Hopkins vs. Dawson II Results
On Saturday, April 28th, fight fans finally got to see the highly anticipated rematch between Chad Dawson and Bernard Hopkins; or the first official match between the two men, depending on your perspective. Would Hopkins continue to defy age and expectation? Would Dawson back up his trash talk and come through with a memorable performance?
Check out our Hopkins vs. Dawson results right here to see how the big fight played out from Atlantic City.
Dawson vs. Hopkins Results
Dawson Beats Hopkins!!!
Chad Dawson regained the WBC Light Heavyweight Championship with a majority 12-round decision over old master Bernard Hopkins. Despite the majority ruling, it was a clear win for “Bad” Chad. Scores were a ridiculous 114-114 by Luis Rivera and scores of 117-111 by Dick Flaherty and Steve Weisfeld. ProBoxing-Fans.com also saw it 117-111.
The first two rounds were slow, as Hopkins, 173 1/2, was successful in keeping the pace slow. But he didn’t get much business done and appeared to lose the first two stanzas. One sign of positivity was that Dawson was getting a little irritated with the holding and spoiling tactics of Hopkins.
In the third, the bout appeared to turn in Hopkins’ favor, not so much with punches, but with his gamesmanship. Dawson, upset about missing his punches and getting held. Distracted, he started getting hit a little by Hopkins. In the 4th, Dawson was on the verge of becoming unhinged mentally. Getting tied up in knots, he emerged from a clinch with a nasty-looking cut over his left eye. Hopkins was finding his groove, while Dawson was unraveling and bleeding. It looked even after 4 rounds.
The 5th saw less action, as Dawson started regaining his poise. Nothing he landed was telling, but Hopkins only landed a few shots. A nice left by Dawson appeared to edge him the 5th. In the 6th, Hopkins spent most of the time circling, perhaps wondering why his gamesmanship had lost all its effectiveness. Dawson is unsure of himself, but winning rounds by throwing more.
Hopkins landed a few nice combos early in the round, adding a nice hook off the ropes to get a good start. Dawson’s punches seemed to land in this round, however, a little more cleanly. Chad made good use of the straight left, which found its mark on a few occasions. A fully-focused Dawson took the round.
In the 8th, it was becoming clear that Hopkins’ mojo was wearing off. Fewer punches are landing and the gap between the workrate of him and his challenger is widening. Dawson is finding a home for the left, which comes long and straight. The right hook from the southpaw stance is also finding a home. One of Dawson’s sharpest rounds as he extends his lead to 78-74 on my card.
The 9th was a round where it started to become abundantly obvious that this is a bad matchup. For Bernard Hopkins. For Chad Dawson. And, unfortunately, for the fans. The tedium at this point only slightly cushioned by the fact that we are watching a 47-year old champion. Hopkins is vaguely in the fight. He’s not getting beaten up, but his grip is weakening. The 10th was another bad round for B-Hop. It’s not that Dawson is lighting the world on fire, but compared to the dormant Hopkins, he looks like a whirling dervish.
The 11th saw a more urgent Hopkins and therefore the best round of the fight, which frankly, isn’t saying much. There were some nice exchanges. Early in the round, Hopkins held the edge, while Dawson got the better of the late going. I gave Hopkins the round. The final round saw Hopkins declare he’s “gonna win this round big” as he got off his stool. He didn’t let his hands go. Dawson ws missing a lot, as he did the whole fight, but was once again exerting his youth and superior athleticism. The last half of the round saw more action from Hopkins, but it was too little, too late.
Hopkins finally met his match and this was the most lopsided loss I ever saw him absorb. Not that it was what you would call a butt-whipping. Far from it. But he lost. And to make a case that he won or that it was close is absurd, despite the even scorecard of Luis Rivera. But I bet he looks back and makes case for continuing. Hopkins can perhaps still thrive against certain fighters, but Dawson had the wrong combination of youth, speed, and craft.
Dawson, 31-1 (17 KOs) wasn’t necessarily impressive, but against a guy like Hopkins, now 52-6-2 (32), the idea is to win now and look impressive later. The 29-year old did a good job getting his poise back when he seemed to lose it in the 4th round and was workmanlike and deliberate against his older opponent. Thankfully, this Dawson-Hopkins business is now settled and “Bad Chad” can get back to some more exciting endeavors. For Bernard, who knows?
Mitchell Stops Witherspoon in Brawl!!!
Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell, 25-0-1 (19 KOs), knocked out Chazz Witherspoon, 30-3 (22 KOs) in the 3rd round of a very pleasing heavyweight scrap. Mitchell, 241 1/2, certainly didn’t get off to a great start as the more angular Witherspoon, 231 1/2, opened the fight by raining short rights off Mitchell’s chin.
Mitchell was in a bit of a crisis for much of the first round, as he was wobbled badly by a fast-starting Witherspoon. While Witherspoon’s rights didn’t pack the power of his cousin Tim, he couldn’t miss in a big round.
The fight turned on a dime in the second. The rights from Witherspoon came less often and in less-telling fashion. Suddenly it was Mitchell finding a home for the right hand. At the 1:15 mark, Mitchell unloaded menacing salvos to the head and body. Witherspoon appeared spent. Big comeback round for Seth.
In the third, Mitchell opened with a big right-left to the chin which put Witherspoon down on the mat. He got up and did his best to keep it together as Mitchell gunned for the big finish. Mitchell, who a few minutes ago was reeling around the ring and getting belted, was now rolling. Punches in bunches came raining from the passionate former Michigan State football player. After moving Witherspoon against the ropes, he dropped two right hand bombs that sent Referee Randy Neumann coming in.
After correctly determining the ropes had held Witherspoon, up, Neumann started a count. But it was soon apparent that Witherspoon was out on his feet. Neumann waved it off at 2:31. Nice fight and a big win for Mitchell. Sure, he got wobbled by a guy who is barely a low-echelon contender, but in his first moment of true crisis–he thrived.
Thanks for checking our our coverage of the Hopkins vs. Dawson results, and be sure to keep on checking back with ProBoxing-Fans.com for more post-fight analysis and updates, and nonstop boxing news all day, every day.
