," said Andre Dirrell. "When he could, he would come into the gym and work out, and our family was very strong throughout the whole ordeal."

After winning the first two bouts by decision, Andre appeared to gain more and more focus as Anthony gained strength.

"We kept up our hope and we kept our prayers up," said Andre Dirrell, a bronze medalist in the 2004 Olympics. "Then, Anthony started actually gaining weight, getting stronger and pulling through it."

Andre won his last four bouts by knockout during Anthony's absence, the latter over Maryland's Mike Pascal, who was stopped for the first time in his career and lost for the first time in 19 fights.

"There were times where I really wanted Anthony back in the ring, but we were bonding because he was there for every fight," said Andre Dirrell, who got a boost from a ringside Anthony Dirrell during KOs of Anthony Hanshaw and Victor Oganov.

"Anthony was jumping around more than a kangaroo," said Andre Dirrell. "You could see that Anthony was the same guy. It was a blessing."

Anthony returned to the ring in October of 2008 in Las Vegas opposite Canada's hard-hitting Andy Mavros, who had lost once in seven outings. Dropped in the first round, Anthony rose to earn a unanimous, four-round decision.

"That was the first time that Anthony had ever been dropped as a professional or an amateur. I was nervous as hell," said Andre Dirrell, who was ringside but did not compete that night.

"But Anthony took the eight count, got up, and showed his ring generalship," said Andre Dirrell. "He showed himself to be a true professional."

The duo was reunited on the same card in March, where Anthony took just one round to blast Dominique Azeez senseless, and Andre stopped Findley for the first time in his career.

Findley entered with a record of 13-2 and had gone the distance with former Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward, but Andre Dirrell only wanted to talk about his younger brother. Anthony has four KOs among six wins since returning.

"I knew Anthony's power was back with that first-round knockout. He was himself again. That's when the fun really started for me again," said Andre Dirrell. "I was back to my old self. We're back on the track toward winning world championships."

Andre Dirrell spoke to FanHouse from Big Bear Lake, Calif., where he is training at an altitude of 7,500 feet above sea level in the San Bernadino Mountains for an Oct. 17 bout against England's World Boxing Council champ Carl Froch (25-0, 20 KOs) in the latter's hometown of Nottingham. The matchup will be shown live as part of a Showtime's Super Six super middleweight tournament.

On the same night as Froch-Dirrell, Arkansas' Jermain Taylor (28-3-1) will meet Germany's Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs) in a tape-delayed clash of former middleweight titlists in the Armenian-born Abraham's hometown of Berlin.

On Nov. 21, Denmark's World Boxing Association king and tournament favorite Mikkel Kessler (42-1, 32 KOs) will meet Andre Ward (20-0, 13 KOs) in Oakland, Calif., Ward's hometown.

An intricate point system will be used over the three bouts to determine the four semifinalists, who will then be seeded for a round of bouts that produce the matchup of finalists.

The hard-punching Froch stopped Taylor in the 12th round in April, and promises that Dirrell will meet a similar fate before a partisan English crowd.

But Dirrell's not having it.

"My mother, my brother, my coaches and my promoter will all be there supporting me," said Andre Dirrell. "I know that if Anthony can overcome cancer and come back and fight like he has, then I can overcome a little crowd."