Dawson vs. Pascal this Saturday
By Jim Dower: Former two-time light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (29-0, 17 KO’s) will attempt to recapture the World Boxing council light heavyweight title this coming Saturday against WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (25-1, 16 KO’s) at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Dawson, 28, is already considered to be the best fighter in the light heavyweight division and has been for the past couple of years. Unable to get a fight against Bernard Hopkins, Dawson has had to be content with knocking off light heavyweight stars Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver over and over again in the past couple of years.
Pascal, 27, a former super middleweight with decent but not great skills, will be Dawson’s youngest opponent in the past four years and that could make it interesting if Pascal fights better than he’s looked in the past.
Pascal, however, has to look a lot better than he’s looked recently, because he doesn’t appear to be in the same league as Dawson is right now based on how Pascal has looked against fighters like Carl Froch and Adrian Diaconu.
However, Pascal has a huge advantage going for him this Saturday in that the Dawson fight will be taking place in Canada, where Pascal now lives and fights. This means if the fight goes to a decision, Pascal will have an excellent chance of winning the fight unless Dawson beats the stuffing out of him and leaves the judges no choice but to give Dawson the win.
It’s very possible that Dawson will win the fight even with it taking place in Pascal’s home country, but he’s going to have to really pour it on and beat Pascal badly, because winning decisions in Canada isn’t always an easy thing to do for visiting fighters.
But if there’s anyone that can do it, it’s Dawson with his amazing hand speed, size and boxing skills. Dawson has all the physical and athletic advantages in this fight. He’s taller, stronger, faster, punches harder and the better fighter defensively compared to Pascal.
All of those things should be more than enough to get an easy win. However, if Pascal is able to make it to the final bell on his feet he can possibly get a decision, so Dawson has to at least try to knock Pascal down a couple of times to leave no questions about the decision. Dawson himself is already aware that he may need a knockout to get the win and he’s prepared to stop Pascal.
I think Dawson is in a lil bit more trouble in this fight than most sports writers. Chad likes to take it easy and box, he didn't seem to like the type of pressure fight that Glen Johnson brought in their first fight. Pascal is a pure pressure dude with a hard chin and great power. My guess is unless Chad throws about 40-45 jabs a round to keep Pascal honest, he's gonna be in some trouble late in the fight because he seems to slow down around the 10th, doesn't have the greatest chin and Pascal loves to go to the body which will slow down Dawson even more late in the fight. This is too close to call but I'm gonna go against the grain and pick Pascal to upset Dawson by late stoppage. I just don't buy into Chad Dawson being "one of the top 5 fighters in the world", his best performances were against 40 year olds. On the flipside though, Pascal's not really a boxer, and could have trouble with the reach, jab and boxing ability of Dawson, so it wouldn't surprise me if Dawson sucks the drama out of the fight and wins a fairly easy decision, should be a good fight though.
By Jim Dower: Former two-time light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (29-0, 17 KO’s) will attempt to recapture the World Boxing council light heavyweight title this coming Saturday against WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (25-1, 16 KO’s) at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Dawson, 28, is already considered to be the best fighter in the light heavyweight division and has been for the past couple of years. Unable to get a fight against Bernard Hopkins, Dawson has had to be content with knocking off light heavyweight stars Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver over and over again in the past couple of years.
Pascal, 27, a former super middleweight with decent but not great skills, will be Dawson’s youngest opponent in the past four years and that could make it interesting if Pascal fights better than he’s looked in the past.
Pascal, however, has to look a lot better than he’s looked recently, because he doesn’t appear to be in the same league as Dawson is right now based on how Pascal has looked against fighters like Carl Froch and Adrian Diaconu.
However, Pascal has a huge advantage going for him this Saturday in that the Dawson fight will be taking place in Canada, where Pascal now lives and fights. This means if the fight goes to a decision, Pascal will have an excellent chance of winning the fight unless Dawson beats the stuffing out of him and leaves the judges no choice but to give Dawson the win.
It’s very possible that Dawson will win the fight even with it taking place in Pascal’s home country, but he’s going to have to really pour it on and beat Pascal badly, because winning decisions in Canada isn’t always an easy thing to do for visiting fighters.
But if there’s anyone that can do it, it’s Dawson with his amazing hand speed, size and boxing skills. Dawson has all the physical and athletic advantages in this fight. He’s taller, stronger, faster, punches harder and the better fighter defensively compared to Pascal.
All of those things should be more than enough to get an easy win. However, if Pascal is able to make it to the final bell on his feet he can possibly get a decision, so Dawson has to at least try to knock Pascal down a couple of times to leave no questions about the decision. Dawson himself is already aware that he may need a knockout to get the win and he’s prepared to stop Pascal.
I think Dawson is in a lil bit more trouble in this fight than most sports writers. Chad likes to take it easy and box, he didn't seem to like the type of pressure fight that Glen Johnson brought in their first fight. Pascal is a pure pressure dude with a hard chin and great power. My guess is unless Chad throws about 40-45 jabs a round to keep Pascal honest, he's gonna be in some trouble late in the fight because he seems to slow down around the 10th, doesn't have the greatest chin and Pascal loves to go to the body which will slow down Dawson even more late in the fight. This is too close to call but I'm gonna go against the grain and pick Pascal to upset Dawson by late stoppage. I just don't buy into Chad Dawson being "one of the top 5 fighters in the world", his best performances were against 40 year olds. On the flipside though, Pascal's not really a boxer, and could have trouble with the reach, jab and boxing ability of Dawson, so it wouldn't surprise me if Dawson sucks the drama out of the fight and wins a fairly easy decision, should be a good fight though.
