Dirrell had his ninth fight against James Morrow on June 23, 2006 in which Dirrell won by TKO in the first round. Dirrell won this fight in impressive fashion as he first knocked down Morrow with a huge right hand to the head, then followed up with a flurry in which Dirrell hit Morrow with a perfect left hook to the body which blew Morrow's mouthpiece out. Dirrell's tenth fight was against Billy Thompson in which he won by unanimous decision in 6 rounds.