Let’s take a prime Chad Dawson and drop him off in 1990. There were four belt holders around in Virgil Hill, Charles Williams, Jeff Harding and Michael Moorer. How does he do?
Williams is pick'em, he is struggling with Hill, but I am confident he is outpointing both Moorer and Harding, possibly easily.
I think prime Chad Dawson is competitive in any era at 175. I would still favor Hill and Moorer over him but it would not surprise me if he beat both. He was that good. Bad Chad will never be thought of in the same way that Spinks, Charles and Moore are historically but I believe he could hang with those guys. Not saying he necessarily would win but he would be a tough fight for all of them.
He does well. He's a tall, fast, rangy southpaw with decent pop and good fundamentals. Jeff Harding was a good, determined battler, but he'd have to have Dawson fighting his fight, and I don't see it happening. Dawson is technically better and would give enough movement to frustrate Harding, while popping off the occasional rapid fire combination to keep Harding at bay. Harding looked great when he could impose his will and rely on his ruggedness and conditioning, but here I don't think Dawson is going to be there to be sucked into that kind of fight. Williams is an interesting one because Williams was a sound boxer himself, and durable. I think Dawson is quicker though. It's hard to predict how exactly this fight goes, but I'd favour Dawson just a little in a fight that goes the distance. Just a feeling. Moorer I think it can be argued, that he wasn't yet quite the finished article at 175. That said, solid fundamentals with prodigious power. He could underperform sometimes though. It's interesting because both he and Dawson are southpaws. Dawson does have experience fighting fellow southpaws though. I can see Dawson getting a decision, or getting taken out. Dawson's durability is suspect, and Moorer could really bang at this weight. I'd lean towards Dawson though. Hill was the best (as well as the most boring) champ in the division. As usual, he'd try to make it a jabbing contest and play it rather safe. A very experienced fighter all-round was Hill, who took few risks. Not a very interesting fight, I don't think. Intriguing though. Dawson would try to press the action, and I'm confident he'd have some success. He's certainly a lot better than some of the guys Hill beat. I'd favour Hill, though to me it's a good, close contest.
I don't know if he could keep Harding off of him for twelve rounds. Williams was a pretty big Light heavy and could box and punch. Hill was very mobile and stuck to his game. Dawson certainly has the skill to get into the ring with them.
