Chad Dawson is still optimistic he can be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Dawson went on to be a three-time titleholder and was the lineal light heavyweight champion upon defeating Bernard Hopkins in 2012.
Dawson, who retired with a record of 36-5 (19 KOs), ruled the division in the late 2000s. During that time, he beat Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson twice, with his apex being his win over Hopkins. Dawson, now 43, of New Haven, Connecticut, is hoping to one day be enshrined.
You can make a case that he deserves it, too. Mark Taffet, who was in charge of HBO Pay-Per-View during Dawson’s pomp, said: “When I was at HBO, we believed Chad Dawson was among the top fighters in the world in natural ability. He was beautiful to watch.”
“If you can fight, you can fight,” Dawson told BoxingScene. “If you deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, you deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. I am quiet and humble and that shouldn’t be a negative.”
Dawson, who turned professional in 2001, found his toughest challenges in finding opponents.
“Early in my career, a lot of guys avoided me,” Dawson said. “I was patient. I waited. When the fights came, I won those fights.”
Dawson would win his first title against a very good Tomasz Adamek in 2007. Adamek would go on to have a run in the heavyweight division, picking up wins over Chris Arreola, Jonathan Banks, and Michael Grant.
“I got the call to face Adamek, and it was funny because I had just watched his fight against Paul Briggs,” Dawson said. “It was a helluva a fight. I remember thinking how strong this Polish guy Adamek, was, and a month later I got the call to get my first world title fight to face him.”
Dawson recalled making fights with Tarver and Hopkins.
“The only reason I got those guys was because those guys were paid hefty,” Dawson said. “Bernard avoided me for about three summers. Tarver didn’t want the rematch, but it was a paycheck for him.
“At one point, I was looking to fight Joe Calzaghe at 175lbs,” Dawson said. “It didn’t pan out. He retired after he beat Bernard Hopkins.”
He looked to be a long-reigning titleholder until an upset loss to Jean Pascal in 2010 but, two fights later, he faced Bernard Hopkins. The fight ended in a no-contest in the second round when Hopkins suffered an injury and, he claimed, was unable to continue.
“He faked the injury big time,” Dawson said of his first fight with Hopkins. “He found a way out of the fight and got paid twice. In the first fight, I really wanted to hurt him [Hopkins]. In the first fight, I think he felt how physically strong I was.”
Dawson won the rematch, beating the future hall-of-famer with a deserved majority decision before accepting a curious offer to step down a division and challenge Andre Ward. Dawson’s career never really recovered from the expedition to 168lbs as Dawson got dropped multiple times before being stopped in the 10th. After the loss, he would return to 175 only to be knocked out in one round by Adonis Stevenson. The back-to-back stoppages haunted him for the rest of his career and, he believes, tainted some people’s perception of him.
“I think that part of my career played a big factor,” Dawson said. “I can honestly say this, the worst decision of my career was going down to 168lbs to fight Andre Ward. Then, to come back to light heavyweight and fighting a guy like Adonis Stevenson. I was in the best shape of my life for that fight. I felt good in training camp, but the punch you don’t see is the one that is going to hurt you. I went down, but I wish the ref had given me one chance to fight it out, but he didn’t. Pretty much after that fight, you could say my career was on the decline.”
Dawson’s last fight was in 2019, when he defeated Denis Grachev.
“The best Chad Dawson was from 2006 to 2011,” Dawson said. “I feel like at that time I was able to outthink anyone they put in front of me.”
He’s not yet given up hope of making it to Canastota. “The best thing about me was I would fight anybody,” Dawson said. “Anyone they offered, I was all-in on it.”
