Dawson avoided Diaconu and Cloud, and the neutral fans can see it...

I think the fight fell through I don't think he ducked Diaconu.

It wasn't a lesson it was advice. I'm not ordering you to do anything. It was merely a suggestion to make your posts more comprehensive.

 

You've got a sense of humour at least.

 

Cloud is staying at the top too short to say that anyone avoided him. The first notable opponent was Gonzales (on a losing streak), so I'd say only after Woods he got real recognition.

In the meantime, Dawson fought Tarver and Johnson, both twice. I wasn't happy with Tarver rematch (and rightly so as it turned out), but if there was something to blame it was rather the fact that the rematch clause was enforced.

And with Johnson, althought there were probably no clauses in case of Johnson losing, so I think this the rematch was OK as he gave Dawson everything he could handle (some thought even more than that).

 

:deal

 

1) Dawson signed to fight Diaconu. They even promoted the matchup. Diaconu pulled out with 10 days to go, forcing Dawson to face Epi Mendoza (who, while he isn't good, IS a huge puncher).

2) The second time he was supposed to fight Diaconu, he petitioned to get the mandatory postponed so he could fight Diaconu after Tarver. The petition wasn't granted, so he fought the higher ranked fighter with the bigger name for bigger money. It was a no-brainer.

3) Tavoris Cloud was given the opportunity to fight Dawson after he beat Woods. Rather than press the issue, he sat on his mandatory, knowing that Dawson was going to eventually vacate for a bigger money fight. Cloud could have fought Dawson, but chose not to. Cloud was also having management issues at the time.

4) He willingly went TO Montreal to fight Pascal, the man who beat Diaconu twice.

 

This was after he had petitioned to have Diaconu's mandatory status revoked on multiple occasions, had camped outside Jose Suileman's house in Mexico for two days begging to be allowed to defend the title against Johnson rather than be stripped and had signed a contract promising to defend against Diaconu within three months if he beat Johnson...

 

As a Dawson fan, I have to agree he did avoid Diaconu, Dawson did not avoid cloud though. It makes me sick to my stomach that Dawson who was considered the best LHW would be avoiding challengers.

I think Dawson would have beaten the crap out of Diaconu, but the fight never happened. The first mistake in his career was avoiding to fight Diaconu in March 2008, and opting to fight Glen Johnson instead. The second mistake in his career was not rematching Glen Johnson right away. Dawson should have dropped the WBC belt, but not to fight Tarver, but to fight Glen Johnson.

 

I have to agree. Not taking anything away from Pascal, because he beat Dawson and would have won on the cards, had the fight continued. But styles make fights.

Tavoris Cloud fights with a completely different mentality compared to Chad Dawson. Cloud brings the heat and he fights like he's hungry. His determination and toughness would not be denied against Pascal. Nobody hurt Glen Johnson as many times as a rusty Tavoris Cloud did.

Jean Pascal ain't exactly elusive. He's easy to hit. Cloud would tag and hurt him at some point and he has the power to get him out of there. It would be a tough fight either way, but I believe Dawson would do better against Cloud than Pascal would.

All of the above are true.

The issue with Cloud not fighting Dawson then was managerial. This is also the reason for him being out of the ring for so long before the Johnson fight. He would fight Dawson any day of the week now that he's got those issues straightened out. I hope we see these guys go at it in any way shape or form. LHW is pretty interesting at the moment.

 

Right on the money Ripple. Agree 100%. :good

Also, about Cloud...let's not forget he turned down HBO when HBO initially wanted him in a 2 fight deal to build up for Dawson-Cloud on their network. Because he kept his mandatory status and HBO had Dawson locked up, Dawson's hands were tied for that fight. The end result was Cloud fighting a significantly easier fight for that vacated title against an old Clinton Woods for less money and less fanfare on ESPN.

I suppose for those who think Dawson had it coming for avoiding a fighter he would've been heavily favored to beat in Diaconu, this would've been pretty satisfying. But by no means does it mean he avoided Cloud.