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By Lyle Fitzsimmons - He may be the best light heavyweight in the world.
Or he might not be.
But if a self-assured manner heading into a big fight was all that mattered, Chad Dawson’s status among the 175-pounders this weekend would already be undisputed.
“I’m in great spirits. I had a great camp. Everything is 100 percent compared to what it was for my last fight,” the suddenly ebullient 28-year-old said Tuesday, five days in front of a return to Montreal and a chance to exorcise the demons of that very Aug. 14 night.
“Everything’s gone according to plan this time.”
Last time… errrr, not so much.
Back then at the Bell Centre, the unbeaten southpaw saw adopted hometown hero Jean Pascal steal away with his gaudy jewelry, adding Dawson’s IBO belt to his own WBC title via 11-round technical decision in what was universally panned as the Connecticut resident’s worst pro night.
The intervening nine months have brought significant upheaval to the ex-champ’s support team, most notably in the form of top-shelf trainer Emanuel Steward – who’ll accompany Dawson for the first time when he faces fellow former champion Adrian Diaconu Saturday night.
The fight is the last semifinal to the main event rematch between Pascal and Bernard Hopkins, who fought to a controversial 12-round draw in Pascal’s initial unified title defense after the Dawson fight.
And if all goes well with Diaconu, Chad’s got next.
“It’s a very important night for me,” Dawson said. “The fact that I’m back in Montreal and Pascal and Hopkins are fighting on the same card. I want to win. I want to win impressively. And I want to strike some fear into the hearts of those two guys. [Click Here To Read More]
Or he might not be.
But if a self-assured manner heading into a big fight was all that mattered, Chad Dawson’s status among the 175-pounders this weekend would already be undisputed.
“I’m in great spirits. I had a great camp. Everything is 100 percent compared to what it was for my last fight,” the suddenly ebullient 28-year-old said Tuesday, five days in front of a return to Montreal and a chance to exorcise the demons of that very Aug. 14 night.
“Everything’s gone according to plan this time.”
Last time… errrr, not so much.
Back then at the Bell Centre, the unbeaten southpaw saw adopted hometown hero Jean Pascal steal away with his gaudy jewelry, adding Dawson’s IBO belt to his own WBC title via 11-round technical decision in what was universally panned as the Connecticut resident’s worst pro night.
The intervening nine months have brought significant upheaval to the ex-champ’s support team, most notably in the form of top-shelf trainer Emanuel Steward – who’ll accompany Dawson for the first time when he faces fellow former champion Adrian Diaconu Saturday night.
The fight is the last semifinal to the main event rematch between Pascal and Bernard Hopkins, who fought to a controversial 12-round draw in Pascal’s initial unified title defense after the Dawson fight.
And if all goes well with Diaconu, Chad’s got next.
“It’s a very important night for me,” Dawson said. “The fact that I’m back in Montreal and Pascal and Hopkins are fighting on the same card. I want to win. I want to win impressively. And I want to strike some fear into the hearts of those two guys. [Click Here To Read More]
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