According to the site with MAXimum boxing. Feb 28 or Mar 14 are the possible dates. Tarver and Kessler are the possible opponents. Seeing Dawson on Hbo would be a bit strange. He's been on Showtime for 7 or 8 straight fights. He feels like a Showtime fighter-but this is a business. Tarver is a fight I'm not too interested in. Kessler is a lot more appealing but he doesn't have the name value of a Tarver. I hope this is Hbo's way of pushing for a Dawson-JC showdown. Get him on their channel and pick up a nice win to start the drumbeat for a showdown with JC.
It wouldn't make any sense for Dawson to fight Tarver because he just beat Tarver. He would have to fight Bernard Hopkins ... then possibly set up a fight between he and Joe Calzaghe. The only reason why Dawson is going to make his debut on HBO is because they want to set up an undefeated PPV showdown between he and Joe Calzaghe.
I read not too long ago that there wasn't a rematch clause; that Tarver is talking out of his ass. From Dan Rafael's blog; "Dawson also said something else pretty interesting -- that the contract he signed to fight Antonio Tarver in October didn't have a rematch clause. Criscio backed that up. It's interesting because Tarver has said that his contract did have a rematch clause and he's talked about doing the rematch. Understandably, Dawson isn't interested in a rematch of a fight that he won easily, especially with bigger names out there for him. This could get a little messy."
If it's Kessler it's gonna be on HBO for sure,with Tarver I'm not that sure,who would want to see that again?
Dawson-Kessler would be a good one, and it would give Dawson a strong case for fighting Calzaghe (assuming he beats Kessler). It would also be interesting to see how he handles Kessler. If Kessler loses then Calzaghes record takes a dent, but if he beats Dawson then not only does it boost the record, it also eliminates one of the last possible contenders for a Calzaghe fight.
Tarver is a waste of time. Dawson - Kessler is a nice fight. I want Dawson - Hopkins or Dawson - Calzaghe in '09.
Check out Steve Kim's article titled The Architect. Its at the bottom of the page with a bit of other news.
This would be a great career move for Chad, whatever happens with a potential Calzaghe fight. I'd be incredibly fired up to see him in against Kessler. There's no reason at all for him to fight Tarver again, unless Rafael's report is incorrect.