Andre Dirrell returns on April 12 against Ossie Duran on ESPN Friday Night Fights

Andre Dirrell probably wasn't hunting for this level of fight when he left Al Haymon and Gary Shaw, eventually signing with 50 Cent, but this is where he's at. Dirrell will return to the ring on April 12, when he headlines Friday Night Fights against veteran gatekeeper Ossie Duran.

Dirrell (21-1, 14 KO) last fought on February 2, ending an inactive spell of 14 months, which followed a more lengthy absence of 21 months. That night in Texas, Dirrell fought on a Top Rank undercard and beat Michael Gbenga handily over ten rounds, 100-87 on all three cards.

Duran (28-10-2, 11 KO) is a 35-year-old veteran who has been used as a stepping stone for prospects for years, and has come up on the short end a few times when it was arguable that he should have gotten the win, only for boxing's politics to put the kibosh on that.

As a stay-busy fight, it's not terrible, as Duran is a tough guy who's never been stopped, and though he'll step up to super middleweight for the first time, and is going to be small on fight night (he's 5'10" and started his career as a lightweight), this is a guy who's gone the distance with James Kirkland, Fernando Guerrero, Avtandil Khurtsidze, and others.

Hopefully, this is just Dirrell keeping busy until something more significant comes his way. No co-feature is yet set for the show, which will take place at the Pechanga Casino in Temecula, California.