By a fighter (Dawson) and more importantly his team. I guess people forget that Dawson has had stamina issues at 175lb. So now he is going to move down 7lb........that is really stupid. If Dawson were old or really needed the money then I could understand. And I understand the clock is ticking for him and there aren't any big fights except ward. But you don't put yourself in a no win situation. You always want to protect yourself. Fight at your best weight. Don't give into silly demands. It really sucks when a fighters mgmt doesn't protect their fighter. They have done a disservice to Dawson. I expect Dawson to be drained and sluggish, and he will have no one to blame but himself because he is an adult who is in ultimate control.
Problem is Dawson lost to Pascal and his reputation has gone downhill since. He can't get a big fight. He has to go down and take a big risk. I agree this is the wrong fight for Dawson. Dawson couldn't handle the in-fighting of a 50 year old and Ward has already shown he can MMA all night and fight inside.
Problem is Ward is almost as poisonous at the gate as Dawson is. He should have waited for Pascal to beat Cloud; that would have easily been a bigger fight.
if ward isn't fighting dawson for the RING mag lightheavyweight title, but instead fighting him at 168 then a win doesnt mean much
Dawson has earned more respect from me because of his caliber of competition the last 2-3 years. I know 175 has been slim pickings, but taking out the old school has helped his game out and he's fought top contenders fight in and fight out. If he goes down to 168 to face Ward, that gets him massive props from me. He deserves credit for taking that risk.
Ward should fight him at 175...if he's not gonna fight Dirrell then there's nothing left for him at 168
Ward will not gain anything by beating Dawson at 168. Hopefully the fight is at lhw. Hell Kessler is even up there now.
Is the weight decided on? Last I heard they hadn't settled whether Dawson was coming down or Ward going up.
Ward will figure out Dawson within the first three to four rounds just like Mayweather does his opponents. Dawson will be the aggressor in that fight but he will not be aggressive enough to disturb Wards counter punching rhythm. Dawson will look very ordinary against Ward in this fight as he will not be able to cut the ring on Ward.
