“Fighting Words” – "Bad" Chad Dawson: Glove, American Style

by David P. Greisman

This time in Florida, the story was the banging Chad.

On his grandest stage yet, Chad Dawson voted himself into power by punching hole after hole through the defense of Tomasz Adamek. It was a two-party boxing match, but the outcome was a unanimous landslide.

With the final returns reading 116-110, 117-109 and 118-108, Dawson has immediately vaulted into the upper echelons of the light heavyweight division. Against a man perceived as not only a formidable titlist but also a major step up in competition, Dawson was too strong, too fast and too good so soon.

After a nondescript first round in which the pugilists patty-caked with pawing jabs, Dawson’s stiff southpaw lead punctured Adamek’s guard and opened up the floodgates. Next came the quick left crosses, an occasional uppercut and a constant banging body attack. For a fighter who was still a prospect two fights ago and a middleweight two years ago, Dawson had grown quickly and surprisingly in status, size and esteem.

Within minutes, the enthusiasm of the nationalistic partisans in the audience had been curbed. Faster than an Andrew Golota fan could say “Lamon Brewster,” the “Poland” chants in support of Adamek were quieted, soon to be overwhelmed by that formerly jingoistic mainstay, “U-S-A! U-S-A!”

With Dawson in his breakout performance, it was glove, American style.

For all of the xenophobic uproar about the Soviet heavyweight takeover, few in the States objected about the 175-pound weight class having titlists from Hungary, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom. And with Roy Jones and non-lineal champion Bernard Hopkins in semi-retirement, there was no one for fans to rally behind in this long-storied division.

Until now.

At 24, Dawson is young enough that he has considerable upside and the time to improve on various flaws. He is emotional but likeable, a budding star who nevertheless is real enough to garner fans in the process.

And the list of potential opponents is appealing.

Unlike the days when there was no sanctioning body muddle, the modern era’s numerous title belts allow fighters to gain recognition early and improve on the job. Like Juan Diaz’ first five lightweight defenses, Dawson as WBC beltholder has leeway in which he need not jump directly into facing the best challengers around.

Yet already there is speculation that Dawson’s next opponent will be Glencoffe Johnson, a journeyman whose style and dedication finally translated in recent years into recognition and a brief stay at the top. Dawson-Johnson virtually guarantees the return of the banging Chad, and in a light heavyweight division that is both aging and distant, Dawson is one Chad who should hang around.

The 10 Count

1.  Julio Diaz picked up the IBF lightweight title Saturday when Jesus Chavez suffered a bizarre knee injury and was counted out. Chavez’ injury brought an early close to a fight that many believed would be the first of two all-action bouts on the card. Yet the opening rounds were mostly slow, with Chavez hesitant and ineffective against a Diaz who was content to box and use his superior speed.

With the win, Diaz regains footing in a lightweight division that was formerly dominated by Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales. Although WBA titlist Juan Diaz is high on Julio’s wish list, a surname showdown with David Diaz remains another enticing possibility.

For Chavez, meanwhile, the loss was another heartbreaking incident after years of rehabbing from injuries and the fallout from his role in the tragic death of Leavander Johnson. Chavez’ bout against Julio Diaz was his first appearance since stopping Johnson, and unless Chavez can dig once more into his surplus of heart, it may have been his last.

2.  Also on the undercard of Adamek-Dawson, Cory Spinks successfully defended his junior middleweight title with a one-sided decision over Rodney Jones. On the surface, Spinks’ victory clears up his mandatory obligation and paves the way for a big-money bout. But Spinks-Jones was left off the domestic broadcast, and Spinks has essentially been left out of the super-fight picture. With stars like Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather all in action over the next several months, Spinks may stay on the fringe until he establishes himself as an attraction outside of his hometown of St. Louis.

3.  Boxers Behaving Badly, part one: Ricardo Mayorga provided a double dose of misbehavior when he was arrested twice last week for fraud, according to the Associated Press. The former welterweight champion and junior middleweight titlist was jailed Tuesday in Nicaragua on charges that he failed to pay a used-car dealer $56,000 for four cars. Although prosecutors dismissed the case as a civil matter, Mayorga was arrested again on Thursday for allegedly writing $87,000 in bad checks to three people.

4. Boxers Behaving Badly, part two: Troubled former featherweight titlist Scott Harrison briefly checked into his prison timeshare on Tuesday after being arrested for drug possession in Glasgow, Scotland, according to BBC News. Given the whirlwind train wreck that Harrison’s life has become, it should be of little surprise that shortly after pleading not guilty Thursday to illegally possessing Valium, Harrison was due Friday in a Spanish court and was also scheduled to face another charge Feb. 5 in Glasgow.

5.  Months after testing positive for methamphetamine use, Omar Nino was officially stripped last week of his WBC junior flyweight title, according to the Associated Press. With the strap vacated, Brian Viloria will get a chance to earn back the belt he lost to Nino in August and failed to regain when the November rematch was ruled a draw. Viloria’s opponent will be Edgar Sosa, who is ranked second by the WBC.

Amazingly, this oft-criticized sanctioning body has mandated that the winner of Viloria-Sosa must defend against Nino.

“The WBC considers that Nino has not voluntarily incurred in this fault,” the organization said in a statement that misspells the drug Nino tested positive for. “[D]ue to his clean career and the lack of uniformity within process made in Nevada, if [it’s] compared with our rules, we declare … that Nino will be challenger of the new world champion.”

6.  Last week I asked which would come first – the come-backing Vitali Klitschko suffering another injury while training or Klitschko once again calling Lennox Lewis out for a rematch of their 2003 slugfest. The answer came quickly.

“Lennox Lewis is a gentleman and he promised me a rematch. Everybody wants to see the second part of the story, ” Klitschko told Graham Shaw of sportinglife.com. “I never lost the fight. The doctor allowed him to keep his title. I was ahead on points. I’ve never fought such a strong fighter, but I know I beat Lennox.”

7.  From a heavyweight who couldn’t stay retired to a heavyweight who should call it a career. In his first fight since being knocked cold last year by Calvin Brock, over-performing journeyman Zuri Lawrence lost via second-round stoppage to underperforming contender Dominick Guinn. As with the single Brock left hook that sent Lawrence on an express trip to Sleepland, it was the punches Lawrence didn’t see that put him on the canvas against Guinn.

With wins against Jameel McCline and Paolo Vidoz, Lawrence should be able to retire knowing that he achieved success despite losing twelve bouts and never knocking out a single foe.

As for Guinn, he did precisely what was required to keep alive a career that has been tremendously inconsistent. The heavyweight landscape is often described as being wide open, but Guinn’s next disappointing loss may close the door completely on him.

8.  The New York State Athletic Commission has declared the Jan. 25 bout between Raul Frank and Terrance Cauthen a no decision, overturning the seventh-round stoppage victory originally awarded to Frank, according to the Associated Press.

Comfortably ahead on all three scorecards, Cauthen was floored in the seventh by an accidental head butt. The referee, however, believed that Cauthen had been hurt by a punch and stopped the fight with one second remaining in the stanza.

With the loss taken off his ledger, Cauthen may yet seek for the NYSAC to name him the winner under the argument that the foul would have forced the fight to go to the judges.

9.  From a no decision to a strange decision, Zahir Raheem’s Jan. 26 shutout win over durable journeyman Armando Cordoba has been changed to a no contest, according to ESPN.com scribe Dan Rafael. Raheem – who fought on short notice at 143 pounds – requested that the Osage National tribal commission make the change so as to remove any possibility that his lightweight ranking could be affected. Raheem is ranked 23rd by the WBC, twelfth by the WBO, sixth by the WBA and fourth by the IBF.

10.  Mike Tyson and Lindsay Lohan are both rehabbing at the Wonderland Center in Los Angeles, according to celebrity gossip blog PerezHilton.com. After thinking far too long and hard about this, I still don’t know which of the two will end up having lived a more normal life.

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