Joe Calzaghe Would Have Annihilated Chad Dawson

This debate is finally settled: Joe Calzaghe >>>> Sad Chad Dawson.

Jean Pascal -- no one's idea of a perfect fighter, just ask Carl Froch -- tooled Dawson. The fight wasn't close, at all. Dawson had no answer for Pascal's movement or even Pascal's halfway-decent workrate and young legs. We found out, once and for all, that Dawson was an overhyped product of fighting a severely-weight-drained Tomasz Adamek, an over-the-hill Antonio Tarver and over-the-hill Glenn Johnson.

This was shouted from the rooftops by yours truly and a number of other analysts. But the Dawson Groupies wouldn't listen.

Here's what can be deduced from tonight's fight in which Pascal beat down Dawson handily:

* Joe Calzaghe's movement would befuddle Dawson and leave Chad stalking Calzaghe and taking shot after shot after shot

Dawson had ZERO answer for Pascal in round 1-5. None. This was when Pascal was on his toes and moving, before Pascal lost his energy. Calzaghe is faster and quicker than Pascal, and he has one million times the stamina. Calzaghe would have embarrassed Dawson even worse than Hopkins did Pavlik with his movement.

* Joe Calzaghe's workrate would have frozen and overwhelmed Chad Dawson

Chad Dawson does not like to punch, or really fight. We all saw what Calzaghe's workrate did to fighters such as Hopkins. And we saw what movement did to Dawson tonight. Imagine workrate + movement against Dawson. He would be in the kind of defensive shell which Roy Jones found himself after round 1 against Calzaghe.

I always knew Calzaghe would have beaten Dawson. Tonight, after watching Dawson's ridiculously pathetic performance against a game-but-not-great Jean Pascal, I realize that Calzaghe would not only defeat Dawson, he would obliterate him and more than likely stop Dawson at some point in the fight. And probably do so with little effort and little resistance from Dawson.

Never mention Dawson in the same breath as Calzaghe again. There is NO comparison at all. Dawson couldn't carry Calzaghe's jockstrap.

 

I knew Calz would have beaten him before. I did not know he would destroy him.

After tonight, there's no other conclusion to come to. Calzaghe would have toyed with Dawson, clowned him.

 

Yes. Against old men with old men legs and old men reflexes, he looks like a pound-for-pound candidate.

Against the guy whom Froch beat, he was exposed as the less-then-awesome prospect many felt he was.

 

Before tonight, I would have said Dawson would clown Froch.

After tonight, I would LOVE to see this fight. It would be a war because Froch would make it one. Dawson might be able to make it like Dirrell-Froch and run, but I think Froch tracks him down and it becomes a brawl.