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I just found this newspaper article from over the weekend. I think Shaun George-Glen Johnson would be an amazing match. The winner would be an excellent number one contender for Dawson-Diaconu winner.
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Wayne's George flying high after dropping Byrd
http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/mcn...l=1&thispage=1
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Light heavyweight contender Shaun George took all the fun out of what was supposed to be a coming-out party for Chris Byrd May 16 in Las Vegas. Byrd was making his much-anticipated return to the 175-pound division.
George never let the party get started. He dominated Byrd from the opening round, dropping the former IBF heavyweight champion with a straight right hand.
And with each passing round, George's dominance became more apparent. The only question after five rounds was: When will it end? George provided the answer in the ninth, when he dropped Byrd twice.
Winning the fight in such impressive fashion was George's plan all along. The plan was hatched weeks earlier while George was in training camp.
"A month into training camp, I had no doubt in my mind I was going to win the fight," said George, a Wayne resident who improved to 17-2-2 with eight KOs. "I was sparring with world champion Antonio Tarver, and I held my own. It was good work. I knew a month into training camp what was going to happen in the ring (that) night.
"Going into the fight, everybody was focused on Chris Byrd. But I would tell anyone who would listen that this fight isn't going to be what you think it's going to be."
George's confidence was bolstered by many hours of viewing tapes of Byrd. By the time he entered the ring, George knew all of Byrd's fight habits.
"I looked at tapes and studied his style," George said. "I'd been watching his career a very long time, and I noticed a couple of things about him -- his footwork was limited and he fought with one hand.
"He'd show you the jab, but his dominant hand was the left to the body and left hand to the head. He has good hand speed, but if you take that away from him, he has nothing else."
Despite such an impressive win, George knows he still has more work to do. He reviewed tape of the fight and noticed several things that need improvement.
George remains committed to becoming a world champion and has resumed taking steps to achieve his goal. Days after the biggest win of his career, George was back at Hall of Fame boxing center in West Paterson making improvements.
"It was my coming-out party, but I'm still not satisfied," George said. "Looking at the tape of the Chris Byrd fight, I still saw a lot of mistakes I made in there. ... There were some things like putting my punches together better. I can get guys out of there earlier. And I'd like to establish my jab a little bit more.
"I'm still proving myself. I want to show everybody that the Chris Byrd fight wasn't a fluke. I won't be able to fight Antonio Tarver, Chad Dawson, Roy Jones Jr. or Joe Calzaghe because those guys are in negotiations to fight each other. But I want to fight a contender. I'd like to fight Adrian Diaconu."
But the one fighter George has had his eye on for some time -- former champion Glen Johnson -- remains unattainable. George has called Johnson out several times to no avail. And he believes beating Byrd won't change things.
"Glen Johnson was talking about fighting Chris Byrd before (our) fight even got started. I'd love to fight Glen Johnson ... but every fighter knows who can fight and who can't fight. What I did to Chris Byrd opened a lot of eyes. ... I'm not holding my breath waiting for Glen Johnson."
---------------------------------------------------------
Wayne's George flying high after dropping Byrd
http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/mcn...l=1&thispage=1
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Light heavyweight contender Shaun George took all the fun out of what was supposed to be a coming-out party for Chris Byrd May 16 in Las Vegas. Byrd was making his much-anticipated return to the 175-pound division.
George never let the party get started. He dominated Byrd from the opening round, dropping the former IBF heavyweight champion with a straight right hand.
And with each passing round, George's dominance became more apparent. The only question after five rounds was: When will it end? George provided the answer in the ninth, when he dropped Byrd twice.
Winning the fight in such impressive fashion was George's plan all along. The plan was hatched weeks earlier while George was in training camp.
"A month into training camp, I had no doubt in my mind I was going to win the fight," said George, a Wayne resident who improved to 17-2-2 with eight KOs. "I was sparring with world champion Antonio Tarver, and I held my own. It was good work. I knew a month into training camp what was going to happen in the ring (that) night.
"Going into the fight, everybody was focused on Chris Byrd. But I would tell anyone who would listen that this fight isn't going to be what you think it's going to be."
George's confidence was bolstered by many hours of viewing tapes of Byrd. By the time he entered the ring, George knew all of Byrd's fight habits.
"I looked at tapes and studied his style," George said. "I'd been watching his career a very long time, and I noticed a couple of things about him -- his footwork was limited and he fought with one hand.
"He'd show you the jab, but his dominant hand was the left to the body and left hand to the head. He has good hand speed, but if you take that away from him, he has nothing else."
Despite such an impressive win, George knows he still has more work to do. He reviewed tape of the fight and noticed several things that need improvement.
George remains committed to becoming a world champion and has resumed taking steps to achieve his goal. Days after the biggest win of his career, George was back at Hall of Fame boxing center in West Paterson making improvements.
"It was my coming-out party, but I'm still not satisfied," George said. "Looking at the tape of the Chris Byrd fight, I still saw a lot of mistakes I made in there. ... There were some things like putting my punches together better. I can get guys out of there earlier. And I'd like to establish my jab a little bit more.
"I'm still proving myself. I want to show everybody that the Chris Byrd fight wasn't a fluke. I won't be able to fight Antonio Tarver, Chad Dawson, Roy Jones Jr. or Joe Calzaghe because those guys are in negotiations to fight each other. But I want to fight a contender. I'd like to fight Adrian Diaconu."
But the one fighter George has had his eye on for some time -- former champion Glen Johnson -- remains unattainable. George has called Johnson out several times to no avail. And he believes beating Byrd won't change things.
"Glen Johnson was talking about fighting Chris Byrd before (our) fight even got started. I'd love to fight Glen Johnson ... but every fighter knows who can fight and who can't fight. What I did to Chris Byrd opened a lot of eyes. ... I'm not holding my breath waiting for Glen Johnson."
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