Chad Dawson vs. Tavoris Cloud in early 2011

By Boxing News - 09/30/2010 - Comments

Image: Chad Dawson vs. Tavoris Cloud in early 2011By Matt Stein: Former two-time light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (29-1, 17 KO’s) could be facing International Boxing Federation (IBF) light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud (21-0, 18 KO’s) in early 2011, according to boxing news from Steve Kim. Kim says that Dawson and Cloud’s people are in discussion for this fight. This is a gutsy fight for both fighters, especially Dawson, who is coming off of a 11th round technical decision loss to WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal on August 14th. It was a fight that Dawson could have won had he been more aggressive and throwing more punches. But he looked timid, and rarely fought with any kind of sustained action until the 11th round.

Even then, Dawson let off with his shots to admire his work after starting the round with a nice flurry of punches. It was as if Dawson lacked awareness about what he needed to do in the fight and wasn’t just reacting naturally the way a fighter does when they’re fighting with confidence. It was as if Dawson was thinking too much in the ring, and his indecisiveness cost him the fight. Dawson probably needs a new trainer, one that can up his work rate and make him more aggressive on offense.

Cloud, 28, defeated 41-year-old Glen Johnson by a 12 round decision in August. Cloud showed a good work rate in that fight, but his defense is horrible. He needs to get a lot better in trying to pick off shots because he was hit far too much in that fight. He made what should have been an easy fight for him into one that was close at the end.

If Cloud fights the same way against Dawson, he’ll likely lose because he doesn’t have the hand speed to do the things that Pascal was able to do with Dawson. If Dawson doesn’t fear Cloud’s speed, he’s going to take a lot more chances and will control the fight from the outside. However, Dawson really needs help in increasing his work rate if he wants to beat a fighter like Cloud. He’ll get out-worked by Cloud if he fights the way he did against Pascal.



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