Many ESB-posters seems to be pumped up about Ward vs Dawson. I am a bit curious way, since the fight feels too easy to predict. We know Ward by know - he will rough up Dawson on the inside. And since Ward fight at his own backyard and faces a very good opponent he wont be shy about it. I cant see Dawson do very much about it. He wont have any answer on the inside, and his workrate is to low to outbox Ward the short moments the fight will be on the outside. Have I missed anything? You guys who look forward to this one, how you see Dawson making a fight of it?
I would love to see him winning against the guy is calling himself the Son of God but I don't think he is gonna pass him. Until now Ward's staff picked only well-chosen fights. Dawson isn't the opponent to defeat him. And knowing Ward if Bute will not recover from his loss, I doubt he will ever be beaten. Andre Ward will probably retire undefeated.
in terms of skill this is certainly ward's toughest fight. just don't know if dawson has the mental focus to stay in the fight or check out mentally. not sure he has the focus of a froch so in that sense maybe froch was a more dangerous opponent. after all boxing is more mental than physical. i wouldn't say dawson is mentally like judah but he does tend to look unfocused in the ring at times. it's just that his division doesn't have enough talented fighters to take advantage of that like the deep and rich 140-147 division that judah is in.
I hear what you guys are saying, but Dawson has had better preparation for Ward than is the reverse. In that sense, you can add Ward to the number of parties Andre Dirrell ****ed over when he dropped out of the Super Six. Anyway, Dawson can be a lot of fun on the inside, only it's not normally in his best interest to be there. He makes his life easier by boxing on the outside, and surely he'll get the better of Ward at range. The key will be what happens when Andre inevitably gets on the inside. In the first fight against Johnson, Dawson fought stupidly and traded too much with a more rugged opponent. Against Ward, however, that's exactly what he needs to do — compel Andre to exchange. That's Dawson's best chance. Ward obviously is a much more proficient operator than Johnson, but from a tactical standpoint I hope Dawson will take this sort of approach to the fight: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQnRRx4KRvI[/ame]
I'm looking forward to this fight more than any other so far this year. I think the Pascal fight has awoken a sleeping giant in Dawson. The Hopkins fight showed me what I need to see out of Chad. When he was headbutted early on and hid no emotion of his frustration, I thought he was going to crumble, but he didn't. He controlled his anger and boxed beautifully to a comfortable decision. He needed that fight and needed that experience against Hopkins. I think he carries the momentum forward from here. Keep the fight on the outside and tie Ward up on the inside. Dawson has most all of the advantages although we don't know how he'll handle the drop to 168. It's going to be interesting, no doubt. We're going to see what S.O.G. is made of on Sept. 8th.
I think you missed a whole lot, Ward doesn't work on the inside and I couldn't tell you how do I think his philosophy of boxing is but his strategy is similar to Hopkins, Sun Tzu's art of war - All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him. This is vintage Hopkins and Ward is the legit heir to the throne. The next best thing or man fighting at these weight classes is Chad so he gat to be aware of deceptive strategies from Ward - jump on him, punch out of the clinch, do not allow him to control the tempo or become the ring general, throw more but land more, use the jab, and clinch and be aware of him hitting you when you break. I favour Chad cause he passed the test against Hopkins. But by the other side, will he have the energy to fight intensely with 168 pounds? He's gonna grow overnight to 175 plus but he may look weak and specially inactive at fightnight like when Pascal launched attacks and fought in spurts...
