Two guys who fought in the same era. I rate Dawson higher and favour him on points but Cloud very easily stop him. Thoughts?
I agree. I see it being similar to Dawson's fight with Diaconu. Dicanou and Cloud were somewhat similar in size and style with Diaconu being a little heavier handed while Cloud was more active. Dawson at his best was another level above both.
For a while Dawson was a legitimate Top 10 pound for pound fighter. Cloud, at his best, was more or less just an alphabet titlist. He never had a credible claim to being the best in his division. For Cloud, the Julio Cesar Gonzalez (RIP) win was dope, and he beat the breaks off poor Clinton Woods. But he was also the recipient of one of the Top 3 worst robberies ever against Campillo. He was totally undressed by Hopkins and then just seemed totally checked out in his remaining fights. Meanwhile Dawson was a legit bad-ass, even though he never caught on with fans: wins over Glen Johnson (twice), Antonio Tarver (twice), Bernard Hopkins, Eric Harding, and Adrien Diachonu. His win over Tomaz Adamek was a beautiful clinic too.
