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Sat May 09, 2009 11:26 pm EDT

Dawson wins but did he get himself a Hopkins fight?

By Steve Cofield

There were plenty of negative cries about this rematch between Chad Dawson and Antonio Tarver. Dawson did beat Tarver the first time around but it wasn't a walkover. There didn't have to be a rematch but it turned out to be a pretty good fight. The fans and the HBO broadcast team seemed to think it was a much closer fight than the judges who gave a unanimous decision to Chad Dawson 117-111 on two cards and 116-112 on the other card. The Yahoo! Boxing Blog scored it 115-113 but there were at least three difficult rounds to score. Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole had it 117-111 for Dawson.

Dawson retains his IBO light heavyweight title in front of 2,156 at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas but sounded disappointed after the fight:

"I was a little bit out of my element. He came back strong in the middle rounds. He said he was going to push the pace. He came forward," said Dawson (28-0, 17 KOs). "He took me off my gameplan. He fought a heckuva fight. My hats off to him."

Dawson outlanded Tarver 209-121 and landed at a higher connect rate (31-percent to 16-percent). He also impressed the judges with his body punching, landing 62 shots to just 14 for Tarver.

Dawson's best rounds came in the sixth and seventh. His combinations of three or body punches followed by a big uppercut were impressive. He did the same in the ninth round to at least lock up a draw at that point in the fight.

Tarver trainer Buddy McGirt thought his fighter closed stronger:

"We thought it was a lot closer. We thought we won the last two or three rounds to pull out a draw."

The Yahoo! Boxing Blog had Tarver (27-6, 190 KOs) winning the final two rounds. Patricia Jarman and Duane Ford gave the final two rounds to Dawson while Alan Davis gave them to Tarver.

Dawson is looking to take a step to the next level and draw Bernard Hopkins or Joe Calzaghe into a fight. His gas tank was running on empty down the stretch and this decision on points and cleaner boxing may not be enough to woo one of the big names into a big money fight.

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14 Comments

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  1. Rick
    1. Posted by Rick Sun May 10, 2009 12:55 am EDT

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    i missed the fight
  2. Jimmy
    2. Posted by Jimmy Sun May 10, 2009 2:22 am EDT

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    You didn't miss much. Tarver did a lot better than the first fight. Chad was boring and lost the second half of the fight.
    And of course the judges gave the fight to C.Dawson.
    If C.Dawson gives G.Johnson a rematch (which I doubt), C.D. will loose.
    Manny fans, I'm sure by now you read in the blogs that Arum promised Edwin Valero a fight with Manny in the future.
    I'm sure Manny has honor and will do the right thing and allow a fight with Valero. (which I also doubt).
  3. ANTHONY B
    3. Posted by ANTHONY B Sun May 10, 2009 2:58 am EDT

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    Jimmy, you once indicated that Valero was too green to be fighting experienced fighters, now you wish him to fight a primed Pacman. Pac has just destroyed Diaz, DLH and your man Hatton, so c'mon ... do you really believe he's now suddenly scared of Edwin Valero? Unlikely! However, I think you're right about Chad, his sloppy style, more notably his very limited foot-work doesn't inspire much confidence.
  4. Nutcracker
    4. Posted by Nutcracker Sun May 10, 2009 6:57 am EDT

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    Bhop wont fight Dawson because he knows it is a fight he cant win.. It aint about the money.. Lame excuse.
  5. Mr.Brooks
    5. Posted by Mr.Brooks Sun May 10, 2009 10:07 am EDT

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    At least It on HBO and not PPV... it's been a good couple of weeks fo boxing though, kinda nice..
  6. Carlos M
    6. Posted by Carlos M Sun May 10, 2009 10:12 am EDT

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    Chad Dawson cant draw flies. And I thought the crowd for the wright-williams fight looked bad. Dawson needs more exposure before he can expect to fight the likes of B-Hop
  7. Da_Bay_Beast
    7. Posted by Da_Bay_Beast Sun May 10, 2009 1:56 pm EDT

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    B-Hop can beat Chad. Money IS the issue. B-Hop in his prime didn't get the monetary compensation he deserved and now at 44 he wants to make sure he's not putting his a$$ on the line for chump change. Hopkins is a bigger draw than 90% of the fighters in that division. Especially after the Pavlik and Calzaghe fights(i actually had B-Hop up 2 rounds in that fight). B-Hop is a guaranteed hall of famer and should be remembered as an all time great, maybe not as exciting as others but his record in title fights and defenses is ridiculously good. Against Chad he probably should be on the high side of the monetary split. Dawson is not a big draw and last nights fight exposed holes in his game and showed that he's not quite as exciting as even his promoter thinks he should be.
  8. Chuck B
    8. Posted by Chuck B Sun May 10, 2009 2:44 pm EDT

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    the fight was akin to how doyle brunson once described a no limit texas hold'em tournament "hours of boredom and moments of sheer terror". dawson took off round 3 (i think to see if tony could hurt him), lost rounds 3,7,8, and 11 on my card. it was an awkward fight, in which i thought both fighters showed "flashes" of brilliance, but chad didn't do much to improve his position in boxing's "elite". i think max kellerman was a lot harder on him than he should have been by bagging on him throughout the fight, ending up calling him "possibly a b boxer in a c division". i think dawson is better than that, although the division is ridiculously devoid of great talent, and no *real* prospects.
    if dawson wants the fame that he seeks, he needs to move up to cruiserweight, or even heavy and beat some bigger names, unfortunately i don't think he could compete 25 lbs heavier. i don't think he has the "sharpness" on his power shots needed or the chin to make it at heavy.
    hopkins would be crazy to get in the ring with dawson, because he's (let's face it) an old man with nothing left to prove. he would be risking his legacy to take a fight with dawson. roy jones, who has already tarnished his legacy won't fight dawson, tarver dawson iii wouldn't even get a "whiff" from any tv or cable coverage. there is no one in the division for dawson to actually prove that he's the best.
    i think he's a victim of bad management. "the joint" at the hard rock is not a large venue, these guys probably didn't do much more than pay their training staff and bills and clear around 120k after taxes for their trouble. not bad, but certainly in todays landscape, not good.
  9. Aussie Kulaps
    9. Posted by Aussie Kulaps Mon May 11, 2009 5:43 am EDT

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    Hey Jimmy! What do you think Manny Can get with your boy Valero? What do you thinkk Valero can offer that Manny would not refuse him? Your boy need to prove himself first he is still a puppy who wants to have a big bone. He is like Darchinyan who also wants to fight Pacquiao but what can he offer Manny? You are making a fool of yourself JIMMY by saying that Manny is scared of Valero, WHO IS VALERO COMPARED TO ALL THAT MANNY HAS BEATEN?
  10. Jimmy
    10. Posted by Jimmy Mon May 11, 2009 12:05 pm EDT

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    Jan.2009, Manny promised to fight Valero after the this year, now after April 4th, Freddy R.doesn't seem so eager or confident that Manny will ever fight Valero, in fact, Freddy hinted that Manny might retire after the Mayweather fight rather than fight Valero.
    Valero is the perfect opponent for Manny, Valero is fast, powerful and in his prime, Freddy knows this.
    But, Manny has honor and won't back out on his deal. Only time will tell.
  11. Mitcy1z
    11. Posted by Mitcy1z Sun May 17, 2009 7:19 pm EDT

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    Boxing deity Muhammad Ali famously lives with Parkinson syndrome, a disorder of the nervous system caused by the degeneration of a group of brain cells involved in voluntary movement. There has been no conclusive evidence that Ali's disorder, which causes tremors, slowness of movement and muscular rigidity, is a result of his boxing career. However, his form of Parkinson's is associated with head trauma.
  12. Mitcy1z
    12. Posted by Mitcy1z Sun May 17, 2009 7:22 pm EDT

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    The BMA's 25-year campaign against boxing is based on medical evidence that suggests the sport also causes chronic brain damage, sustained cumulatively over a career rather than in a single bout. The American Medical Association says this affects three out of four boxers who have more than 20 professional fights. The most disturbing case is that of Muhammad Ali, the all-time "Greatest" renowned for his quickness outside the ring as much as inside it. By the age of 45, Parkinson's Disease had reduced him to a shuffling shadow of his former self.
  13. Fyuk Yiu
    13. Posted by Fyuk Yiu Fri May 29, 2009 3:27 am EDT

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    Your only as good as your last fight right? Hopkins Beat who last? And Dawson could'nt even finish a slow as a snail Pitter Patter Tarver? Hopkins would wear Dawson down and finish him in the end. No doubt BHop wins.
  14. Magilla
    14. Posted by Magilla Sun May 31, 2009 1:46 pm EDT

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    Very boring fight.

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