By Lem Satterfield
Gary Shaw, promoter for IBO/WBC interim-light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, was not impressed with last Saturday's win by IBF champion Tavoris Cloud. In the HBO televised co-feature from St. Louis, Cloud won a twelve round unanimous decision over veteran Glen Johnson. After the decision was announced, Cloud called for a fight with Dawson, but Shaw says the fight won't happen in the near future.
"As far as Tavoris Cloud goes, it proved that (41-year-old) Glen Johnson is getting older by the round. And it proved that Tavoris Cloud is just nothing. Does he really want to fight Chad next? I think that he wouldn't be making a wise decision. But he's not going to get that opportunity to fight Chad next," Shaw said. "By the way, I had Johnson beating Cloud by a round."
This coming Saturday, Dawson takes part in a unification clash with full WBC champion Jean Pascal. Should Dawson get past Pascal, Shaw plans to target a fight with IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute, and Team Dawson are willing to give Bute the homefield advantage. The weight is up in the air. Bute might move up, or Dawson might move down, or they might even meet in the middle.
"We don't have to drop to 168 to fight Lucian Bute. Maybe he would move up to fight Chad. That way, that would give him a shot at winning the 175-pound title and at the same time retain his own 168-pound title. But at the same time, Chad's got a really tough fight coming up against Jean Pascal this coming Saturday. So any talks about who he fights next is actually premature. But, I think Chad will win. I expect him to win. And I would like to fight Lucian Bute next," Shaw said.
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
