By Allan Fox: WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KO’s) says he’ll continue to look for big fights at 168 lbs if he beats WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KO’s) next month in their fight on September 8th at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

Dawson, 30, intends on fighting in both the light heavyweight and super middleweight divisions if he conquers Ward, so that he can defend both of his titles against the top names.

Dawson said “I’m looking for the good fights in either weight class. I think 168 is a lot more loaded than the light heavyweight division is. I also think those guys at 168, including Andre Ward, will be coming up to light heavyweight real soon.”

So either way, Dawson will be in a good position to get big fights at both weights even after some of the top super middleweights move up a class. I honestly don’t think as many will move up to light heavyweight as Dawson thinks they will. I can see Ward moving up and possibly Kessler in order to get easier fights.

However, guys like Carl Froch, Lucian Bute, Andre Dirrell, Adonis Stevenson and Thomas Oosthuizen, will likely stay at super middleweight for the remainders of their careers. The light heavyweight division will remain a pretty much empty one in terms of talented fighters. There will be some good fighters, to be sure, but also a lot of mediocre guys that can’t compete with the creme of the division.

The Dawson-Ward fight should give us a good indication of how Dawson will fare against the better fighters at super middleweight. If he gets totally blown out or dominated by Ward in a 12 round decision, that will be a good sign that Dawson would also struggle against other top 168 pound fighters like Froch, Bute, Kessler and Oosthuizen. Dawson should go back up in weight if Ward is able to easily take care of him on September 8th, because Dawson doesn’t need to ruin his career fighting against guys that may have his number due to their talent.