On my first article, I mentioned Chad Dawson needed a knockout to have any chance of making this comeback work. Well, he got the 1st round KO, however, does it mean anything? From my perspective, Dawson did not take training seriously. If Dawson had taken training seriously, he would have at least made weight.
On Friday, Dawson tipped the scales at 182.8 pounds, and weighed in for this evening’s bout at 202 pounds, effectively making him a heavyweight against Blades, a 39-year old hand-picked opponent, who had lost three out of his last five fights, all by knockout.
Remember the Chad Dawson that was ridiculed in the media for fighting old fighters? Do Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver ring a bell? Both fighters fought Dawson twice. Quite frankly, Dawson lost to Glen Johnson in their first fight, but won the rematch with ease. In the Tarver fights, I felt that Dawson did enough to win both.
It is clear that Johnson and Tarver were past their primes then. Here is the thing that bugs me; these warriors were once world champions. George Blades had one chance at a world title and blew it. Dawson was indisputably in terrible shape, but it made no difference against Blades.
As soon as Dawson tipped the scales, Blades was going down, easily. It was reminiscent to the one-sided beat down Adrien Broner gave to Vicente Escobedo after he failed to make weight for their clash in 2012. Escobedo was stopped in the fifth.
Dawson would like to see himself fighting for a world title again in 2015, however, he needs to fight a serious contender first, a fighter that makes training essential for victory.
Look at the steps Manny Pacquiao took. Pacquiao took back-to-back losses, losing a disputed split decision to Timothy Bradley, followed by a stunning knockout to Juan Manuel Marquez. However, he took nearly a year off in the ring, and came back to beat Brandon Rios. Not only did he beat Rios, but he was in superb fighting condition. If Pacquiao prepared for Rios like Dawson prepared for Blades, I don’t think Pacquiao would have taken the rematch to begin with.
With that being said, Chad Dawson needs to focus on getting back into shape and fighting a legitimate contender. Some people called tonight “a tune-up fight.” Earth to you folks, by definition, a tune-up is used for preparation for something bigger. Pacquiao used Rios to prepare for Bradley. That is a legitimate tune-up. On the other hand, Roy Jones Jr. used Danny Green as a tune-up and it backfired. Who is Chad Dawson using Blades to prepare for? That is a scary thought.
