Chad Dawson looked like he always looks

[Boxer1590]

I don't necessarily think the weight was an issue, perhaps it did decrease his ability to absorb punishment....but come on, he looked like he always does. He was throwing shots, some big shots, nice combos, but he just couldn't catch Ward. If anything, I was shocked at how aggressive he came out in the first two rounds.

After the first two rounds it appeared, to me at least, that Ward was in trouble. He was having a very difficult time getting to Dawson. Then Ward, like he always does, made the necessary adjustments. He came out and found a way to gain an edge. He noticed Dawson was throwing that right hook counter when he came lunging in, so he figured out a way to get a short left hook on the inside of that right hook. That was the punch that dropped Dawson.

I was really impressed with Andre Ward. His ability to make adjustments in the ring & do what he has to do to win is phenomenal. The only thing that seemed different about Dawson to me was his ability to take a shot, and who knows if that was due to the weight, cause everything else he did seemed the same to me. He was fast, sharp, and came out energetic...he just couldn't get to Ward.

Ward is a special fighter & he makes other elite fighters look bad. That's all I think it was.

[Bushbaby]

He really did. Dawson is at his best fighting at long range. He doesn't do well when he doesn't control the tempo. Ward kept the fight at mid range & inside & Dawson simply had no answer.

[Troav]

Yeah, Dawson was just taken out of his comfort zone. When Ward was getting up close and personal he simply doesn't know what to do. Andre ward's left hook was landing at will. Dawson had no way to respond to it.

[NEETzsche]

i agree. dawson has looked crap for years. he just mentally checked out of the fight after he got knocked down those first two times.

[NEETzsche]

Andre ward's left hook was landing at will. Dawson had no way to respond to it.

in fairness the cut may have had something to do with that.

[Big_L]

dawson has seemed to regress the last couple years. he's gotten very sloppy with his technique and balance.

[DoubleMM]

like the weight had nothing to do with it.

[Boxer1590]

There is no proof whether it did or not. That is up to speculation.

I was not in Dawson's camp, I wasn't dieting with him/training with him, so I don't know. All I can do is form a personal opinion off what I have seen & what the media has showed me.

Dawson and his team claimed the weight was not a problem. They claimed Dawson had never even watched what he ate before, or followed any form of strict diet. Supposedly he was following a diet for this fight & the weight was not an issue. Whether or not that is true is up to speculation, but that is the information that was put out there for the world to see,

I've seen weight drained fighters at weigh-ins... Miguel Cotto when he was fighting at 140, Brandon Rios at 135, etc, etc...Dawson looked fine at the weigh in. I was actually surprised at how well he looked, expecting him to look more drained despite the information his camp released. This lead me to believe that perhaps everything they said was true.

Then he came in and fought just like he always fought...he just never fought Andre Ward before.

[badnewsbrown]

To me he looked dead from the opening bell, and when he got him with those light shots and went down it was clear.

[goblin213]

One of the most inconsistent, most frustrating fighter to watch. It's like he is on medication every time he fights.