By Dan Ambrose: Of his last three opponents, WBC light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (52-5-2, 32 KO’s) has been matched against the perfect guys for him to be able to beat. In facing Enrique Ornelas, Roy Jones Jr and Jean Pascal, the one constant among all three fighters is that they each had low workrates, and not just for their fights against Hopkins.

For an aging 46-year-old like Hopkins, who doesn’t throw many punches per round anymore, these guys were the ideal fighters for him to beat with his low work rate. These weren’t guys going out there and throwing 900 to 1000 punches in a 12 round fight or throwing 100 punches per round. These were fighters that it all they could do to throw 20 punches per round if that.

Now Hopkins is facing former two-time light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (30-1, 17 KO’s), who many boxing fans feel has the best technical skills in the light heavyweight division at this time. Dawson isn’t a fighter that’s known for throwing a lot of punches, but he’s capable of altering his game to take advantage of an opponents weaknesses.

In looking at Hopkins’ style, his major vulnerability is fighting guys that can throw at least 40+ punches per round and smart enough to avoid getting caught in wrestling matches on the inside. Those are the keys for Dawson. He’s got to throw a fair punches – the more, the better – and use his feet to move away from Hopkins when he comes diving in head first to clinch and wrestle on the inside.

The wrestling has a way of consuming vast amounts of time in each round while as the same time sapping the energy out of his opponents. If Dawson were a Wladimir Klitschko sized fighter with a big height and weight advantage, I wouldn’t have any problems with him clinching Hopkins all night. However, Dawson is just a little bit taller than Hopkins and can’t afford to waste time and energy wrestling a fighter that is proven to be one of the best inside fighters in the business.

This is why Dawson has got to stick and move, and side step Hopkins’ bull-like rushes when he comes forward trying his hit and grab routines. Dawson must tag Hopkins with a left hook while he’s on the way in and then move out of his way and let Hopkins crash into the ropes head first. Dawson then needs to give him a little tap for good measure on the sides while Hopkins is getting turned around.