Nope. Dawson has tried in vain to argue that Mendoza should be recognised as the mandatory...but the WBC had none of it...So the WBC has decreed that Dawson has to fight his mandatory, Diaconu until the 25th of April, whilst alowing him to fight a voluntary by the 25th of January.
How can anyone say Dawson is scared when he chooses to fight a dangerous fighter like Johnson. I mean Johnson is a fighter nobody wants to fight, too risky. Nothing against Diaconu, but it seems clear to me that Johnson is a much more proven fighter.
Chad is free to move on to whomever he wants. But as long as WBC enforces mandatories and as long as Chad wants to call himself WBC Champ, he has to fight those mandatories. Diaconu is still his mandatory. Because it was a bona fide injury, Diaconu hasn't lost his position as mandatory, as much as Dawson tried to argue otherwise. The WBC reconfirmed Diaconu as his mandatory. Chad said: OK, let me fight him by the end of 2008. The WBC said: No, fight him by the end of April. That is it.
Who is saying Dawson is scared? Perhaps he is, but I don't see anyone saying he is...in any case, he is doing his utmost to duck Diaconu, it seems. He tried to duck him before their fight was arranged when he was flirting with Tarver, then after Diaconu got injured he tried to convince the WBC that Mendoza should be considered as mandatory instead of Diaconu and now he is considering dropping the belt altogether rather than fighting Diaconu...as a Dawson fan, I am not best pleased at all!
Dude give me a break. Who are you? Diaconus promoter? The dude is garbage i dont know why you're even saying Dawson is ducking him. Who has Diaconu beaten? NOBODY!!! Tarver and Glen Johnson are way better, and so is Adamek for that matter so shut up when you don't know what you're talking about. :good
I like Glenn Johnson in this one. He applies smart pressure on Dawson unlike Adamek. Ill take Johnson via UD.
...who is Diaconu? Some bloke who happens to be Dawson's mandatory...Tarver and Johnson are way better? One is 39 and the other is 40...they are not prime, live dangerous fighters...they are NAMES...they have less of a chance of beating Dawson than Diaconu...in my view. Diaconu will never be as good as these two have been in their prime, but that doesn't mean they are better now. Just my view.:good
Just noticed on boxrec: Johnson is due to fight Dawson on the 12th of April. If this is true, Dawson is dropping the belt, ducking Diaconu.
I think a dose of perspective might be good for you. First, no one is ducking anyone. That's silly. I don't think Chad perceives any great threat from Diaconu, probably thinking that he's a waste of time. Showtime has been busting its ass to make something big happen for Chad (i.e., Tarver), and Diaconu isn't it. Only someone very naieve would blame a fighter for bypassing a mandatory in order to make a more lucrative fight. In this case, Dawson also stands to gain more credit with dedicated fans by beating Johnson than he would Diaconu, who hasn't proved anything. By your logic, Joe Calzaghe is ducking Dawson. Chad isn't his mandatory, but he's the clear most difficult opponent for Joe. But who can blame JC for taking a Hopkins, given the difference in money between those two bouts. It's a business. Taking advantage of a bigger opportunity isn't a shortcut. The reason for bypassing big fights early is to avoid rushing a green fighter into something he can't yet handle. Dawson is entering his prime and is well past that stage, so there's positively no reason for him to **** around with ho-hum mandatory bouts. He should tell the WBC to kiss his ass.
You might be surprised to read that this is what I was arguing a couple of days ago...I was saying Joe needed to forget all about Hopkins and gun for the best man in the division - Dawson!
Never count out Glen Johnson!!!! this is going to be a war, I see Johnson knocking down Dawson a couple of times before taking a decision
Dawson isn't ducking nobody. He wants to make a name for himself before he fights the mandatory, Diaconu, in April.
Yeah, because if he is a no name fighter, Diaconu will not take him seriously! Nah, andy, come on, how can he fight both Johnson and Diaconu in April? Unless he fights Diaconu in January, that's it...he's dropping the belt!