How good was Chad Dawson?

Joe never fought an elite level southpaw in his career.

He wouldn’t have anything to do with Pavlik or Dawson.

He was happy to bow out against a shot Roy, after literally saying that he was shot.

He also looked awful against Mitchell, and he sure didn’t slap Bernard up.

 

I was never sure as many of his big name opponents he beat were significantly older and I seem to recall him having a very tough time against G Johnson

25 when he 1st fought Johnson (39)
26 when he fought Tarver 1st time (39)
26 when he fought Tarver 2nd time (40)
27 when he fought Johnson a 2nd time (40)
29 when he fought Hopkins the 1st time (46)
29 when he fought Hopkins the 2nd time (47)
Decent wins no question about that but I wondered if youth worked in his favour a bit?
He did score some good wins like -
Diaconu, Adamek

 

Of course you are trying to forget that Dawson fought on Calzaghes under card defending a WBO-NABO SMW title. On the under card of Calzaghe/Lacy.
After that fight Dawson jumped away from SMW and fought at LHW only to go back to SMW years after Calzaghe retired

 

Dawson had all the talent in the world but was a head case. I was very surprised when Pascal pieced him up, and saw it as a big upset because I had high hopes for him. When things got rough, didn’t go his way, or he got frustrated, you could see that it clearly messed him up.

He shouldn’t even be mentioned alongside Calzaghe, though… Whos mental resilience is the exact opposite and maybe his best feat….

 

Saw him vs Tarver at the hard Rock back in 2009. Met some world champions. Good times.

 

I was surprised Dawson was the favourite in that one
I picked for Pascal

 

Very skilled fighter but also very mentally weak.

 

To build on this, Chad was very skilled but the ways he was limited he was very limited. He did not like in-fighting and, as mentioned, didnt handle mental pressure well...second guessing himself and becoming gunshy at the wrong times

 

Dawson had better tools. He had Pascal badly hurt at one point but was gunshy...Jean was momentarily out on his feet. Was insane to see Chad just sit there and not pounce.

 

Such a skilled fighter. Got roughed up by Pascal though and I'll never understand the want to fight Ward below his weight class. Weird career.

 

I had the second Hopkins fight a draw. IMO he beat Johnson and Hopkins due to his better athleticism and youth, not skills. But then again, he looked damn good against Adamek, whom you brought up.

Like others have said, Dawson had some mental issues and was never able to fully capitalize on his skills and talents, because he was certainly skilled and talented.
The only reason Hopkins made it so competitive at the time was because he got Dawson to follow him, and then Dawson got reckless and frustrated because he did not like being on the front foot that much, and Hopkins made him miss a lot of punches. Then at the midway point something clicked in Dawson and he flipped the script, with Hopkins now having to force the exchanges, and this is when Dawson´s skills showed themselves.

Pascal vs Dawson is still one of my favorite fights from the time, it was a fun scrap and a their styles matched up surprisingly well. Both in the athletic primes too.

 

From a skill and athleticism standpoint, he had a ton of great qualities. Some clear defensive flaws and infighting limitations, but that's true for most. Excellent body puncher, educated jab, solid footwork, good fundamentals, and nice combinations in his prime. The major limitations were mental focus, durability, and a tendency to get lackadaisical. Probably should have been greater than what he was.

 

I never got the impression that Dawson enjoyed boxing, it was merely a means to an end. With his physical abilities, he could have been a great if he was dedicated.

 

You are still the most obsessive Joe Calzaghe hater on the internet after all these years. You need to let that hatred go, it is burning you up inside.