Enough of the Dawson hate, let's enter reality.

Dawson doesn't need to fight in the inside. Boxers with long arms always have problems fighting in the inside like Williams, and you don't see Klitschko fighting on the inside either. Dawson only needs to fight on the inside when he has to, such as the time when he fought Adamek. Oh and Dawson will beat Hopkins just because he's 43 years old, if Taylor can out hustle Hopkins, than Dawson definitely will.

 

You've been calling for Dawson to get stopped by Diaconu forever, right?

He isn't as far along yet as I and others had imagined, but he's certainly very talented. Maybe he'll become a PfP'er and maybe he won't, but he has shown enough offense to make himself a threat against anyone at 175, and that does include some PfP fighters.

Time will tell.

 

No.

True.

 

My bad then. At any rate, I wouldn't have identified you as a Dawson fan prior to the weekend, so some of your posts here have been surprising.

I think we'll agree that Diaconu will prove to be a serious threat to Chad, assuming he gets by Henry.

 

I am surprised you are surprised.

I have always been a very big fan of the boxer; I even had him in my p4p Top 15 until his last fight. And I have always picked Dawson to beat Diaconu - by stoppage not least!

I reviewed the fight against Johnson and if I gave all three of the rounds that Johnson didn't win clearly to Dawson, the score would be 115-113 to Dawson. Otherwise, I had it just like you...115-113 to Johnson. All in all, a draw would have been much fairer and Dawson would have kept the title too!

Anyway, I always said that if anyone had a good chance of checking that chin properly and stopping Dawson, it was a fighter like Diaconu, particularly if he's not overrated (we'll see how he does against another aggressive puncher - Henry. Henry is bound to check that chin, that liver/body, that defence and those reactions). I give Diaconu, so far, 30-40% chance of winning against Dawson - by stoppage of course.(will make my mind up after Diaconu v. Henry).

What I am not a fan of is Chad Dawson, the man. He's been ducking Diaconu a good couple of times. But hey, put that down as a business decision. It's OK to duck someone, but not to hug the belt at the same time - you cannot have your cake and eat it! Also, what I find hard to pass over is that he has in the process repeatedly lied, deceived, failed to keep promisses and respect contractual obligations, begged and humiliated himself, all whilst turning arrogant the next minute. The post-fight interview after the Johnson fight confirmed to me that Dawson is not a man I could respect.

All in all...would I be unhappy if he was brought down to earth a bit?

No, I wouldn't.

...Might in the process also teach him the importance of defending properly and of fighting with his brain, not just with his body.

 

Does anyone else feel like Dawson's defense has regresseed significantly since leaving Mayweather? He still leaves his hands too low, and hasn't gotten better at picking off shots, but he used to at least have a lot of head movement and avoid a lot of shots with his movement....

 

I think he's become a bit complacent, yeah...it's as if he wants to say - "look at me; I trust my chin; stop going on about my chin - look - no hands!"

 

Well it's unquestionable that his defensive style has changed. He used to use a shoulder roll, but he fights more upright now.

 

I agree. He has become a more fierce puncher -- there's nothing to be ashamed of for not stopping Johnson -- but has sacrificed elusiveness in the process.

Muhammad needs to reinstitute some defensive work. My fear is that both he and Dawson himself believe that Dawson can make people miss using his reflexes, which may be true when he's totally fresh (e.g., rounds 1 & 2 against Johnson), but at even the first vague sign of fatigue, he starts getting tagged.

He needs to raise his guard and get back to a style that involves more regular movement. He can still be fan-friendly with that style as long as he keeps mixing in hard hooks and those beautiful combinations.

I also do agree that Adamek was stymied by Dawson's jab and never felt comfortable enough to press the issue until he got the KD. Speed tends to bother some fighters more than others. Johnson is one of those who is unimpressed by it.

 

I agree. Dawson is a stylistic nightmare for Diaconu. He can move has fast hands and can counter. I think he learned his lesson against Johnson and will stay at distance against Diaconu using his jab and movement to win by UD. Another thing people forget is Diaconu is taking a big step up in class by facing Dawson not the other way around, Dawson has been in against the elite at 175.

 

True. I am starting to believe leaving Mayweather and especially Birmingham was a big mistake.

 

Again, let's let Diacnou actually beat a top 10 guy before declaring him worthy of having a chance against a legit guy like Dawson.

One damn KO over a chinless wonder like Hoye and he's somehow become a god.

ESB overrates white fighters. I'm white, and the blantant overhyping of white guys here makes me sick.

 

I don't think most people consider Diaconu a threat because he's white. Dawson has been down three times and was hurt badly by Johnson, so anyone with power rightfully may be considered a threat.

And considering that Johnson's looping right hands repeatedly found a home, Diaconu's hooks may do the same. By the same token, his footwork is poor and his defense also unimpressive, and he's yet to take a true step up.

Dawson should win, but it's no racial agenda to say Diaconu has a chance -- provided he gets by Henry, obviously.

 

Adrian Diaconu will be the new LHW champion of the world....He will mangle and crush the overhyped farce that is Chad Dawson....oh yes there will be blood:fire