Andre Ward vs. Chad Dawson: Fools gold or The real jewellery?

Have you ever heard of the Black Swan theory, Flea? Lets hope this fight turns out to be a Black Swan. lol

I understand why you're so apathetic. If Dawson could make super middleweight all these years, then he would've done. As there are some big fights at 168 and he didn't have THAT many at light heavy. He's more of a cruiser, imo then a super middleweight. But it is what it is. He said he could come down and agreed to it, so it's on him. I'm not taking ANYTHING away from Ward. If Dawson wins no one will say it was a mistake, but if Ward wins people will blame it on the weight. Maybe that's another reason Dawson took the fight at 168.

Another reason is, some people might think Dawson is getting challenger money or the short end. But i have a feeling he's at the very least on parity, or even getting the bigger slice of the pie. Just because he is fighting for Ward’s title doesn’t mean he is taking less money. Dawson has been on HBO more times and he has been a champion longer. I don’t know what either fighter is getting. I’m assuming around 1 million apiece, plus some of the gate money because of that big expected crowd in Oakland. If they can get around 19k in that place they could do a 4 million dollar gate.

I assume that's the biggest reason Dawson conceded the location of the fight, because of the crowd Ward draws at home. Dawsons management have probabily asked for back end money on the gate or front end money on his guarantee.

The good thing about this fight is, the expectations seem to be so low with the masses. If it's only slightly better than people expect, it will be considered a good fight. Expectations levels can be everything sometimes.

I liken high/low expectations to a blind date. If someone tells you that the girl will look like Beyonce and she turns out to look like Kelly Rowland, you may get disappointed. But Rowland is a cutie pie. Your expectations were just too high. But if your expectations were to get Missy Elliot and you end up getting Kelly Rowland then you're happy with yourself. I think it will turn out to look like a cutie and not a minger.

 

:good

You wonna throw some X's and O's on why you think that, mate? Would love to hear your points. :good

 

I have to put that down to his hand problem and the fact that he was winning the fight by a streak. When someone dominates so many rounds and 'eases' off in a couple it always seems worse than it is. I think people make too much of it.

I don't remember Ward being out of his zone in those rounds, if you look closer he was slipping pretty much everything from the outside. Froch is just an animal who puts a lot of mental pressure on people so we have to also look at who he was against. Frochy is also VERY hard to break. Ward realised that.

I never get into the 'if this fight was 15 rounds' argument, because if it was, Ward would be prepared for it and fighting accordingly.

If i remember correctly, Ward turned southpaw for a period in those rounds, which points to the hand problems being a factor. The aderenalin was probabily beginning to wear off and he was feeling the pain in his lead hand. I don't think he has a stamina issue, myself. There was also a lot of rabbit punches by Froch in that fight, which he was throwing behind Andre’s head. That has to take a toll on everybody.

I'll tell you something, it really aggrevates me when people call Ward boring. gets my goat like you wouldn't believe. I mean what do people want? we complain when fighters like Amir Khan show such nescience in the ring and then also complain when someone reps the science like Ward does, and stays on his P's and Q's. There is nothing to complain about, imo. Ward’s a terrific fighter and his braintrust have done a great job in getting him incredible leverage. It's up to other parties to challenge them on the negotiating table. It shouldn't be too hard, it's not like he Mayweather or Pacquaio.

Guys like Ward get underappreciated throughout, i've seen it time and time again. People even trying to force fighters to change their styles to become more 'fan-friendly'. The most successful style in the history of boxing is the boxer puncher. Andre Ward should keep doing what he does. Winning. If he bores us or does not give us our money’s worth I will be the first to say it. But i have been very satisfied with almost all his fights so far.

Watching Ward, engage to kill and smother power, handcuffing opponents. Watching him turn his opponents and step with them to keep the smothering the same. Watching him counter with that short hook and dig to the body. Watching him slip punches with his hands up. Watching him play offense and defense at the same time is a sight to behold, and we're lucky to be watching someone like that in this watered down era.

The thing that impresses me the most about Ward is he always seems to be the stronger man in the ring. Even against Sakio Bika, a physical beast, he was pushing him back. He has deceptive physical strength combined with the technique to get him in the right position, what's called the hip clinch that he performs better than anybody in the sport, other than Mayweather.

He locks you up on the inside and he tears you to pieces. Then on the outside he is always on point. He’s always jabbing up and down and looking for openings. He doesn’t give you anything. When a fighter gives you no hope it really drains the heck out of you. Ward is a super complete fighter and the best thing about him is that he's not the most dynamic guy, so it shows what good fundamentals and sound teaching can do. You don't have to be the most dynamic and athletic guy to succeed. That's a great message to young fighters.

Having said all that, i think this will be his most challenging fight to date.

 

Maybe not in the styles of the fighters. But i think Achilles has a point. Two very sound technicians. In a fight mainly for the purist and which will have a lot of attempts at countering counters, trying to control distance and general technical tit for tat. Even just for illustration purposes it's a decent comparison.

 

The thing is though, Froch and Dawson are totally different in their punch release and delivary. Dawson is a sharper, compact puncher on the inside with better technique and quicker release. He actually has the arsenal to catch Ward on the inside. He turns his shoulder and can counter with a left hand or a short right hook, he doesn't have to move his feet. Plus he's a lefty. I think it's unfair to Dawson to lump him in with Froch in terms of the inside game. Froch is pretty horrible in that department and relies more on force rather than finesse, and whilst Chad is not the best, he can definitely hold his own.

 

:yep

I really like waiting to make my pick in a fight like this. Just to hear reports of how the training camps have gone, and how fighters make weight which is even more relevant here.

Apparently Chad is not looking too good in camp right now. Feuds with members in his team...:-( Although it may be advisable to take that with a pinch of salt, i don't know.