Comments Thread For: Photos: Ward-Dawson, DeMarco-Molina - War Ready

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

OAKLAND - Andre Ward, Chad Dawson, Antonio DeMarco and John Molina, Jr., joined by their camps and co-promoters Dan Goossen and Gary Shaw at the final press conference for "Ward vs. Dawson - World Champions - Made In America.'' Photos by Stephanie Trapp.


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War Ready....



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ward by ud 12, most boring fight in 2012.

[-Kev-]

DeMarco looks like crap, looks weight drained. Ward, Dawson, Molina look fine.

[PUK_MY_DANG_34]

Holy s**t, Chad Dawson is turning into Bernard Hopkins!

[chiguy91]

can't wait. i'd consider myself a fan of all 4 fighters, so may the best man win. just looking forward to a good/memorable night of boxing.

[codey]

Dawson looks intimidating, naturally the bigger of the two. I know ward is the heavy favorite, but i can easily see bad chad pulling off the upset. In boxing anything can happen.. anything!!

[Tmann400]

You know, am I the only one not seeing this "massive" size advantage for Dawson? He looks to be possibly an inch, maybe an inch 1/2 taller then Ward. Another thing, the reach. Froch had a 4 inch reach advantage, Green had a 4 inch reach advantage over Ward etc. And yet, somehow Ward found a way to not only best them, but best them just as well on the outside as the inside.


People seem to forget that Pascal, who was a good bit shorter and smaller then Dawson, was able to literally outbox Dawson using movement. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times, Dawson does best against guys, who aren't able to use speed and foot movement very well, or fighters who are good, but past their prime and can't keep up with a consistent pace. When Dawson is allowed to plant his feet and his opponent is in place, he is able to effectively let his hands go. Dawson's speed, athleticism and combination punching were rendered absolutely USELESS for the vast majority of his fight with Pascal because of Pascal's speed and lateral movement.


Pascal, while a good fighter, he is also quite limited. He has a very poor work rate, very bad stamina issues, and is very inconsistent. Ward, is much more consistent all around the board, and is better technically as a boxer and is much more versatile then Pascal.


People keep talking about how Ward needs to get inside etc etc. I disagree, I think Ward's plenty fast enough to use movement, jump in with combinations, and slide out on Dawson. Ward is quicker on his feet then Dawson, as well IMO. That, to me, is the most interesting thing about Dawson. As gifted as he is athletically, and for someone with quick hands, he has slow flat feet, and he needs to be set to get off his punches effectively. Ward sees that I think, and even the it's only light bag work, I could tell by the way he was working the bag and turning, he plans on boxing Dawson.


Dawson and his team don't expect that, because for some reason they have this false stigma about Ward in their minds that he's just a guy who "roughs you up inside" which is a bad observation, and you'd think they'd know better IF they'd watched Ward's fights, something tells me they've either not watched enough of them, or they've only watched certain fights. Because, how someone could think Ward is only an inside fighter mystifies me, given how he beat Abraham, Froch and Kessler predominantly on the outside, and he mixed a little inside fighting with it as well should tell anyone that Ward can box very well. People usually just label him as a boxer, who doesn't "fight", this time Dawson and Scully have it backwards.

I honestly think people need to stop trying to label Ward as one type of fighter, because to me he's neither a full fledged inside or outside fighter. He's a chameleon, who fights his opponents the way he feels is the best way to beat them. Ward's not very tall or long, and he's dealt with taller and longer fighters with different styles his entire pro and amateur career. This, is really no different.

Dawson is a good fighter and I praise Ward and him for making this great fight. God bless them, and I hope they come out healthy and okay.

[Tmann400]

Another thing, when I look at Dawson, I have a hard time imagining him making 168, given his overall frame and size and the fact he hasn't been to 168 in 6 1/2 years. He said in an interview I believe yesterday, he was 173, so that means he had about 2 days to take off 5 pounds. Which isn't THAT bad, but to me, is still cutting it too close.I have a feeling he's going to miss the mark by a pound or two, I could be wrong, and I hope I am, because the last thing we need is controversy surrounding a great fight like this.

[Doctor_Tenma]

You know, am I the only one not seeing this "massive" size advantage for Dawson? He looks to be possibly an inch, maybe an inch 1/2 taller then Ward. Another thing, the reach. Froch had a 4 inch reach advantage, Green had a 4 inch reach advantage over Ward etc. And yet, somehow Ward found a way to not only best them, but best them just as well on the outside as the inside.


People seem to forget that Pascal, who was a good bit shorter and smaller then Dawson, was able to literally outbox Dawson using movement. If I've said it once, I've said it a million times, Dawson does best against guys, who aren't able to use speed and foot movement very well, or fighters who are good, but past their prime and can't keep up with a consistent pace. When Dawson is allowed to plant his feet and his opponent is in place, he is able to effectively let his hands go. Dawson's speed, athleticism and combination punching were rendered absolutely USELESS for the vast majority of his fight with Pascal because of Pascal's speed and lateral movement.


Pascal, while a good fighter, he is also quite limited. He has a very poor work rate, very bad stamina issues, and is very inconsistent. Ward, is much more consistent all around the board, and is better technically as a boxer and is much more versatile then Pascal.


People keep talking about how Ward needs to get inside etc etc. I disagree, I think Ward's plenty fast enough to use movement, jump in with combinations, and slide out on Dawson. Ward is quicker on his feet then Dawson, as well IMO. That, to me, is the most interesting thing about Dawson. As gifted as he is athletically, and for someone with quick hands, he has slow flat feet, and he needs to be set to get off his punches effectively. Ward sees that I think, and even the it's only light bag work, I could tell by the way he was working the bag and turning, he plans on boxing Dawson.


Dawson and his team don't expect that, because for some reason they have this false stigma about Ward in their minds that he's just a guy who "roughs you up inside" which is a bad observation, and you'd think they'd know better IF they'd watched Ward's fights, something tells me they've either not watched enough of them, or they've only watched certain fights. Because, how someone could think Ward is only an inside fighter mystifies me, given how he beat Abraham, Froch and Kessler predominantly on the outside, and he mixed a little inside fighting with it as well should tell anyone that Ward can box very well. People usually just label him as a boxer, who doesn't "fight", this time Dawson and Scully have it backwards.

I honestly think people need to stop trying to label Ward as one type of fighter, because to me he's neither a full fledged inside or outside fighter. He's a chameleon, who fights his opponents the way he feels is the best way to beat them. Ward's not very tall or long, and he's dealt with taller and longer fighters with different styles his entire pro and amateur career. This, is really no different.

Dawson is a good fighter and I praise Ward and him for making this great fight. God bless them, and I hope they come out healthy and okay.

I'm glad you picked up on those things, Dawson having to get set to be effective. Also, Ward's foot speed being faster than Dawson's, people on here don't seem to catch that.

I'd even go as far as saying Dawson is overrated on these boards. He has all the right tools as you said, but he's missing certain qualities. Elite fighters usually have that switch, where they can turn it on or off whenever they please, Dawson doesn't have that or a second gear. His ring awareness is questionable too, seeing him get clipped with punches simply because he got caught sleeping. I hope he doesn't get lazy in there and lets his punches go.

I'm going with Ward here, simply because he's extremely difficult to hit as a whole and I see him getting inside. I don't see Dawson getting anything off outside, I see Ward getting really low and moving in. Ward's foot speed is underrated on here, dude is fast.

[Evil Abed]

Another thing, when I look at Dawson, I have a hard time imagining him making 168, given his overall frame and size and the fact he hasn't been to 168 in 6 1/2 years. He said in an interview I believe yesterday, he was 173, so that means he had about 2 days to take off 5 pounds. Which isn't THAT bad, but to me, is still cutting it too close.I have a feeling he's going to miss the mark by a pound or two, I could be wrong, and I hope I am, because the last thing we need is controversy surrounding a great fight like this.

I expect him to make weight. Also I expect to see the size advanatge more clearly when they enter the ring. Dawson looked a lot bigger than Bhop inside that ring. Chad's even bigger than Froch. It'll be stark IMO.

Now Chad more skilled than Kessler, Froch and Green.

Ward and Pascal couldn't be more different. Ward not that explosive. The burst of speed+ the Power from Jean is what through Chad off. The power made him hesitant. Ward with less explosion and less power.

Different. I think Chad can dictate from the outside and control this fight, If Ward gets inside consistently he wins.