Cloud/Johnson get it on 8/10

I don't know if they "officially" released a reason for the fight falling through, but what I remember is that HBO's plan was to have a card with with both Cloud and Dawson on it in order to build the fight up, and then show that fight- so it was likely a two fight deal.

At the time, Cloud was Dawson's mandatory and was biding time after beating Gonzalez. Team Cloud said no to the offer. Whether this was because they wanted to sit on Cloud's mandatory status without risking a setback or didn't think he was ready for Dawson is up to debate, but I feel it was probably a bit of both.

The end result was that Dawson's hands were effectively tied because of his deal with HBO, and so he was stripped of his title. Instead of fighting Dawson on HBO, Tavoris got his crack at the belt on ESPN against Clinton Woods.

 

my money is on Tavaris

 

Was this when Cloud was trying to land RJJ? His team may have been chasing the money, rather than explicitly avoiding Dawson.

 

Entirely possible. It just came off as unusual to me that a top contender with little name value of his own would turn down the exposure of fighting for a title on HBO for any other reason than his team didn't think he was ready at that point.

 

Cloud's probably the favorite though his resume leaves a lot to be desired; the youth, power, and activity are too much to overlook.

If Johnson and Dawson win...I really don't want to see yet another rematch

 

Nobody wants to see that - probably not even Glen. He'll be rooting for Pascal harder than anybody in the world if he beats Cloud. :yep

As for Cloud's resume, it's about to start glittering.

 

I don't think Tavoris is smart enough to beat Glen.

 

It definately can start glittering. I posted in another thread that if Cloud beats Johnson it may mark a time when the guard is finally passed from the old to the young after several years of the old guard holding sway.

But more for now, the resume looks bad, especially every time I see Reggie Strickland and his 66-272-17 record.

 

If Dawson beats Pascal and Johnson beats Cloud the light heavyweight division will be in disarray.
I hope Dawson/Pascal is for the ring belt as it rightfully should be.

 

Some people on the boxrec forum were actually justifying the site having Hopkins as #1 at LHW. :rofl

Maybe it will take someone like the Ring stepping in and awarding their trinket (which is no more prestigious than the alphabet ones, to me) to get people to credit one of these young guns as the rightful heirs to the throne.

 

That would be my take. I just hope it's not bad for Johnson. I enjoy watching both guys fight but I really like Glen on a personal level.

 

It really irritates me, that whole LHW situation. I think the Ring belt should be on the line for Dawson/Pascal.

 

I thought it was?

 

Reggie retired, but personally I think he should have hung in there a bit longer, and secured that 300th loss:yep

Cloud's resume' is very thin for a world titlist, but it is near average for a kid with just 20 fights.

 

At his pace, that would mean finishing up with about 73 wins and 19 draws. :yep