Erm no. I can guess that it might be tight and then punt for it possibly even being a split decision, of course I can. Whats the big deal?
Dawson retires Hopkins in the 5th. Hopkins will get hurt and not stand a chance taking Dawsons combinations.
you gotta think there was a reason why hopkins turned down dawson figjht so many times and only came back to fight pascal. i got a feeling dawson nicks it and we see a rematch.
He turned it down because there was no money in it and only a tiny hardcore gave a **** about Dawson at the time. His best wins are guys Hopkins already beat better versions of and in better style. Hopkins could have just retired after beating Pascal. But hes seen what many of us saw in Dawson all these years a horrendously flawed, mentally weak guy with decent physical attributes but a brain like a walnut.
Exactly this. Dawson was overrated for years and I never understood it. He's always looked average and never the sum of his parts. Hop' will sap his confidence and outlying him without much hassle I imagine.
The 'no money' excuse is bull****. HBO wanted the fight. They wanted that fight a hell of a lot more than they wanted a Roy Jones rematch preceded by a B-Hop classic against Ornelas. None of those made it on to major TV networks. Hopkins is bitter about 'being left out in the cold' after the Kelly Pavlik fight but it was his own doing by having so many dull fights and avoiding the then #1 Chad Dawson. Hopkins dropped way too many rounds in both fights with Pascal and you have to expect Dawson to perform better than Jean Pascal did making it another close fight.
^^^ Exactly. A win over Pascal would have put him in a position to challenge Hopkins. He lost, so Pascal got the job instead.... lost - and now it seems that Dawson vs Hopkins is the best fighter out there for Bernard. HBO aren't actually doing the sport in America any good by pushing these fighters into big fights or paying them big bucks to fight bums. The cream will always rise to the top, that's how it used to be.
Hang on, Dawson never made serious overtures to fight Hopkins. In fact I dont recall him doing anything more than calling out Hopkins. HBO hadnt invested in Dawson then he fought on Showtime against Glen Johnson, defending the WBC. He then opted fight Tarver for the IBF title and dropped the WBC. At that point HBO paid an eye-watering amount for the Tarver rematc. He dropped the IBF when Cloud was made mandatory and opted to rematch Johnson next for the interim WBC, which was how he got his shot at Pascal. Those were the first two fights where there was serious money on the table. But, what the hell was Dawson doing fighting old guys and chasing another when Cloud and Diaconu were available? Hopkins didnt have a title, wasnt the Ring champ (having lost that to Calzaghe), and had only beaten a guy coming up from 160 at a catchweight of 170. There was no upside to fighting Dawson for Hopkins at that stage, but there is now, so hes happy to make the fight. If anyones shown a history of ducking its Dawson. Your other point is ridiculous. The scorecards for Hopkins fight against Pascal were hilarious. Other than those with the knockdowns, Hopkins probably won eight rounds in the first fight, maybe nine. In the second he clearly won eight and should have had two knockdowns. Dawson lost seven rounds to Pascal and couldnt put him down at all. So your argument pretty much defeats itself. If Pascal could ONLY score four rounds against Hopkins, but seven against Dawson, Id say Chads going to get boned.
I don't know why HBO have showered him with big purses. He cannot sell tickets and his ratings on HBO are not great.:think Had to laugh at them trying to make out Calzaghe needed to fight him..
Would be interesting to find out. They've done it to a few in recent years..... Dawson, Berto etc. The minute they see someone that looks half decent they're on an undercard immediately, then a big money payday with a guarantee for their next fight. Sorted That's why America isn't producing fighters like Mosley, Hopkins, DLH anymore and are having to rely on Mexicans primarily and fighters from other countries to fill their slots as the hypejobs get knocked over one by one. I suppose it's no different to Sky paying lads silly money coming out of the amateurs. I mean, in the 70's and 80's it was a fair bet that most of the Olympic medallists would, at the very least, make decent pros. These days it's a lottery, more of a gamble than talking a rugby player into switching codes, for example.
I am good with Hopkins, some of my more special Executioner picks have gone: L12 Tito L12 Eastman :huh WKO10 Taylor (fight one) W12 Taylor (fight two) L12 Tarver L12 Pascal (fight one) So with a pedigree like that, I think you can stick the mortgage on my pick; a Dawson decision! :good
A good pick. Dawson will take the first two with speed and aggression, Hopkins will figure him out, counter and pressure quite comfortably. Dawson will make occasional rallies and steal a few rounds in the middle portion of the fight when Bernard is pacing himself. But the last four rounds will be Hopkins dismantling the younger man. If Pascal can flummox you with wild punches and no real strategy, Hopkins is going to dismantle you.