On October 15, Chad Dawson challenges Light Heavyweight Champion Bernard Hopkins at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It is almost surreal that Bernard Hopkins is the reigning king at 175 pounds in late-2011. Imagine if Marvin Hagler were a light heavyweight titleholder in 2000, or if Carlos Monzon were light-heavy kingpin in 1988. Hopkins has achieved the impossible.
At 46, the “The Executioner” can still fight. There was a period where he was criticized for relying solely on his cerebral powers, while not providing action. In his rise to the top of the 175-pound class, he has shown that not only can he out-think his opponents, but he also still has the physical wherewithal to outfight guys who are young enough to be his son.
Chad Dawson is a robust test for Hopkins. Except for one blip, he has been a dominant force in the division for a number of years. Physically and stylistically, he figures to be a difficult opponent. Once again, Hopkins is the underdog. Despite upsetting the odds time and again, he still feels he has something to prove.
- Date: October 15, 2011
- Site: Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA
- Title: WBC Light Heavyweight Title: 12 Rounds
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Size and Record
Hopkins: The 46-year old stands 6’1” with a 75-inch reach. At 55-5-2 (32 KOs), he has fought everybody.
Dawson: At 6’1” and a 76.5-inch reach, his numbers are comparable to those of Hopkins, though the 29-year old seems a tad longer. Dawson is 30-1 (17 KOs), his only loss coming to Jean Pascal, where a flat-looking Dawson was outhustled and suffered a fight-ending cut just as he appeared to be getting to Pascal.
Quality of Opponents:
Hopkins: Chances are when you turned pro during the Reagan administration and are still going strong in 2011 that you fought some serious competition. Hopkins lost to Roy Jones in 1993, then reigned supreme—eventually cleaning out the division. In the early stages of his 20-defense middleweight reign, he beat good fighters like Segundo Mercardo, Joe Lipsey, John David Jackson, Glen Johnson, and others. He really kicked his career into high gear with title-unification wins over Keith Holmes, and more importantly, a 12th-round TKO over favored and unbeaten Felix Trinidad. He also went on to beat William Joppy and knock out Oscar De La Hoya before losing two hairline decisions to Jermain Taylor. Resurrected his career in historic fashion, with a series of late-career wins over Antonio Tarver, Winky Wright, Kelly Pavlik, Jones and Jean Pascal.
Dawson: “Bad” Chad got dropped by Eric Harding, but went on to decision him in a key pre-title victory. In his next fight, romped over Tomasz Adamek to win WBC Light Heavyweight title. Padded resume with a pair of decision wins over both Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver. After the Pascal setback, he rebounded with a nice win over Adrian Diaconu.
Style
Hopkins: Not easy to describe. The Philadelphian is a chameleon, changing to suit different situations. Rather than describe all the things he does in the ring, let’s just say he generally manages to make life uncomfortable for his opponents. He does what they don’t want him to do. Has an innate sense of how to provide an antidote to his opponent’s abilities and the poise and skill to execute with a super-heightened vision of the fight.
Dawson: The southpaw has shown himself to be rugged when need be. He isn’t averse to confrontation, but is most successful when relying on his boxing skills. He has a nice mix of punches that he throws crisply.
Recent Work:
Hopkins: If you count the first Pascal fight (a draw), which should have been a Hopkins win, Bernard has scored 4 upsets since turning 40—an extraordinary feat at this level. He out-slicked and confounded Antonio Tarver and Winky Wright, before losing a close one to Joe Calzaghe. Came back with upset over high-flying Kelly Pavlik, and a win over his old rival Roy Jones, before making history with a win over Pascal at 46.
Dawson: The favored Dawson seemed distracted and out of sorts against Pascal. When he finally got cooking it was too late, as his late rally was cut short by a head butt, which sent the fight to the cards. Dawson looked pretty good in his return against tough Diaconu. His wins immediately before the loss to Pascal, over Tarver and Johnson, also look good when reflecting on the success both had after losing to Dawson. At 29, Chad seems to be in his prime.
Questions and Issues:
Hopkins: How long can he buck the effects of age? Was Pascal tailor-made for the advanced fighting mind of Hopkins? Will he be outworked by Dawson? After sitting on the sidelines and handpicking opponents once a year, will fighting Pascal twice and Dawson within a 10-month period be too much for Bernard?
Dawson: Does he have the ring smarts to compete with the master thinker? Is he a guy who just has a listless disposition and is unable to light a fire underneath himself? Will he get caught up into any of the Hopkins head games? Will he have a Plan B if Hopkins gets the better of him early?
Hopkins vs. Dawson Prediction
Every time I think of a virtue that Dawson brings to the table, I recall a recent Hopkins performance where he showed he is able to cope with it. Just in his post-40 career, he has trumped a divergent collection of styles with his cunning and ability. Whether it is southpaws, slicksters, bangers, ambush-fighters—he can handle them all.
When you look at his loss to Calzaghe, it shows that maybe the best way to beat B-Hop is to try and ignore his showmanship completely, move your hands, and bring a lot of energy into the ring. Dawson has the type of pure boxing skills and workrate to make it difficult on Hopkins. He seems relatively unfazed by Hopkins’ pre-fight antics—certainly less than Jean Pascal. If he can fight with his head screwed on right, he will have success.
But until I see Hopkins slipping, I can’t pick against him. I will only be made out to be a fool so many times before I stop picking against the guy. Along with the Calzaghe bout, this should be among his more difficult post-40 fights. Hopkins, as he always does, will find a way to win.
Prediction: Bernard Hopkins wins by unanimous decision.
