By Ryan Maquiñana
BoxingScene.com
Chad Dawson, seen here landing a jab against Bernard Hopkins, is coming to Oakland next to face Andre Ward. (AP)
This week in Northern
California boxing was supposed to begin with a Tuesday press conference
at Oakland’s Oracle Arena. The principals were homegrown super
middleweight champ Andre Ward and light heavyweight king Chad Dawson,
who will descend to 168 pounds for a Sept. 8 HBO-televised main event.
However,
Dawson (31-1-0-2 NC, 17 KOs) was unable to attend due to a family
illness, causing the presser with Ward (25-0, 13 KOs) to be postponed
until a later date. Despite his absence, “Bad Chad” was still
accessible for comment earlier in the week to start the wheels turning
for a card titled “World Champions: Made in America.”
“That’s what
boxing should be,” Dawson told BoxingScene.com/CSNBayArea.com about his
upcoming contest. “In the Ward-Dawson fight, you got two of the best
guys, two world champions in their divisions fighting each other. This
right here should be the first step to bring boxing back to where it
should be.”
Several
high-profile scraps have fallen apart, and combined with Manny
Pacquiao’s controversial loss to Timothy Bradley, boxing could use a
shot in the arm to restore faith in the general public and mainstream
talking heads that have universally denigrated it in recent days.
Dawson
made his case. “It’s the best fighting the best,” he said. “It’s not
like I’m the champion and I’m fighting someone who’s not even ranked or
fighting the number eight contender. He’s number one in his division
and I’m number one in my division, and that’s what it’s all about.”
On
paper, he’s right. In this era of confusion when it comes to actual
versus paper champions, and titleholders holding belts hostage, the fans
want to see the best take on the best in their primes and clean out as
many weight classes as possible. In the 29-year-old Dawson and the
28-year-old Ward’s respective cases, we have two men whose résumés speak
for themselves in that regard.
However, in this instance, there
are concerns. The first one is Dawson’s viability as a super
middleweight. It’s been six years since the southpaw from New Haven,
Conn., made the 168-pound limit, and the last thing the sport needs is
another superfight gone awry because one of the combatants doesn’t enter
the ring in optimal condition. Dawson dismissed such a notion.
“I
feel like I can make the weight,” Dawson said. “I know I can make the
weight. I’ve been watching Ward. I’ve been following him. I knew that
eventually one day we’d be fighting each other. A lot of people didn’t
think it would happen this soon, but I just beat Bernard [Hopkins].
I’m on top of the light heavyweight division. I always wanted to go
back to 168 and campaign there. I feel like I can do that, and that’s
what I’m going to do.”
In addition to the extra weight loss,
Dawson and his promoter, Gary Shaw, have made another concession in the
form of holding the fight in Ward’s hometown. With the question of
getting a fair shake from the judges looming, Dawson was quick to
address that issue as well.
“As a fighter, you gotta be confident
in your abilities,” Dawson said. “I’m not going to make a big deal
about where the fight’s going to be at. I just focused on getting the
fight done. I know I’m confident in my abilities, and I know that
Ward’s a great fighter, but I know I can beat Ward.
“That’s why
the fight got done so smoothly. That’s why I didn’t make a big deal
about where the fight was at because at the end of the day, it’s just us
in the ring. I’m not going to cry about the officials, the ref and
everything. We’ll handle that when it comes up. I’m ready to go, and
me being a warrior, I think this will do a lot for my career and bring
me to a whole ‘nother level.
Dawson then acknowledged not only the
significance of the matchup to add another accomplishment to his
legacy, but also the opportunity the bout will present in terms of
building his brand as both spoiler and the next American pay-per-view
crossover star.
“That’s what me and Ward are fighting for,” Dawson
said. “We want to be in the lineup when they mention those names as
far as who’s going to be the next pound-for-pound king. I think this
fight will do wonders for me.
“A lot of people are looking at
Andre Ward to be the next American great. They’re looking at him to be
the next pound-for-pound champion after Floyd and Pacquiao. I’m looking
to interrupt all that and be the one who does that.”
Of course,
to the hardcore observers of the sport, the main misgivings regarding
the clash have centered on whether the fight will be entertaining given
the two champs’ propensity to box rather than brawl.
While the
former is a scenario that elicits acclaim from the purists and is
methodically effective, it does not necessarily bring out the same
sentiment from those who come to see blood and want to see their heroes
take risks.
“I think it’s going to be an exciting fight,” Dawson
said. “I think we’re both young. We’re both at the top of our game,
neither of us wants to go to the ropes, and we want this one very, very
bad.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a snoozer; I think it’s going
to be a war. I don’t think Ward wants to be hit, and I don’t want to
be hit, so the first time one of us gets caught with something, it’ll
open the fight up and spark something, and you’ll get a war.”
Dawson
was then pressed to elaborate on how he vowed to change detractors’
perceptions on how they expect this tilt to transpire.
“Somebody
has to be the bad guy in this fight,” he said. “Somebody has to be the
aggressor. I’m looking to be both. I mean, I’m looking not so much to
be the bad guy, but be the aggressor.
“I’m looking to press the
fight. I’m not looking to go out there and make it a snoozefest. I
want it to be exciting. I think Andre’s going to make it an exciting
fight for me, and I’m going to make it an exciting fight for him.”
Tactically,
Ward is one of boxing’s best ring generals today. The 2004 Olympian
decided to campaign one division heavier than usual in Athens, but his
intelligence and guile allowed him to win gold at light heavyweight
despite fighting foes who outweighed him by up to 10 pounds.
The
professional game has been no different, as the unbeaten Ward earned
2011 Fighter of the Year honors from the Boxing Writers Association of
America for his dominant run to the Super Six tournament trophy--capped by his ability to befuddle the talented Carl Froch over 12
rounds despite breaking his left hand midway through the bout.
Dawson
was noncommittal to divulging a strategic blueprint this early in camp,
but he still gave a response, as calculated as it was.
“Somebody
like Andre, I really have to break him down,” Dawson said. “He’s got a
lot of skills, but so do I, and I have a height advantage, too. I have
to watch tape with [trainer John] Scully, and come September 8, we’ll do
what we have to do to win the fight.”
For his part, Dawson can
play sniper. He’s a brilliant combination puncher and has the
blistering handspeed to match—when he decides to turn it on. His
inconsistency in letting his hands go hurt him in 2010, as he found
difficulty adapting to the ambushing style of Jean Pascal, the only man
to deal Dawson a loss in the pros.
In all other instances,
“fighting his fight” has been sufficient for Dawson, as evidenced by his
majority decision over Bernard Hopkins to claim the 175-pound world
title in April. Although Dawson arguably won more decisively than was
reflected on the cards, many have downplayed the victory considering the
fact that the future Hall of Famer was 47 at the time of their meeting.
Does
Dawson feel disrespected by such criticism, or has “Bad Chad” received
the credit he deserves for his accomplishments to this point?
“Uh,
somewhat,” Dawson said with hesitation. “Sometimes I feel I do and
sometimes I don’t. Bernard’s a great fighter. I did what I was
supposed to do being the younger guy—throw more punches and land more
punches. I thought I got a little credit for it, but this Ward fight,
this is the big one. I’ll be getting the credit I deserve on September
8.”
Ryan Maquiñana writes a weekly boxing column for
CSNBayArea.com. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association
of America and the Ratings Panel for Ring Magazine. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com , check out his blog at Norcalboxing.net, or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.
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