Marcel Proust was a French novelist who had absolutely no connection to boxing—until now.
Anthony Dirrell takes a break from training to tell us about his greatest fear and other revealing tidbits.
One of the things that he’s best known for is the Proust Questionnaire, a famous personality test. We thought it would be fun to try it out on a fighter—with a few twists. As former 168-pound champ Anthony Dirrell (27-1-1, 22 KOs) prepares to take on Marco Antonio Rubio (59-7-1, 51 KOs) on Sunday (CBS, 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT) at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, he sat down with us to share his thoughts on happiness, action heroes, popcorn flicks and more.
What is your greatest fear?
When I had cancer, I thought about dying. That’s one of the greatest fears that I have that I just want to let go.
Which living person do you most admire?
My grandfather. Without him, there would be no me. He made everything possible. I’d give it all up for him.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Getting an Audi R8. I got the A8. My wife’s got the Q7. Guess I’m an Audi guy.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
You know what my son says I say all the time? "You better not do that to my son." He tells me that all the time. (Laughs). He told his momma that.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My wife. Shondrika Dirrell.
When and where were you happiest?
When I got married and when my son was born. I was at peace. That memory will always be there. And that’s what life is about, collecting happy memories. I got a few of ’em up there.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I know how to play basketball, but to be in the NBA and play in front of millions of people, that would do it all.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Nothing. Everything that happens, happens for a reason. That’s what I believe. If you start going back and changing things, you’ll never know what it was like to be in the position that you’re in.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Getting over cancer. I think that’s the biggest thing anyone can ask for. If you can get through that, you can get through anything,
Where would you most like to live?
Australia. It’s beautiful. The people are nice. It’s one of the best countries I’ve been to. It’s wonderful.
What is your most treasured possession?
My son. He’s my life. Everything I do is for him. He is my greatest treasure.
What would you be doing if you weren’t a boxer?
I’d probably be in jail. I was a bad kid, man. If my grandfather didn’t take us under his wings and do what he did, I might have been in jail, I might have been dead. That’s how bad me and my brother were.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Just living your life with your family. As long as you’re happy and your family is happy, that’s true happiness.
What are your favorite movies?
My favorite movie by far is Remember the Titans. I can watch that over and over again. Also, the Harry Potter series, Coach Carter, the Iron Man series.
Who is your favorite superhero?
Iron Man, definitely. He’s just a man at the end of the day—he gets out of that suit, he’s just a regular guy like us. But you get in that suit and you’ve got Iron Man.
What do you most value in your friends?
Being supportive. When people support you and what you do, you can do just about anything, because you know you have that support that you need to get through anything.
For full coverage of Dirrell vs Rubio, visit our fight page.
