Dawson might take the fight with Diaconu after all

By Boxing News - 03/30/2011 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: Light heavyweight contender Chad Dawson (29-1, 17 KO’s) may end up taking the May 21st fight with Adrian Diaconu (27-2, 15 KO’s) after all, says Dan Rafael of ESPN. This comes after news that the 28-year-old Dawson was declining the fight with Diaconu for some unknown reason.

The bout was/is scheduled for the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins vs. Jean Pascal fight at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

It’s an important fight for Dawson because he will get to face the winner of the Hopkins-Pascal fight and his bout with Diaconu, or whoever he ends up fighting, will be shown on HBO in a move that will hopefully build interest in a fight with Dawson against the winner of the Hopkins vs. Pascal fight.

If Dawson doesn’t fight Diaconu there is speculation that Librado Andrade could be brought in to fight Dawson instead. That’s pretty much the same kind of fighter as Diaconu, so there really isn’t any change. Diaconu punches a little harder than Andrade and is a little rougher in terms of his fighting style, but they’re basically the same kinds of fighters.

Dawson should be able to out-point the slower Diaconu without too many problems. With his new trainer Emanuel Steward working alongside him, Dawson would be hard to beat by anyone in the division. Before his loss and bad performance against Pascal last year in August, Dawson was considered to be the best fighter in the light heavyweight division in the minds of many boxing fans.

If Steward can improve on Dawson’s weaknesses and make him be more aggressive offensively, he could end up being the top fighter once again. He’ll definitely beat Diaconu and/or Andrade. And if he can raise his punch output the way it was in the 11th round in his loss against Pascal last year, he’ll beat Pascal in a rematch and be too quick for Hopkins as well.



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