Dawson's Future, Maybe Not That Bright After All!!!

I was at the fight. Being in Tampa, Florida the crowd really seemed to side with Johnson because he was announced as fighting out of Miami. When Johnson would land something it got a loud reaction. Crowd reaction can sometimes be a little contagious and when the final scorecards were announced I thought the decision was wrong and that Johnson had done enough to win or at least earn a draw.

Then I watched the replay twice on Showtime.

Dawson won that fight handily. Granted he got rocked a couple times but he was landing way more than Johnson. He also landed some punches that from twenty rows back I missed. In particular a couple of wicked uppercuts that definitely rocked Johnson.

Johnson not only has one helluva a chin but he's one of those type of fighters that doesn't even show a reaction to punches. He just keeps going forward even after taking a bomb.

Dawson made some mistakes in this fight but he fought one helluva a fight. One that sort of made me remember some of the great wars in the light heavy division of the 70's. And what I hope doesn't get lost in all the drivel being spouted on this site about Dawson's abilities and prospects is that he is still a truly gifted fighter.

 

You thought Dawson had power in many of those fast combo shots? Why wasn't Johnson's head rocked back a bit, many a time? One thing is to take a punch well - like Johnson surely can - another not to be rocked by a fast punch that looks very effective, but in fact isn't.

 

I saw some shots that snapped Johnson head. That uppercut in the mid rounds was a beauty. He also stopped Johnson dead in his tracks a couple times. But as I said before, Johnson is one of those fighters that doesn't really exhibit any signs of getting tagged. He's a real freak in that category. Even in his fight with Hopkins where he was getting tagged badly you only saw the damage manifest itself in his stopping throwing back.

Watch the replay on Showtime again and try watching it with the sound off. Bernstein and Albert did a decent job but they did get caught up in bit of "rooting for the old man" in my opinion. Dawson did land some really good shots in that fight and several went "uncalled" by Bernstein and Albert.

 

I watched it three times, twice on Setanta, once without the sound off. An argument can be made for a very close Dawson victory, but on the whole, I would say it was either a draw or a close Johnson win. A lot of Dawson's shots landed on gloves or weren't effective, I thought.

Given Dawson's surprise, fast, precise, well-timed plentifull, shots, particularly to the body, which look like they would topple a mountain, if they had world class power, Dawson should have stopped all his opponents before the limit. I don't think he has world class power though - his shots look much harder than they really are, I think.

 

I can respect your opinion. Hell I was rooting for the old man and one of the nicest guys in the sport and had the same opinion for a while until I watched it for the third time and asked myself just what the hell did the judges see that maybe I missed?

But I'll not challenge anyone on what their take is especially since I know to some degree that you're one of the more reasonable posters here.

I just don't think that Dawson's future should be written off. He really is a marvelous fighter. For that matter so is Johnson. It was a truly great fight that I'm glad I got to see live.

 

I don't think he should be written off either...and I had him in the p4p Top 15 before this fight. However, this fight confirmed certain worries and on that basis I cannot see him as the next Top p4p fighter. Of course, I'd love to be proved wrong, but can a non-world class chin on top of non-world class power and non-world class decision-making be overcome, given his defence is not elite by any means either? Not in 2-3 years, I don't think, at least not with the attitude he's displaying. What do you think?

 

Any fighter would have a tough time w/ Glenn Johnson ... I think Dawson has a good future.

It was just a very tough test for Dawson ... its a learning tool for him, so he can go back and look at what he did wrong and work on them.

Johnson beat Tarver, Woods, and RJJ ... so its not like he's a chump or something -- he's very relentless and determined.

He's only been stopped once ...

Dawson's future is still good ... he has a good frame and is filling out good ... his power will come - he's only 25yrs old ... This was his second title defense ... you can't just write him off like that.

I'm sure he'll adjust and come back better in his next fight ... he said in the post fight press conference "I was in the fight of my life" ... why the hell would he give an immediate rematch ...

Dawson has a future and will be good ...

 

I agree with this post Dawson has a good future. At this moment i dont see him losing to anyone currently at 175.

 

Boxers can drive you crazy sometimes. ****, you're talking to someone that thought Anthony Thompson was going to plow through his weight class.

I think Dawson has a lot more heart than I did before the fight. At times maybe a little too much for his own good because his emotions got him into Johnson's wheelhouse more than his abilities should allow him. I think he went for a knockout against a guy that's one of the hardest to knock out in boxing. He's got nearly every category of ability except maturity. His defense is good when he's focused but he definitely showed a flaw in lapses of concentration. That's a very bad thing that some boxers never overcome.

My gut tells me he's going to be o.k. but I've been a big fan of Glenn Johnson for a loooooooong time and that may have some bearing in this. Plus I wasn't one of the Adamek worshippers. I knew going in that this was going to be Dawson's toughest fight and answer some questions.

I think he earned a B in the fight. And hopefully he won't try some of the things he foolishly attempted. But I think there still some maturing to take place.

 

Andy Lee has slick movement? He looks like Gentleman Jim Corbett in there with his stance and stiffness. What Andy Lee were you watching?

People need to not forget that Johnson has recently beaten Tarver, Woods, Jones Jr., Eric Harding and Montell Griffin. Having a close fight with Johnson doesn't mean someone's exposed, it means they're damn good. The fact that he has so many obvious flaws that are correctable and was STILL able to keep it close against Johnson means that he still has a high ceiling, as long as he progresses.

 

Sure...a lot of maturing to take place - but, although he's only 25, he's been a pro for 7 years now, has fought 26 fights, but granted, he doesn't have extensive amateur experience. I thought he was A- already, or very close to it (certainly more than B+). Now I have him somewhere between B and B+ only. Heck...that's not much better than someone like Bute, for example...and there's plenty of others around that level...

 

This is true. What worries me is his attitude - he thinks he's pretty much the finished article already, ready to storm the p4p echelons. He thinks he's made it; he only needs the recognition that big fights can give him...I haven't seen in his attitude that hunger and realisation about how important it is to improve, and not just to prove his chin and heart and how tough he is...:think This is what worries me.

Anyway, I don't want to appear negative. Good luck to him!

 

Where do you rank Johnson then? That's a critical factor in this Dawson assessment. I think Johnson would be a nightmare for Calzaghe or just about anybody. He's a better fighter now than when he fought a prime Hopkins. I'm not saying he'd beat him but if Calzaghe squared up in front of him he'd get a cup of Glenncoffee. And I don't think Calzaghe has the power to stop Johnson. That you can go to the bank on.

 

Yeah, he's better now than when he lost to Hopkins. I think he's B to B+. He's just old though...if he had had only 10 more punches per round, with 3-4 hitting the target, it would have made a big difference. His footwork left him down a lot - and that goes down as a stamina failure, linked to age. Also, he's punches were not that fast or even that powerful. He was very solid though...A- level type solid, I would say. Granted, Johnson's style was hard for Dawson to deal with, but only if you assume Dawson didn't box all night - which he could have done - he's fast and young enough, but he didn't. So...in a way, Johnson's style advantage was only that big because Dawson fought the wrong fight at times.

 

I think he did use his brains...he was getting outclassed in a brawl and changed it up into a chess match meets track meet...the sort of change Johnson struggled to adapt to for a while.

Eventually he got cocky and got caught with a huge right hand but stayed on his feet. He fought through it, came back strong and never tasted the canvas.

He passed the test if you ask me.