Dawson needs to go for Pascal’s shoulders to weaken him

By Scott Gilfoid: If former two-time light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (29-0, 17 KO’s) wants to increase his chances of beating WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (25-1, 16 KO’s) this Saturday night, he’ll aim some of his powerful straight left hands at Pascal’s recently surgically repaired right shoulder, the one that Pascal injured in his 12 round decision win over Adrian Diaconu in December 2009. Pascal has been rehabilitating the shoulder since then and realistically should have had a couple of tune-up bouts before facing a talented fighter like Dawson, but Pascal seems to be in a hurry to take this fight. I think he’s stupid for doing it after the injury that he suffered in his win over Diaconu, but at least it gives Pascal a decent excuse if things don’t turn out well for him.

Even with two good shoulders, I think Pascal would be way in over his head against a fighter like Dawson. Pascal is a guy that seems to get by on athletic talent alone. He has fast hands, moves well and can punch a little. But he’s so sloppy with his punches and he has a habit of punching with an open fist, which seems to take away a lot of the power that Pascal could have in his shots. And his defense is pretty much missing altogether. I’ve seen fights with Pascal where I couldn’t tell who was considered to be the rising star – him or his opponents – and that was when Pascal was still fighting B level fighters.

Pascal was beaten by Carl Froch by a 12 round decision in December 2008. Since that fight, Pascal has beaten the following fighters: Pablo Daniel Zamora Nievas, Diaconu, Silvio Branco and Diaconu again. I’m sorry, but I don’t see any of those fighters in the same class as Dawson. Heck, Dawson would likely trounce Froch if given the chance to fight him. Not that he’s going to be fighting Froch anytime soon, mind you. But I think there’s a world’s difference of talent between Dawson and Pascal. I see Pascal as a good B level fighter that has stumbled onto a weak division where he can have a chance to hold down a title for 15 minutes.

At super middleweight, Pascal’s old fighting weight, he would be little more than just another one of the contenders waiting in line to get beaten by the likes of Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell and Lucian Bute. But at light heavyweight, Pascal’s career has seen a brief resurgence with his two wins over Diaconu. However, I see Pascal coming down to earth this Saturday night against Dawson. This is going to be an easy win for Chad, and I see him pretty much toying with Pascal like a cat would with a rubber mouse. Pascal has the speed, but not the size, the skills or the power to handle a talented fighter like Dawson.

Prediction: Dawson by lopsided 12 round decision.

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