by James Slater – “The Bible of Boxing,” Ring magazine, will recognise the winner of the upcoming August clash between Chad Dawson and Jean Pascal as it’s 175-pound world champion, so editor of the legendary publication, Nigel Collins has announced on Ringtv.com.
The fight, a hugely intriguing one set for Montreal, Canada on August 14th, now becomes an ever bigger, more important affair than it already was. In today’s world of multiple alphabelt organisations, fans can still trust Ring magazine to do what’s right and recognise only the most worthy fighters when it comes to who to bestow their championship belt on..
Collins explained just why the Dawson-Pascal winner will be Joe Calzaghe’s successor at light-heavyweight:
“Normally, filling a RING championship vacancy requires a match between the No. 1 and the No. 2 contenders. But under certain circumstances, we will recognise the winner of a bout between the No. 1 and the No. 3 contenders, and the Dawson-Pascal match is such a circumstance.
“The No. 2 contender Glen Johnson has already lost twice to Dawson, so it makes perfect sense to award the RING light-heavyweight championship to the Dawson-Pascal winner.”
Surely all fans will be in complete agreement with Ring’s decision, but which of the two men will emerge the victor and take home the age-old belt on August 14th? A very good and even-looking match-up, picking a winner is no easy thing to do.
27-year-old Dawson, unbeaten at 29-0(17), has already claimed both the WBC and IBF light-heavyweight titles, and his silky skills have been largely responsible. The gifted southpaw may not be one of the most exciting fighters in the world, but he is one of the purest boxers out there. As such, he may be looked at as a slight favourite to win in August. Also, Dawson, known as “Bad Chad,” has been a 175-pounder far longer than has Pascal, and the Connecticut man is both the taller and longer-reached fighter of the two. Not only that, but Pascal has never faced a southpaw at 175-pounds.
The same age as Dawson, Pascal, the former WBC super-middleweight title challenger, can, however, be expected to give Dawson one of the toughest fights of his pro career; if not THE toughest. Having rebounded from his sole loss to Carl Froch (the points loss coming in that WBC 168-pound title challenge, in December of 2008) with four good wins at 175-pounds, the Haitian-born Canadian claimed the WBC belt with a points win over the dangerous Adrian Diaconu.
We knew from the great fight with Froch the kind of steel Pascal has in his possession, and he again proved his toughness against “The Shark.” However, the pain Pascal suffered in gritting his teeth to the finish line in the rematch with Diaconu, back in December, came at a price. Out since that fight with a badly damaged shoulder, Pascal will be facing Dawson in his first combat since being treated for the painful injury. Will the man with the 25-1(16) pro ledger be 100-percent against the defensively sound lefty?
If Pascal’s shoulder is fine and if no repeat injury occurs in the August fight, I think we are in store for a very close, very competitive distance fight. Pascal is the stronger man and the harder puncher, but Dawson is the more technical boxer. Whose style will dominate the action?
Though Pascal will certainly have his moments, he will never quite be able to master Dawson’s tricky, slick southpaw approach. I go for “Bad Chad” to win on points – thus taking Ring magazine’s 175-pound belt home with him.