Flint Boxer Remains under Suspicion At his young age, Anthony Dirrell has experienced – and endured – a lot. Success in the boxing ring, first as an amateur and then as a pro. Winning such amateur titles as the National Junior Golden Gloves, Under 19 Championships and the National PAL led to his name and picture appearing regularly in both the local Flint media as well as national news sources. He participated in the 2004 Olympics Trials, where an injury prevented his continuing. And, he has met former-world champion Muhammad Ali. As high as those positive occurrences were, Dirrell has also experienced the depths of life’s negative side.
Abandoned by his father at an early age was just a prelude of things to come. Last year, at just 22 years of age, Dirrell was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a form of cancer, which disrupted his promising boxing career and threatened his life. Dirrell endured ten months of chemotherapy and radiation and was in his final week of treatment when he was arrested by Genesee County Sheriff’s deputies for suspicion of bank robbery. Dirrell was stopped by sheriff deputies January 28, some five hours after a Franklin Bank branch in Flint was held up. Dirrell’s Dodge Charger matched the description of the suspected getaway vehicle, including the first three digits of the license plate. A handgun was found in the vehicle, for which police confirm Dirrell had a proper carry permit. He was held overnight and released pending further investigation, according to police and media reports. Trainer and manager Leon “Bumper” Lawson is adamant in his defense of the young fighter, who happens to be his grandson and the brother of Olympic bronze medalist Andre Dirrell. Lawson was in Florida with Andre, preparing for the Olympiad’s next fight, when he heard the news of the arrest. “I knew he didn’t do it,” Lawson told Sportssummary on Saturday. “(It’s) totally out of character.” Lawson knows his grandson well. He took Anthony and Andre into his home and raised them as his own after their father, Willie Dirrell, stepped out of their lives when Anthony was nine years old. Lawson said the family discussed the matter in the hours following his release from jail but not much since then as they all believe the matter will be cleared up as an error. Lawson said that Anthony was still in bed, following a night of gaming, at the time of the robbery and was enroute to one of his two final treatments when he was pulled over hours later. Lawson reported that Dirrell was able to receive his final medical treatments after his release from jail and is back training to resume his career. Flint
police said on Friday that the investigation continues and that
nobody – including Dirrell – had been cleared. The FBI
was unavailable for comment due to the Monday holiday and Dirrell’s
attorney did not return a call for comment before press time. |
