Ward vs Dawson – Can’t get cuts out of your mind?

10/01/201209/08/2012 ESB

by Paul Strauss: Who really knows what matters most? Has Chad Dawson made a mistake is conceding too much in weight and location? Will Chad’s height and reach advantage be the difference for him against the master of ring generalship? Andre hasn’t yet lost, and has that intangible “mental toughness” that most fighters only wish they had. Can Chad muster it up for maybe the biggest fight of his career? There is a precedent for it……..at least one fighter comes to mind in Buster Douglas with his win over the then thought to be invincible Mike Tyson. It can be done.

Andre Ward has demonstrated the ability to neutralize the assets of his opponents. In other words, he is a master at preventing them from doing what they want to do. Carl Froch explained it best when he said Ward either kept him too close or too far away for him to be effective. Jean Pascal was doing a pretty good job of that with Dawson until the latter part of the fight when Dawson finally got angry and started coming on, but blood in the eye(s) cut his surge short. One good thing for Chad concerning that fight is he truly believes he was on his way to stopping Pascal. True or not, it’s good that he believes it, and believes that he is really an undefeated fighter, the same as Ward.

Andre Ward vs. Chad Dawson: Preview and Prediction

09/15/201609/07/2012 Geoffrey Ciani

by Geoffrey Ciani – It is a rare occurrence in boxing to see two elite talents both in their primes squaring off against each other. Therefore boxing fans have reason to celebrate, because this Saturday night unified super middleweight champion Andre ‘S.O.G.’ Ward (25-0, 13 KOs) will defend his belts against light heavyweight title holder ‘Bad’ Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KOs). Both combatants deserve credit for making this match happen, especially in a day and age where all too often the best are reluctant to face the best for various different reasons. Not only are Dawson and Ward two of the most talented pound-for-pound boxers in the world, they are also arguably coming into this contest following the apex of their respective careers. This just serves to further amplify the appeal of an already intriguing match-up.

The story in the lead-up to this fight has largely focused on the weight. This fight will be taking place at the 168 pound super middleweight limit. Chad Dawson is a big light heavyweight, and he last made the 168 limit for a fight more than six and a half years ago. As a result many observers have questioned Chad’s ability to move down in weight and compete effectively, and not without good reason. After all, boxers who drop weight often become physically drained, and that typically leads to decreased stamina, power, and punch resistance. This has helped create the perception that Dawson will be entering this contest compromised, giving Ward an inherent edge. The fact that this bout is also taking place in Ward’s hometown of Oakland gives the appearance of an additional advantage for Ward.

Ward vs. Dawson: Just the Facts!

10/01/201209/07/2012 ESB

by Robert Jackson: The Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KO’s), Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KO’s) fight coming up this Saturday night, has the boxing world energized and offers a main event and undercard suitable for a PPV card. This Saturday night fight will lead off a month of good fights that will extend into October, and onward to the end of 2012. This edition of ‘Just the facts’ will explore the ins-and-outs of 2 fighters characterized as the best facing the best, culminating with a prediction of the outcome.

Trainers
Chad Dawson trainer John ‘Iceman’ Scully himself a former fighter is a Roy Jones contemporary and at 45 has been training fighters since his retirement in the early 2000’s. Having previously trained Dawson, Scully is very familiar with the Dawson mindset and fight style. Scully’s performance as a cornerman is where the Dawson improvement can be seen. Prior to Scully the only dominant victory for Dawson over a prime fighter was against Tomas Adamek with Floyd Mayweather Sr. in the Dawson corner. After a brief stop by Dawson at the Kronk Gym to train with Emanuel Steward, Scully came on board to train Dawson for both Bernard Hopkins fights – with Dawson winning the 2nd, and showed improved focus, energy and determination to defeat the aging warrior.

Ward: Chad Dawson won’t be fighting a guy in his 40s this Saturday

09/14/201609/07/2012 ESB

Ward: Chad Dawson won't be fighting a guy in his 40s this Saturday By Marcus Richardson: WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KO’s) will be defending his titles against Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KO’s) on Saturday night on HBO at the Oracle Arena, in Oakland, California. The 30-year-old Dawson will be coming down from light heavyweight to challenge the 28-year-old Ward in a huge fight for both of them. The winner of this fight can move onto bigger and better things with possible payday fights against the likes of Mikkel Kessler, Carl Froch, Lucian Bute and Arthur Abraham.

Ward said to USAtoday.com “Chad is not fighting a guy in his 40s. I’m 28, I’m a young man. That’s something he hasn’t had to deal with for a long time, as well as my skill set.”

Dawson has fought a lot of aging fighters in the past four years with two fights against 43-year-old Glen Johnson, two fights against the 42-year-old Antonio Tarver and two fights against 47-year-old Bernard Hopkins. The unfortunate about boxing is that it takes so long for a fighter to become a star that it kind of limits the options of fighters on their way up if they want to get big fights on television.

Prediction: Ward will outclass Dawson

09/14/201609/05/2012 ESB

Prediction: Ward will outclass Dawson By Emilio Camacho, Esq. First, I offer my apologies to those who requested this prediction sooner. I have been troubled by this competitive fight but have decided to make a bold prediction. If I am wrong, I will definitely
admit it.

Second, I believe both of these fighters are top-notch. Both of them are in their prime, disciplined, proven champions, committed to the sport and are not afraid to face the biggest challenge. As boxing fans, we are lucky because we do not get fights like these very often (did someone say Manny and Floyd?). So, here is how I think the fight will play out.

Round 1 will be slow and both fighters will try to make sense of each other’s rhythm and style. Not much will happen in this round but Ward’s rhythm will simply look better to the judges and he will get this round.

Dawson will have to go to war to beat Andre Ward on Saturday in Oakland, CA

09/14/201609/04/2012 ESB

Dawson will have to go to war to beat Andre Ward on Saturday in Oakland, CA By Michael Collins: Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KO’s) is going to have to abandon his safety first style of fighting and let his hands go to beat WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KO’s) on Saturday night in their HBO televised fight at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. It’s not going to work for the 30-year-old Dawson unless he goes to war with Ward and is willing to fight him toe-to-toe at times.

The big 6’2″ southpaw Dawson has gotten away from what made him such a spectacular fighter earlier in his career when he was able to throw combinations and fight hard without losing concentration. Dawson seems have changed from the fighter that totally dominated Tomasz Adamek in 2007 and has become the equivalent of an automobile that’s not firing on all cylinders. Dawson will fight well for a round and then disappear for two to three rounds at a time like his mind is not focused.

Dawson will be looking to box Ward from the outside to keep him from crowding him to try and force it into a rough inside war. Dawson did a good job of preventing Bernard Hopkins from going inside last April, but Hopkins didn’t really put in a strong effort to force Dawson to brawl in close. Hopkins wasted a lot of time circling the ring, conserving energy rather than taking the fight to Dawson to try and war him down.

Golovkin says he’s ready for anyone from Mayweather to Ward?

09/14/201609/02/2012 ESB

Golovkin says he's ready for anyone from Mayweather to Ward? By Paul Strauss: Gennady G.G.G. Golovkin did a pretty good job Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. trying to establish his worthiness for all comers. Quite often when a fighter boasts he’s ready for the best (in several divisions), his words are dismissed as just so much talk. Fans realize that often a fighter is trying hard to convince himself as much as anyone else.

In Golovkin’s case, Fans might dismiss the apparent bragging as a problem in translation. Maybe English translated to his native Kazakh (or possibly Russian) language back to English got mixed up with the effort. One thing for sure, Golovkin did a number on the previously once defeated Polish southpaw fighter named Grzegorz “Super G” Proksa, who sported twenty-one knockouts of his own to surpass Golovkin’s twenty. Going into Saturday night’s bout, he was viewed as no slouch, but despite that fact, Golovkin managed to knock him stiff.

Just cruising along in the first round, Golovkin still managed to drop Proksa. There was thought by some he might have slipped or stumbled over Golovkin’s feet. Doubt diminished In the second round, when G.G.G. fired off several particularly nice left hooks to the body, which changed the expression on the Polish fighter’s face to something resembling a silent scream.

Chavez Jr-Martinez, Sturm-Geale, Dawson-Ward: Three Significant Boxing Fights In September

09/14/201608/29/2012 ESB

Chavez Jr-Martinez, Sturm-Geale, Dawson-Ward: Three Significant Boxing Fights In September By James Stillerman – Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez, 49-2-2, 28 KOs squares off against Julio Caesar Chavez Jr., 46-0-1, 32KOs for the WBC middleweight title and the right to be claimed the best middleweight pugilist in the world on September 15th at the Thomas Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a twelve round main event. This is an intriguing matchup of a young towering undefeated and upcoming fighter in Chavez Jr. versus the smaller crafty season veteran in Martinez, who is considered by many boxing experts as the best fighter in the world not named Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao.

Adding excitement to this bout is the fact that both men greatly despise one another other and have repeatedly said that they will end the boxing career of the other fighter in the ring, making it appear that this fight will be an all out action packed event.

Martinez has a significant advantage in experience compared to Chavez Jr. He has fought the vastly superior competition against the likes of Paul Williams, Kelly Pavlik, Kermit Cintron, Serhiy Dzinziruk and Darren Baker.

Martinez won all of those bouts in convincing fashion except for a controversial draw with Cintron, a fight he should have won and a contentious loss to Paul Williams which he got revenge in the rematch by knocking out Williams in the second round. Chavez Jr. has defeated Andy Lee, Marco Rubio and Peter Manfredo and dominated these fights; however none of these fighters are on the same level as Martinez`s competition.