Chad Dawson

Shaw ensured he had rights/cash over Stevenson's next fights rather than get Dawson a rematch clause in the contract. Again, Shaw not giving a sh1t about his own guys.

 

Cant see where anyone can say Dawson is damaged goods.

The punch he took from Stevenson was powerful and right on the button.
It was perfect shot. and he actually got up from it, though imo the ref stopped it appropriately.

Dawson just did'nt lay down, he got up and that should say something about whats inside him.

 

His obvious sluggishness led to that punch landing, that's my point, prime Chad wouldn't have been so open to that nor so **** through the first round up to that point

 

Not so!

Dawson has had a problem getting motivated for some time now.

If he does'nt see you as a real threat, he fights accordingly.

He fought a lackadaisical fight in the first Glenn Johnson fight, then being dissapointed in himself he dominated Johnson in the rematch.

Hopkins is a big mouth Dawson despised. Being motivated, Dawson dominated Hopkins.

Its about being motivated which Dawson has a big problem with.

No reason not to be motivated in rematches with either Stevenson or Ward at 175 lbs. Those two fights tell us more about where Dawson is at in his career.

I still think he can fight at the highest level if his motivated and focused.

Big "if" though I agree. Boxing is not a sport you can afford to step into a ring with a lack of focus against anyone.

 

He's lost by tko/ko in his last two fights. He quit against Ward and was starched in round 1 against Adonis. He was mentally somewhat unmotivated even before his losses but now, he's probably even more unsure of himself mentally. Also, it looks like his chin has finally softened up and once it's softened up, it's never the same. Is he still an elite fighter? Of course in terms of talent and skills but he is way past his prime in terms of mental fortitude and ability to take a shot.

 

I don't think Chad even threw any of his power shots. I saw a bunch of jabbing. I think that allowed AS to be a little less cautious which got him to throw that big KO shot. Bad performance by Chad. I don't think he's done but I don't think he'll get back to his old form either. He's not mentally strong enough. I hope I'm wrong though.

 

Funny you use the word "focused", I was trying to edit my post and change "prime Dawson" to "focused Dawson" , thats what I meant, but my browser is a ******* so I left it, didn't think you'd actually put the word in there for me

 

:yep
I think Dawson showed how good a fighter he can be when he well and focused.
He was in shape and mentally focused both offensively and defensively vs Hopkins, who Dawson likely considered a legacy fight.

Its a shame he cant be as focused like that against everyone.

 

I dont think its fair to say his chin is softened or glass based on the shot he took from Stevenson.
Any fighter takes that shot is likely to get dropped and hurt.

When Dawson's legs turn jello with shots he once took with ease, they you can say he's lost the ability to take a clean shot.

 

Dawson and the people around him keep making bad decisions.
Dawson should nex fight a Yusaf Mack.
Then after a few more fights against guys who don´t punch that hard he should go the WBA route. Shumenov is probably the weakest belt holder or at least he has the weakest punch.

 

I saw Chad not react to two big right hands that barely grazed him. He's really nto that good of a fighter. His speed is also very overrated.

 

He's lost his last two fights by ko. That's reality. He got hurt by Ward, who is not heavy handed. Some of it is obviously weight related but it still happened. Then he gets starched in 90 seconds. The guy was able to take a much better shot in his prime. He took shots from guys like Adamek and Tarver. His chin has softened up. How can it not after two straight ko losses?

 

The fact that Dawson dropped to 168 lbs has got to be factored when you analyze the Ward fight. Dawson just looked weak and a step slow at the weight.

I dont feel you can really access much when you get caught cold against a puncher like Stevenson.
When has Dawson even taken a more powerful shot than the one Stevenson landed?
That shot was powerful and right dead on the button.

Hopkins went down from much lesser shots against Pascal, you cant say based on that, that his chin turned soft.

 

Hopkins was legitimitely hurt a couple of times against Pascal in their second fight and that's reason to believe that his chin has softened up due to age. But at least he recovered and went on to dominate Pascal. Dawson quit and got starched.

You might be right. Maybe it's just the weight and a flush shot from a power puncher. But i feel that a prime Dawson wouldn't even have been caught with that shot so early in the fight. To me, all these point to an obvious decline in Dawsons' skill, heart and chin as a fighter.

 

I'm a big Dawson fan and although I picked him via SD, I said I gave Stevenson a good shot to ice him early. It was a dangerous match up for where Dawson is/was at and I was surprised at how little of a chance Adonis was given heading in. I would still pick him to dominate or at least win against certain highly ranked guys like Cleverly, Hopkins III, Shumenov, Grachev, Braehmer.

I'd hate to see what Kovalev would do to Dawson.

It's weird, although he's clearly faded and in career crisis, I still feel like I'd pick Dawson over Pascal in a rematch... (shrugs) Lets be real about how Pascal has looked since the Dawson fight.

Am I crazy, or are there only a couple guys at 175 I'd pick over Chad?