CHAD DAWSON vs JEAN PASCAL

Probably the greatest light-heavyweight title fight in history took place in Montreal in December 1958 when Archie Moore rallied from the edge of defeat to knock out Yvon Durelle. Saturday’s title bout on HBO between Chad Dawson and Jean Pascal in the French-Canadian city is unlikely to be as dramatic (what could be?) but it should nevertheless provide absorbing entertainment.
 
Dawson is a firm favourite, and for a very good reason. Bad Chad is an undefeated, fast, athletic southpaw with excellent hand speed and combinations. People whose judgement I respect believe that Dawson should be near the top of the so-called pound-for-pound list — a ranking of the world’s best boxers regardless of the weight division in which they compete.
 
I am giving Pascal an excellent chance in this fight, however, in part because of the Montreal location — he will have a big crowd right behind him.
 
Dawson is a boxer who deserves respect. His last four fights, though, were against ageing fighters — the two wins over Glen Johnson and the two victories over Antonio Tarver.
 
Pascal is a young fighter — a year younger than Dawson.
 
Johnson and Tarver couldn’t match Dawson for speed, but Pascal can. Pascal is fast, muscular and athletic. He can keep up with Dawson.
 
Dawson had a desperate struggle in the first of his two bouts against Johnson. Unlike many who saw the fight, I believe that Dawson won clearly, but he was hurt several times and almost out on his feet in the 10^th round.
 
Now, I don’t subscribe to the view that Dawson is a fragile fighter, even though he was on the canvas in TV fights against Eric Harding and Tomasz Adamek. I believe that Dawson possesses mental and physical toughness. He can be caught, though, and he can be hurt. Pascal is an explosive type of fighter, who can close in on his opponent in a pantherish way. If Johnson can land his punches and hurt Dawson, then I believe that Pascal can do so, also.
 
It could be said that Dawson learned from the war with Johnson. The return bout was much less demanding for Dawson, Still, this was a close fight on two judges’ cards: 115-113 on the cards of Florida judge Michael Pernick and Las Vegas judge Duane Ford.
 
I thought that Dawson won clearly, but there were rounds in which he was making stylish moves without letting his hands go — indeed, he was booed by his Hartford hometown crowd for back pedalling in the 11^th. While I had no doubt that Dawson was comfortably ahead after 12 rounds he was guilty of coasting and one could see how a judge could have given several rounds to Johnson, who was a dogged pursuer from first bell to last.
 
Dawson comfortably controlled the two fights with Tarver but he was meeting a 39-year-old veteran whose reflexes and movements were too slow.
 
I believe Dawson’s most impressive win was his unanimous decision victory over Tomasz Adamek, but we now know that the Polish boxer was struggling to make 175 pounds — indeed, Adamek moved up 15 pounds, to the cruiserweight division, immediately after the fight and is now boxing as a heavyweight. Even then, a possibly weight-weakened Adamek had Dawson down with a right-hander in the 10^th round.
 
So, while Dawson is gifted, speedy and has shown that he can come back from adversity, there have been hints of vulnerability.
 
Pascal is probably a big underdog in part because of his loss to Carl Froch in a 168-pound title bout. People will quite reasonably take the view that if Pascal couldn’t beat Froch he doesn’t stand much of a chance with a masterful boxer such as Dawson.
 
The bout with Froch was almost two years ago, though. Pascal has since won two thrilling light-heavyweight title bouts against Adrian Diaconu, his Romanian-born Montreal rival, which I believe were fights that took him to the next level. I feel that Pascal has learned from the fight with Froch, when to some extent he forgot about his boxing and went all out for the KO.   Pascal looked a more mature, better-all-around fighter in the wins over Diaconu — and he showed a big heart in the rematch when battling through the pain of a dislocated right shoulder.
 
Pascal wasn’t as impressive in his 10^th-round win over Silvio Branco, and too often he seemed to be over-eager and wild with his punches, but he was hitting powerfully and he overwhelmed a cagey, impressively built veteran who is not an easy man to blast out of a fight.
 
Yvon Michel, Pascal’s promoter, tells me that the fighter’s right shoulder has healed perfectly after surgery. Pascal, he says, is very confident and is not in the least concerned that he is the underdog.
 
Dawson’s trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, informs me, however, that Dawson was looking better than he has ever looked in the gym, punching harder and ripping shots to the body like never before. Muhammad respects Pascal as a good fighter who can one day be great — but he says that Saturday isn’t going to be that day, that Dawson will simply be too good for him.
 
I am in the distinct minority in giving Pascal a great chance of pulling off what would be a major upset. If he can get into the fight early, attacking zestfully and not letting Dawson settle down and dictate the tempo, he can do it. I get the feeling from a conversation with Pascal that he is putting everything, his heart and soul, into this fight. It might not be enough because Dawson is an exceptionally gifted boxer, but whatever happens I don’t think Pascal will let himself or his followers down.
 
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