Fighting Pascal and perhaps Bute both in Canada would substantially garner more interest than either Tarver or Johnson at the stages of their careers in which Dawson fought them. Night and day.
Well I don't blame Dawson for fighting them though, he had to get the belt somehow, and HBO made him rematch Johnson
He's recovering from a shoulder surgery! they needed to put the shoulder back in place and take-off some bone fragments after his fight against Diaconu! Even Pascal isn't sure when he will be good to start sparring again!
That's part of the problem, he can't. HBO is no longer in the tuneup business. They will only show his fights if he takes on a legit fighter, and they only have so many dates available.
Pascal has the power to hurt Dawson so Dawson better be boxing on the outside as much as possible. It's going to be an excellent fight.
Hopefully Pascal, who I've met and was a sound guy, will win, mainly because Dawson is super boring, even for an admirer of skills such as myself.
IMHO, Dawson has to be the favorite but don't underestimete Pascal. He has fast hands, power, a solid chin, and tons of heart. He will not mind to take a few shots if he can tag Dawson in return. Pascal will test that chin and if it really is "not that good"... Dawson could be in trouble in some parts of the fight.
This should be an outstanding fight so long as the Pascal of recent memory shows up. I'm leaning towards Dawson on this one.