Photos by Tom Casino/Showtime – KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Saturday, Feb. 4, 2007) – In a near shutout, 24-year-old “Bad” Chad Dawson took the World Boxing Council (WBC) light heavyweight title from tough Polish champion Tomasz Adamek by unanimous decision in his first world title fight Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Park in Kissimmee, Fla. In a bizarre co-feature on the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING world-title doubleheader, interim lightweight titleholder Julio Diaz won the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title by knockout over embattled veteran Jesus Chavez.
The exciting night of boxing was presented by Don King Productions in association with Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, before a capacity crowd of 5,000-plus and aired live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).
Dawson, on the biggest stage of his six-year career, turned in his most complete performance. Adamek-Dawson, a battle between two undefeated fighters, was a “pick ‘em” fight going in and turned into a near one-sided beating of the champion. Dawson of New Haven, Conn., by way of Hartsville, S.C., won by scores of 116-110, 117-109 and 118-108 to improve to 23-0. Adamek dropped to 31-1.
“He was brilliant,” said blow-by-blow announcer Steve Albert. “It was a masterful virtuoso performance. We have a new star in the light heavyweight division.”
With blistering hand speed and powerful punches, Dawson controlled the first nine rounds, his confidence building as the fight wore on. Adamek, in his third world title defense, had no answer but to weather the growing storm and hope for a chance knockout.
Then, in the 10th round, Adamek got the break he needed. He caught Dawson flush with a straight right hand and Dawson went down. After the challenger rose to his feet, Adamek attacked with desperation, but it was too late.
Dawson used his foot speed and quick hands to elude and defend against Adamek for the remainder of the round. With that, Adamek won his first round of the night.
Dawson regained his focus in the 11th and 12th to win both rounds on two out of three scorecards and punctuate a decisive victory.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said the young champion who was nearly overcome with emotion in a post-fight interview with Karyn Bryant. “I knew I could do it and no one can take that away from me. Floyd Mayweather was the difference for me. He’s the best and it paid off. I am on top of my game.”
Later in the interview, Dawson’s promoter Gary Shaw dropped the names of Antonio Tarver, Roy Jones Jr., and Bernard Hopkins as potential challengers for his world champion.
In the co-feature Chavez, a two-time world champion from Austin, Texas, suffered a fight-ending knee injury at 22 seconds of the third round. Diaz had dominated the bout behind a solid jab and won each round on all three scorecards.
Early in the third, Diaz, of Coachella, Calif., continued to lead with his jab. Chavez, in retreat, seemed to slip, twisting his right knee as he collapsed to the canvas in agony. Chavez tried to regain his feet but went down again as the referee reached the count of 10.
“This is yet another bizarre and unfortunate incident, not only in his career, but in his life,” said SHOWTIME color analyst Al Bernstein.
In addition to having persevered through injuries to both shoulders in recent years and a left-knee injury early in his career, Chavez was making his first start since he won the IBF lightweight belt in a bout against Leavander Johnson on Sept. 17, 2005. After that fight, Johnson slipped into a coma and died days later from a brain injury. Just returning to the ring could be considered a victory for the 34-year-old fighter who dropped to 42-4.
“It was a little weird,” said Chavez, seated in the center of the ring for his post-fight interview. “It just sort of gave out and that was my good leg. It’s been hard. I’ve had injuries and I just want to apologize to the world. I fight with my heart and this is disappointing.”
Diaz, the 2000 “Prospect of the Year” in USA Today, captured the outright IBF 135-pound title for a second time and improved to 34-3.
“He needed to be 100 percent to face me,” said Diaz. Then, looking ahead, Diaz added, “Everyone is talking about Juan Diaz. Right now, there are too many Diaz’s in the division. It’s time to get rid of some of them.”
The exciting telecast will re-air on SHOWTIME and the premium network’s multiplexes this week as follows:
Monday at 8 p.m. ET/PT SHOWTIME EXTREME
Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT SHOWTIME TOO
Wednesday at 11 p.m. ET/PT SHOWTIME
The producer of the SHOWTIME telecast was Ray Smaltz with Bob Dunphy directing.
ABOUT SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
In March 1986, SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING was born when “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler defeated John “The Beast” Mugabi in a spectacular and unforgettable 11th-round knockout in Las Vegas. Since that time, the network has aired some of the most historic and significant events in the sport including both Holyfield-Tyson bouts.
Always at the forefront of boxing, SHOWTIME has set itself apart by telecasting “great fights, no rights” on the first Saturday of every month. SHOWTIME is the first network to regularly deliver live boxing in High Definition. In addition, SHOWTIME continues to be a pioneer in sports television with a number of interactive features across multiple platforms making SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts the most enjoyable, immersive viewing experience for the boxing audience.
For information on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and “ShoBox: The New Generation” telecasts, including complete fighter bios and records, related stories and more, please go the SHOWTIME website at http://www.sho.com/boxing.