When Anthony Dirrell gets into fight mode, his focus becomes so intensified that most other interests are simply ignored—even the possibility of Michigan State reaching the Final Four.
The Spartans are playing Louisville today in the NCAA basketball tournament East Regional final in Syracuse, N.Y., but Dirrell is keeping his focus on his April 24 fight against Badou Jack in Chicago.
With his 168-pound world title on the line in a fight being televised live on Spike TV, the Flint, Michigan, native hasn’t had much time to follow the team since expressing his support on social media on March 15.
For Dirrell, training camp consists of little more than workouts, eating, sleeping and playing video games. He even slept through Michigan State’s win over Oklahoma to advance to the Elite Eight on Friday night.
Having lived about an hour away from the Michigan State campus in East Lansing his entire life, Dirrell will surely be with the Spartans in spirit today even if he won’t be watching.
Perhaps he’ll take a brief timeout from training next weekend if the Spartans reach the Final Four for the seventh time under head coach Tom Izzo.
