Dawson: I’m happy to be the underdog against Ward

By Boxing News - 07/09/2012 - Comments

Image: Dawson: I'm happy to be the underdog against Ward(Photo: Alexis Cuarezma – Goossen Tutor) By Scott Gilfoid: WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KO’s) doesn’t care that he’s underdog going into his September 8th clash against WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KO’s) at the Oracle Arena, in Oakland, California.

Not only will the 29-year-old Dawson be the underdog in this fight, but he’ll also be the visiting fighter at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. Ward, 28, seems to draw strength from fighting at home in Oakland, and it’s going to be tough for Dawson to find an edge.

Dawson said “I’m happy to be the underdog in this fight. I haven’t been the underdog in a long time and I’ll do what I have to do to win this fight”

For Dawson to win this fight, he’s going to have to improve upon the performance he made in his last fight, a 12 round majority decision win over 47-year-old Bernard Hopkins last April. Dawson won, but he made it close by not throwing enough punches. There really wasn’t one round where he was what you would call busy. That’s a departure from the fighter he was in the past when he was constantly busy. However, with fights against older fighters like Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver, as well as a loss to Jean Pascal, Dawson’s work rate has dropped off.

I don’t know if he can physically fight hard for three minutes of every round at this point without losing focus or whatever and letting his opponent steal rounds. Ward will simply outwork Dawson in this fight unless Dawson muster up enough energy or motivation to fight hard enough to beat Dawson by a decision. Ward has already revealed how he’s going to fight Dawson by being “Physical” with him. In other words, he’s going to try and take the fight to the inside and punish Dawson in close the way that Ward did with Super Six tourney contestants Carl Froch and Allan Green.

It’s been five years since Dawson put in what I would consider an impressive performance when he defeated Epifanio Mendoza by a 4th round TKO in September 2007. The last time Dawson looked really good against a quality opponent was when he beat Tomasz Adamek in February of 2007. That’s a long time to go in between impressive performances. I think Dawson may not have it in him anymore to stay mentally and physically engaged for a 12 round fight. He seems to be only half there at times, and it allows even overmatched opponents to win at least four rounds against him. I can only imagine what Ward will be able to do against Dawson.



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