By Dan Ambrose: Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KO’s) isn’t overly impressed with WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward’s amateur background, and he feels that what Ward accomplished in the amateur ranks in winning a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics for the United States has no bearing to what he’s doing in the pros.

Dawson and Ward has business with another on September 8th in their fight at the Oracle Arena, in Oakland, California.

Dawson said “He’s still just another fighter. I understand the fact that he won a gold medal and he has a great amateur background, this is the pros.”

Dawson is correct. What Ward accomplished in the past at the amateur level is meaningless now that he’s a pro. Dawson sees him as just another guy that he has to beat in order to show the world how good he is.

Ward has thus far had little problems in his career. He just finished winning the Super Six tournament created by Showtime, beating the likes of Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green and Arthur Abraham. However, none of those guys have the boxing skills that Ward possesses, so it’s immaterial what Ward has done against those guys. Dawson, 6’3″, is bigger, faster and more skilled than the fighters that Ward has beaten at any point in his career.

Dawson already knows that Ward is going to try and take the fight to the inside against him, but he’s prepared for that eventuality and has worked on his inside game. Dawson won’t let the fight stay on the inside for any length of time, but for the brief moments that Ward does get to fight him in close, Dawson plans on being ready to punish Ward to make him this twice about trying that method of winning. It would be in Dawson’s best interest not to let Ward fight him on the inside too much because the danger of receiving a cut from a head-butt is way too high.