Hopkins vs. Dawson: Boxingnews24.com experts make their picks

By Eric Thomas: PHOTO CREDIT: Gene Blevins – Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions – This Saturday night WBC light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins defends his title against Chad Dawson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Hopkins, now 46 and nearing 47, is the old gray fox trying to find enough youth to defeat what could be the most talented fighter in the division in the 29-year-old Dawson.

Below are the picks from the boxing experts at Boxingnews24.com:

Scott Gilfoid: I hate this fight. I never been much of a fan of Hopkins, and watching his fights for me is like watching wet paint dry. I’m not too excited about Dawson either, although he does seem to have a lot of talent. Frankly, I don’t have a clue who’s going to win this one, but what the heck, I’ll go out on a limb and pick the young guy Dawson. I saw the Hopkins vs. Jean Pascal I and II fights and wasn’t impressed with Hopkins in either fight. He did okay but mostly because Pascal fought at a snail’s pace and allowed Hopkins plenty of rest breaks.

Pick: Chad Dawson by a 12 round unanimous decision over Bernard Hopkins

Allen Fox: This is going to be one of the ages where Bernard Hopkins shows his stuff and the young lion, Chad Dawson, tries to find cracks in Hopkins game. Dawson has made no secret about wanting to outwork Hopkins and make him work hard to the point of exhaustion. If Dawson can do this, then I have no doubts he’ll win. I just don’t know that Dawson can. If you look at Dawson’s last fight against Adrian Diacnu last May, Dawson was able to throw only punch at a time. The same goes for Dawson’s loss to Jean Pascal last year. It looked to me like Dawson was worried about gassing out and wanted to make sure he conserved his energy. He won’t be able to beat Hopkins fighting like that, but I suspect that’s the only way Dawson can fight. He doesn’t like to mix it up and for him to beat Hopkins, he’ll have to mix it up and throw a lot of punches to win. He won’t. Look for Hopkins to win this fight going away.

Pick: Bernard Hopkins UD 12 Chad Dawson

Chris Williams: Bernard Hopkins is one of those rare Nolan Ryan type athletes that can still perform at a high level even in his late 40s. I expect Hopkins to dominate Dawson, who can’t seem to concentrate long enough to fight well for more than a couple of rounds. Dawson has a bad habit of becoming disengaged mentally in his fights and he gives away far too many rounds even against lesser fighters than Hopkins. If Dawson does this on Saturday night, he’ll get beat by Hopkins. I expect Dawson to mentally lose interest by the 5th, and zone out during the best rounds of the fight. Hopkins will win by default. If Dawson was able to stay focused, I think he would beat Hopkins but he won’t be able to.

Pick: Bernard Hopkins UD 12 Chad Dawson

William Mackay: Interesting fight. You’ve got an old guy in Bernard Hopkins who hasn’t really been tested in awhile facing a guy with better skills, faster hands, bigger frame and is a lot younger. Dawson should win this fight based on how he looked in his wins over Adrian Diaconu and Tomasz Adamek. Dawson does well against guys that aren’t blazing fast like Hopkins. In his loss to Jean Pascal last year, Dawson seemed gun-shy because of Pascal’s fast hands and counter punching ability. Pascal was faster than Dawson and this threw him off his game. Hopkins isn’t faster and that’s going to make it a lot easier for Dawson.

Pick: Chad Dawson UD 12 Bernard Hopkins

Jason Kim: I like Hopkins in this fight. He’s got the boxing brain, and the experience to win this fight with relative ease. As long as Hopkins takes the fight to the inside where Dawson is vulnerable, he’ll probably win this one fairly easily. If Dawson is able to keep the fight at a distance then it’ll be tough for Hopkins because Dawson is the better fighter on the outside. He throws nice combinations and has longer arms. But I doubt Dawson will be able to keep Hopkins off of him. Look for Hopkins to crash into Dawson with regularity, and look for a lot of holding and wrestling from B-Hop down the stretch. It won’t be pretty to watch but Hopkins will get the job done.

Pick: Bernard Hopkins UD 12 Chad Dawson

Dan Ambrose: On Saturday night, Bernard Hopkins is going to get old before our very eyes, and looked more than his age. It’s going to be like one of those television programs where some guy gets old in a matter of seconds. Dawson is just so much younger, faster and better skilled than Hopkins that I see this as a virtual shut out with Dawson winning every round of the fight without question. Even the judges won’t be able to screw this one up.

Pick: Chad Dawson UD 12 Bernard Hopkins

16 Responses to “Hopkins vs. Dawson: Boxingnews24.com experts make their picks”