The World Boxing Council will continue to recognize Bernard Hopkins as its light heavyweight champ following a vote of its board of directors on Wednesday, RingTV.com has learned. The majority of the WBC's board members disagreed with the official call of Hopkins' WBC and RING title defense against Chad Dawson on Saturday in Los Angeles. Dawson won the fight by controversial second-round TKO after shoving Hopkins to the canvas where the 46-year-old champ injured his left shoulder and was deemed unfit to continue by referee Pat Russell. Hopkins maintains that he was fouled by the young challenger and thus the bout should have been ruled a No Contest. Russell did not view Dawson's shove as foul, accidental or otherwise. Golden Boy Promotions filed a protest with the California State Athletic Commission which will review the fight and make a ruling at a Dec. 13 hearing. THE RING magazine continues to recognize Hopkins as its champ pending that ruling.
The only way you can really have a shot is this: Dawson didnt foul Hopkins. In this case, since Hopkins is down is either because he took a knee down in which case the ref should start a count or ruling it a slip, i which case the ref go to Hopkins and see if he is fit to continu, he may call for the doctor, give him time to recover etc. The ref didnt do anything like that and since Dawson put his hands behind the knee of Hopkins, the hypothesis that it is not a foul is not likely to me. So in either case, the ref made a series of mistake that cause the confusion and the drama we now see. The no contest decision seems to me the most fair way to settle this.
Truth is, a title challenger cannot gain the belt by body slamming the champion to the mat in UFC fashion. I realize this causes grief to you MMA minded pseudo boxing fans, but those are the rules of the WBC.
You can only call it a rematch if you call their first meeting a match. Ought to call it a scratch, call the next one a match.
I'm pleased the WBC did not mandate a rematch. Now Hopkins can say "Fuk You" to the scared Dawson and go on to make a fight with Bute in Canada or await the winner of the S6. Let Dawson rematch Pascal for a non-title bout.
Use your head. It wouldn't be giving him the belt by virtue of the fact that he slammed/threw him to the ground. That has nothing to do with it.... it was the fact (initially) that Hopkins couldn't continue. You're framing it as if people honestly think that a throw to the ground is a legit move in boxing.... which is a silly way to view it, something a pseudo-intellectual would claim.