Calzaghe should fight Dawson in Wales and then retire

I agree with you regarding how Dawson is a proven fighter but he has a very weak chin. Kessler (one of the most underestimated fighters) will beat Dawson any day of the week.. Kessler is a very accurate fighter with great power and a solid chin. He would probably KO Dawson within 6-8 rounds just like an old ass Johnson almost did. I must say though..Dawson did look good against a slow, methodical, Antonio Tarver that fought bums to earn a fight with Dawson.

 

oh..and about Lacy.. Lacy was MORE PROVEN at the time he fought Calzaghe then Dawson is now.. Lacy beat Vanderpool, Sheika, Pemberton, Williams and Reid back to back to back before he fought Calzaghe.. which were all clear and convincing wins Dawson to date has only fought Johnson (39 yrs old and who he lost to in my book), Tarver (39 yrs old) and Eric Harding (who tarver koed back in the day and johnson had a UD over), adamek (good proving fight for Dawson)..and all of these fights were not back to back like Lacys were..some of em with some BUM inbetween so Dawson could feel more confident about himself and his weak chin

 

Joe is too clever and tricky to fight for Dawson, Dawson needs much more experience to step into the ring with him. It would at this stage of Dawson's career be a mismatch much like the Lacy fight.

I would much prefer a Froch fight.

 

I don't see this fight happening. I'm unsure if Calzaghe actually retires but if he keeps fighting then I'm not sure he'll face Dawson. I think there are better risk/reward ratio fighters for Calzaghe to face.

As for Dawson being proven enough to fight Calzaghe. That must be a joke to say he isn't. Dawson would rate with Hopkins and Kessler as the toughest opponents Calzaghe has faced. He is at or in his prime and has wins over some good fighters.

Dawson is more proven than Lacy was and isn't tailor made for Calzaghe. Lacy, to be honest, was overhyped. He was a good fighter when Joe faced him and he deserves a lot of credit for not only beating him but doing it so decisivly, but Lacy was overhyed.

Dawson is almost as proven as Kessler was and no one claimed that fight shouldn't have been made. Kessler's best wins were Andrade, Mundine, Beyer,and Lucas. Dawson's are Adamek, Johnson, Tarver, and Harding. Thats a pretty equal list to me. Kessler had more fights and rounds under his belt so I would say he gets the edge over Dawson. But its close and Calzaghe would be a year and a half older if he fought Dawson compared to Kessler. So saying Dawson isn't "proven" enough to face Calzaghe doesn't hold water. Because he is as good and/or proven as almost anyone Calzaghe has ever faced.

 

I'm not sure I understand here. Dawson isn't experienced enough but Froch is?

 

Dawson isn't proven. A boxer like him needs to prove two things: that he can take pressure and that he had a chin.

Against Johnson, he proved he hated pressure. Johnson almost had him out twice! So...he didn't prove he was very good against pressure fighters.

Then, he's been down a couple of times and he's been out on his feet a couple of times, and he's never even faced a puncher! His chin is very much unproven!

Thirdly, how good is his judgment? Not very good...in every fight he failed to stick to the plan to a certain extent, and in some fights, he went off the rails badly!

So...no...Dawson is not at all proven. He needs to prove he can take pressure, he needs to prove his chin, and he needs to prove that he has the mental strength and tactical awareness to choose the right tactics at the right time and implement them.

Lacy was more proven than Dawson was, clearly!

Was he better? That is another question altogether.

 

Johnson is one of the better pressure fighters in boxing and Dawson beat him. The fight wasn't easy and was close but Dawson proved he could deal with pressure. I'm not sold on Dawson's chin but he's done well with it so far. Its also worth noting that Calzaghe has been down twice in his two light heavyweight fights. He wasn't hurt like Dawson was but Calzaghe's chin isn't looking Oliver McCallish at lightheavy either. I also don't think Calzaghe is a big puncher at lightheavy so the chin factor won't be quite the issue.

Would Dawson be the underdog against Calzaghe? Yes. Would Dawson benefit by having another fight or two against solid contenders before facing Calzaghe? Yes. On the other hand. Is Dawson as good or better than anyone Calzaghe has faced except Kessler and Hopkins(some might make a case for Dawson but thats not the point here)? Yes. Are Calzaghe and Dawson 2 of the 3 best lightheavyweights in the world? Yes.

Dawson may have a few question marks but he has proven to be a legit challenge for Joe. He's young, athletic,skilled, big, and quick. He holds a title and has knocked of three top 5 fighters in his division. If Calzaghe keeps fighting Dawson is one of the most dangerous fights out there for him. And no Lacy was not more proven than Dawson.

 

Even Bute is more proven that Dawson. He has a proven chin and he survived a top pressure fighter.

Lacy was more proven because at least his chin was proven! He also beat some good fighters who weren't shot/badly faded in impressive fashion! Why do you think 90% of experts picked him to beat Calzaghe? Because he was unproven and a hypejob?

No. Dawson is not proven. Sorry. Many people could be a legit challenge, and they're not proven either...:good

 

I agree that if Calzaghe does have one more fight its only fitting he retires in Cardiff.

I think you also have to remember that boxers at the end of their career will always talk about no more fights. They simply want to jack up the purse.

I really would be surprised if Joe doesn't bring down the curtain on his career in Cardiff.

 

Dawson would kick Bute's ass from pillar to post and you know that. When is Dawson ready to fight Calzaghe, two years from now? Dawson has faced world class competition and beaten world class competition. Say what you want about his chin, but he survived brutal hits from Glen Johnson, if his chin was bad he would of been knocked out, but no he survived the fight and wasn't even knocked down once (I'll admit though his chin is crackable and it isn't the best). He's ready for Calzaghe because he's an experienced world champion no if's or but's about it.

 

Lacy was overhyped and Calzaghe was underaprreciated coming into that fight. I'm not saying Lacy wasn't a good fighter-he was but was not as good as the press and Showtime would have you believe. And I thought that fight was more 50/50 than unanimously behind Lacy.

Dawson has beaten three top 5 fighters with a mixture of different styles. He's undefeated and been a belt holder for about 2 years. How is this not proven. He may have a question mark on his chin but he's a proven winner with that question mark. Just because a fighter has some questions not answered doesn't mean they aren't legit threats.

Besides Hopkins and Kessler who has Calzaghe faced that would be more dangereous than Dawson?

 

Are you serious? atsch

Unlike BHop and RJJ, Dawson would actually still be throwing punches after the 3rd round and not just stand there to be Calzaghe's punching bag.. No ****ing way Calzaghe "destroys" Dawson..

 

I agree with Bogart and Sandman (and the author of this thread). I think the way to go would be to fight Dawson. Dawson clearly beat Tarver, whom Calzaghe was mentioning as one of the 'legends' he would like to fight (pre Dawson loss, that is). The fight is easy to sell. If done in Wales, the Millenium Stadium (or whatever the place is called) is going to be full. And after that there really is no one out there, period.

Contrary to what many people believe, I think Joe has balls and cares what people think. IMO that is why the fight with Kessler happened - even though the die hard Calzaghe fans were shouting he didn't need to do it, cos there was no money and Kessler was a nobody (funny how that changed once Kessler got beat and how similar arguments are now being used to discredit Dawson).

To his credit, I think Joe is contemplating this option (i.e. the only real challenge left) so I hope showtime or HBO provide the money. If he goes out defeating Dawson I will be totally sold (again, like the thread starter).

To be clear, I don't think he needs to do it, but if he retires now, and Dawson moves on to dominate LHW for years - which is not impossible - there will always be that shadow of a doubt over how good he really was. Something like RJJ - Michalczewski never getting made and being talked about years after... I think he realises that and I think that's what makes the risk - which is clearly high - more attractive.

Btw. I find it slightly amusing how two groups of arguments are being used to discredit Dawson. Either he is
a) a nobody (I presume that this is in comparison to the Manfredo's that Joe has wasted time fighting not so long ago...)
b) too risky
you've got to make your mind up guys...

Plus we don't know what money he brings to the table. I haven't heard any sums mentioned, so not exactly sure where the legend that 'there is no money in this fight' came from (other than Joe saying it, so obviously it has to be true).

Finally, name a better fight than Dawson. Given the limited number of times Joe said he is going to appear, I strongly believe we don't need rematches (all his recent wins were clear). That leaves NO ONE else out there (and please don't mention Froch if you want to be taken seriously).

 

...Lacy, Mitchell, Eubank, Reid, Bika (headbuts/cuts)

Dawson doesn't have power. He couldn't hurt Calzaghe. Calzaghe could hurt him, though. Calzaghe couldn't hurt a few of those mentioned above but still beat them. Calzaghe is not scared by speed or workrate, unless that comes with power, great defence, excellent movement, great counter-punching ability and ring-generalship. Dawson has none of these things to a sufficiently high extent, impressive as he is. I rate Dawson as a B+/A- fighter, so top world class to elite level, but he doesn't have the style or tools to beat Calzaghe, imo.

 

Pavlik was considered by many a better fighter than Dawson, with warts and all, before Hopkins...

If Calzaghe did to Dawson what Hopkins did to Pavlik, what would you say? Who would be the best of the rest out there for Calzaghe to prove himself against, again!? Because one thing's for sure...he wouldn't get much credit...I mean...he didn't get much credit for beating a prime, live, peak, hungry and PROVEN Kessler, who looked much more impressive than Dawson ever did...