By GM Ross: “Bad” Chad Dawson looked downright gentle in his twelve round, light heavyweight contest with Adrian “the Shark” Diaconu last night in Montreal, Quebec. This was the second sub-par performance in a row for Dawson, who seemed content to pitter-pat his way to the final bell. Diaconu, for his part, was not incredibly active either, but did mount noticeable offense in the last minute of at least eight rounds. I scored the fight 116-112 Diaconu, and here’s why.
Dawson was the busier fighter in the first two rounds. There is no doubt in my mind that he took these rounds by staying active and out boxing his opponent. Diaconu, on the other hand, did virtually nothing in rounds one and two. When he did try and punch he was usually too far from the much taller Dawson to land with any accuracy or authority. Yet Diaconu sensed something in Dawson in these early rounds and seemed to realize that Dawson’s punches were not of knockout caliber.
Diaconu fought more confidently in the third round, getting behind his jab to work his way inside. Once in tight, Diaconu tended to miss with his power shots, accomplishing very little. Nonetheless, it looked as if, with a few small adjustments, Diaconu could start to find a home for his punches and perhaps change the tide of fight. Dawson scored a big left hand up through the guard of Diaconu to finish the round and appeared to take it 10-9.
In the fourth, Diaconu showed some of his trademark aggressiveness, managing to force his way inside. Dawson took back control with his superior ring generalship, but eventually gave way to Diancou’s advances, ending up on the receiving end of a big left hook. Moments later Diaconu scored again, securing his first round of the evening.
Diaconu evidently had Dawson figured out after the fourth, landing in the fifth with two nice flurries to “Bad” Chad’s body. Diaconu continued to be the busier fighter through rounds six, seven, eight and nine, typically coasting through the first two minutes of each round before overwhelming Dawson in the final sixty seconds. In the ninth, Diaconu managed to pummel Dawson for a solid thirty seconds, eating a solitary left in return.
Although Dawson showed better in the tenth, and likely won that round, he ultimately proved unable to adapt to Diaconu’s straight forward, brawling style. In the eleventh and twelfth, Diaconu once again took control of the fight, outworking Dawson to the final bell.
Ultimately, Diaconu did what Dawson could not in adapting to his opponent’s style. After three frustrating rounds, Diaconu solved Dawson’s offense and defense and, in my opinion, won the remainder of the fight convincingly. Dawson, on the other hand, continued to paw Diaconu, offering little to deter the smaller fighter from barging into striking distance. He needed to move and use his athleticism to his advantage, which could have prevented many of Diaconu’s bull-like attacks. When Diaconu did catch up, Dawson should have been able to catch “the Shark” on his way in, but wouldn’t or couldn’t do so. Dawson, skill wise, is a beautiful boxer and, I’m convinced, we’ve only witnessed glimpses of what he’s capable of. That being said, he performed poorly Saturday night. He may be great in the future, but he certainly wasn’t against Diaconu.