Andre Ward Manhandles Chad Dawson, Scores TKO10 Win |
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| Written by Michael Woods | |||
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Saturday, 08 September 2012 22:16
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HBO showed the scrap. Ward went 155-418, to 29-187 for the loser. Ward (entering at 25-0 with 13 KOs; age 28; from Oakland), the WBA and WBC super middleweight champion, was 168 pounds on Friday, while Dawson (31-1 with 17 KOs; age 30; from New Haven, CT). On fight night, Dawson was 185, while Ward went up to 176. A few hours after the fight, I touched base with Dawson's trainer, John Scully. He acknowledged that the effort to make 168 severely drained Dawson, and made him listless. And when did he know he had a problem, that the weight drain would be hurtful to the fighter who last made 168 in February 2006: "A few weeks ago." Steve Smoger, a NY guy, reffed. Dawson said to him after that tenth round knockdown, "I'm finished, I'm done." Ward thanked God first, of course, after the bout. He said to Larry Merchant that he wanted to take risks to give the fans a good fight and not take risk against a skilled boxer. He said he is on his way to being a good finisher, after being branded a non-finisher early on. He said the fight wasn't easy: "Chad Dawson is a monster in there." And what is next? He has no idea, he said. But a move to light heavy is possible. Dawson after said "he is a great champion. He's the best." He mentioned the weight, said he couldn't get off, that Ward was faster and stronger than he thought he'd be, and that he didn't want to take anything away from Ward. How good is Ward? "he's an excellent champion, he deserves to be on top," Dawson said. In the first, both men did their share of assessing and holding. In the second, that lefty manner gave Ward some problems but he began to figure out the lefty. A butt of heads put a small cut on Dawson's right eye. In the third, a left hook put Dawson down with 35 seconds to go. From there, the fight was all ward. In the fourth, Dawson went down again, off a left hook, to start the round. Ward delivered his hook quicker, and tighter. Ward went into pitbull mode. Then Dawson collected himself some, and did well to exit the round. In the fifth, Ward feinted, shook his head know when Dawson landed a clean left, and generally looked to be in command. Dawson's jab too often looked soft, pawing, ineffectual. In round six, Ward popped the jab, used the lead right downstairs, blocked the Dawson jab, stayed patient...basically, he fought a winning round. In round seven, Dawson kept waiting, not dictating. In round eight, Larry Merchant wondered if Dawson had mentally given up. In tight, Ward banged while Dawson clinched. His uppercuts had the crowd buzzing. A slice on his right eye was attended to by Dawson's corner. "We got to dig down and hurt this guy," trainer John Scully told him. "You need to go for the win." In round nine, Ward kept on being aggressive but smart. Same for ten; Chad needed to be Bad but he was the same as before. Ward scored another knockdown in the tenth, off a left hook. He told Steve Smoger no mas at 2:45. After Vitali Klitchko smashed up no hoper Manuel Charr, Antonio DeMarco rubbed out John Molina. A straight left in the first hurt Molina, and ref Jack Reiss stepped in while Molina was cowering, eating a volley. The time elapsed was 55 seconds, and some wondered if Reiss pulled the plug prematurely. Molina was crouching, and didn't take a knee, so Reiss felt he wasn't defending himself. "He should have taken a knee," Merchant said. Were the ropes holding him up? On the refcam, it looked like Molina was sitting on the bottom rope, like on a toilet, so maybe a knockdown was called for. Harold Lederman said Reiss should not have stopped it, that in a title fight he should let it go. We can chew on that debate for a spell...The Mexican DeMarco holds on to the WBC lightweight title, while the Californian presumably now knows what to do in this situation. Here is info in case you missed it: HBO REPLAYS OF SATURDAY’S TRIPLEHEADER HEADLINED BY ANDRE WARD VS. CHAD DAWSON AND ANTONIO DEMARCO VS. JOHN MOLINA JR. AND VITALI KLITSCHKO VS. MANUEL CHARR HBO replays: Sunday, Sept. 9 (8:00 a.m.) and 10 (11:30 p.m.), HBO2 replays: Sunday, Sept. 9 (3:00 p.m.) and 11 (11:00 p.m.) All Times are ET/PT.
Other action on the card: HEAVYWEIGHTS Franklin "Yah Yah" Lawrence (18-2-2, 13 KOs, Indianapolis, IN) W TKO7 (3:00) over Homero Fonseca (9-6-3, 2 KOs, Peirsaw, TX) Malik Scott (35-0, 12 KOs, Philadelphia, CA) W TKO8 over Bowie Tupou (22-2, 16 KOs, Los Angeles, CA) MIDDLEWEIGHTS Tony Hirsch (13-5-2, 6 KOs, Oakland, CA) W UDEC over Roberto Yong (5-6-1, Sacramento, CA) JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS Ricardo Williams (20-3, 10 KOs, Cincinnati, OH) W MDEC 6 over Anthony Lenk (13-2, 7 KOs, Los Angeles, CA) FEATHERWEIGHTS Randy Guerrero (1-0, Gilroy, CA) MAJ DRAW 4 vs. Juan Urbina (0-1, Santa Ana, CA) Shoulder Roll Defense says:
I take off my hat to Andre Ward. This is the only time that I have bet against him, never again will I bet against SOG at super middleweight or light heavyweight. Chad Dawson has all of the physical tools, but doesn't have the "it" factor. He is very good, but far from great. On the other hand, Ward hasn't lost a fight since he was 12 and deserves to be at the top of the "pound 4 pound" charts because of his activity and quality of opposition that he has faced during the past 3 years. Chad might not ever be the same after this fight! Ward should move up to light heavyweight because there isn't anything left for him to accomplish in the super middleweight division. MisterLee says:
Dear Ali, deepwater says:
That fight went exactly as I said. Andre has a chip on his shoulder and closed the show. Chad is good but doesnt have the fire in the belly. Andre is a serious fighter. And his star will oly shine with his nice behavior outside the ring. A nice guy outside the ring. A bull inside the ring . Retire chad it's not in ou anymore. You quit so go enjoy our family and open a business. Scully has the most heart out of that coner and he even snapped . Great fight.2 nice guys. Good work Radam G says:
My post disappeared, so I will repost it later.SBC didn't have a prayer, though. His brainwaves, blood and legs were jived up just as I said. All those who know the game, know this.Holla! brownsugar says:
@Ali... what grace... what humility. Somehow I thought you would have made some excuses. but you're obviously better than that. Way to take it on the chin and keep it movin. I'm shocked to learn SBC only made $600,000 to Wards $1,367,500. But I give him all the credit and respect in the world. I thought Chad would quit after round before round 7 or 8 because things weren't going his way. But his 10th round resignation is acceptable.. he'd certainly took enough of a beating to call it quits....anything more would have been false bravado and he would have been sacrificing his future in the sport (which has already been severely compromised)... I'm surprised his corner didn't end it earlier. Scully has a lot more heart than his boxer. brownsugar says:
Ward is simply amazing, he fights every millisecond of every round,.. picking, probing, searching for holes, gaps and breaches in his opponents defense. Then he strikes like and adder, inflicting a little venom each time until his opponent succumbs to the poison. brownsugar says:
Just think Mr Lee, you supported SOG, from the beginning and he hasn't disappointed yet. brownsugar says:
I raise my glass to the fighter with class. SOG WARD!!!!!!!!!!!! the Roast says:
Great performance by Andre Ward. I did not expect him to dominate like that. Dawson has always shown a good chin. It was shocking to me to see him get knocked down like that. Coming down in weight was not a good idea. Fighters have to stop doing this. Cotto got spanked by Pacman. Roy Jones downward spiral started after coming down from heavyweight after the Ruiz fight. Sugar Ray Leonard got his azz whipped by Terry Norris after going down to jr middle. Ward was awesome last night but Dawson was drained. DaveB says:
There was nothing Dawson could do. If he stepped it up Ward just whipped him worse, if he tried to stay away and box he just took a prolonged beating. But if he gets a pass for quitting there should no longer be any talk about Victor Ortiz quitting. Ward may possibly be the number one pound for pound guy. I really don't see anyone from 168 to 175 standing a chance with him. He was the "bad one" last night even though he is SOG. I only wish he was about four or five inches taller and about 60 pounds heavier so he could go up and dust the Klitschko's a$$es and show what a really great fighter could do against them. I agree with the Roast fighters have got to stop draining themselves. Cotto learned that lesson well. He said I will never do that to myself again to give the other fighter the advantage and risk my health. If this practice continues there is going to be a tragedy in the ring and losing the fight is going to be the least of it. Radam G says:
It's time for SCHOOL -- RADAM G school! The Good Doctor says:
SOG was phenomenal. I was rooting for him but he absolutely shocked me with this domination. Chad being drained was not an excuse for this fight. On that night, Chad would have been beaten at his weight class or Ward's. amayseng says:
Radam is correct you can't shred 18 lbs Shoulder Roll Defense says:
I would like to see everyones top 5 "pound 4 pound" list, my list is as follows: mortcola says:
I've always said it. Ward is a brilliant analytical boxer with great reflexes, technique, and improvisational ability. Dawson is technically sound, unimaginative, and inflexible, negating many of his obvious physical gifts. He doesn't throw down (unless its Hopkins on his back), he doesn't shift down when the going gets rough, and he really only has his one-two, one-one-two-three combos. I predicted Ward would flummox and dismantle him, breaking his will. There it is. Radam G says:
And SRD, your P4P list is junk science and science fiction, not sweet science. Hahaha! Yup, RIGHT! Da full brotha and da half brotha are strangely 1a and 1b. How strange would I look if I put Da Manny and "The Filipino Flash" 1super and 1regular? WTFF! ali says:
1 Mayweather Radam G says:
Typical SCLA Ali. And we know why. If it __ _ __ it is a __ __ _! Hahaha! Hehehe! Holla! gibola says:
Great win for Ward, although I'm not sure which version of Chad Dawson we had in there - but Andre deserves all the credit. Put a hold on the top-level P4P chat for a while. He's very good at what he does but other champions do it in foriegn countries, with everything stacked against them. He's had a career fighting in his back yard, even the Dawson fight was on his terms, everyone else in the Super6 fought on a couple of continents at least. Kessler and Froch came to him. I think he could well win a Froch rematch in Nottingham, but after Froch's KO of Bute, I think it would be nice to see Andre add another notch by fighting Froch on his patch. It's the only big fight out there really and if it was in England, after what Froch did to Bute, it would be an impressive win. Or is Ward's going to be a career based in Oakland and occasionally Vegas? Is he that kind of WORLD champion? Congrats Andre, now take a risk and leave Oakland. MisterLee says:
So with weight loss, how does Chavez, Rios in the past, Ortiz lose, and then regain so much mass and do it in a healthy fashion? I think Bradley regained a crap ton of weight after his weigh in agst Pacquiao too. Pc! MisterLee says:
Wow! John Scully is the new Jack Loew. "Double the f'n jab" round after round... "We need a knockout, dig down deep!" round after round... The Good Doctor says:
I would like to see everyones top 5 "pound 4 pound" list, my list is as follows: 1.1a. Floyd Mayweather, 1b. Andre Ward. 2. Sergio Martinez. 3. Nonito Donaire. 4. Wladimir Klitschko. 5. Manny Pacquiao. 1. Ward (by a mile) 2. Money May 3. Sergio 4. Donaire 5. Manny Radam G says:
Don't be an idiot! It is the type of weight loss and the time losing it. The late Buster Mathis lost 48 pounds as a professional fighter before he fought the late, great Smokin' Joe Frazier. Radam G says:
BTW and FYI, defacto stalker, it is the culture of professional boxing for fighters to fight at smaller weights than that they are when in shape in or walking around at. MisterLee says:
Dude, why are you name calling? I wasn't insulting you or calling you out. I was asking a basic weight loss question b/c at 130lbs. I dont' cut weight and I fight right where I am. brownsugar says:
I like your Left Hook theory Mr Lee, watching that fight again I noticed how much of a piece of Dawsons chin he caught with that punch. I've seen Dawson dazed by right hands to the temple by Glen Johnson. But nobody in recent memory has caught Dawson so many times on the point of the chin. weight troubles or not, Dawson would not have withstood those punches if he weighed in at Light Heavy. Radam G says:
Typical double standards, bullshytology and Yanky -- I mean hanky -- panky. Da Manny brings __ __ ___ __ down in weight and make them fight him, the haters, busters, faders, vaporers, fanfaronades and groupie mates call him every piece of bad shyt that they can think of. But SOG does the same things, and it is perfectly all right. dino da vinci says:
SOG was phenomenal. I was rooting for him but he absolutely shocked me with this domination. Chad being drained was not an excuse for this fight. On that night, Chad would have been beaten at his weight class or Ward's. However, Chad's gameplan sucked mightily. He should have popped that jab at least 30 times a round and to give Ward any trouble you have to be much more active than he was. Some of it was negated by Ward's acumen, however he could have shown more steam than he did. For what it's worth, I have SOG as #1 pound for pound now. Although Floyd's skill is a little higher, his recent work combined with great skill puts him at the top for me. Good Doc., Floyd defeated a tremendous Miguel Cotto last outing, so how can we move Ward past him? Please understand, yes, Ward is special (after all he IS the Son of God), but Mayweather is still in his prime. He is 43-0 and has a better shot of being 44-0 than 43-1 regardless of who they put across the ring from him. Had Floyd taken on every last challenge, the Paul Williams and Antonio Margaritos of the world, etc, etc, and still had his goose egg, then we could argue him best ever. Of course, because of his unwillingness to do so, we're reduced to arguing if he is even the best of his generation? (Pac). The Good Doctor says:
Good Doc., Floyd defeated a tremendous Miguel Cotto last outing, so how can we move Ward past him? Please understand, yes, Ward is special (after all he IS the Son of God), but Mayweather is still in his prime. He is 43-0 and has a better shot of being 44-0 than 43-1 regardless of who they put across the ring from him. Had Floyd taken on every last challenge, the Paul Williams and Antonio Margaritos of the world, etc, etc, and still had his goose egg, then we could argue him best ever. Of course, because of his unwillingness to do so, we're reduced to arguing if he is even the best of his generation? (Pac). Great question and I will be happy to answer. First I am a huge Cotto fan and I do feel like he fought one of his best fights ever even in defeat against Floyd. I give Floyd huge credit for that win because I feel like Cotto could have beaten anyone except Floyd on that night. Secondly, after Ward dismantled Froch I moved him to #2 on my P4P. With a win over a taller, larger, skilled Chad Dawson, Ward's body of work over the last three years is one of the toughest stretches we have seen from any fighter in the last 15 years. When you beat Dawson, Froch, Bika, Miranda, Green, Abraham, and Kessler and all of them relatively handily, I cannot see it any other way. I agree that Floyd may be slightly more skilled but Ward is still very skilled and has a resume that is considerably stronger than Money. When matching those two segments together, I think Ward easily outpaces everyone.
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The Twitterati groused when the Andre Ward-Chad Dawson scrap was made. They figured Andre Ward-Chad Dawson would be a bad style matchup, two technicians engaging in too much sweet science and not enough fighting. Well, there was fighting aplenty in the main event from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA on Saturday night, and it was Ward who showed off the better brand of it. Ward took it to Dawson, getting in and staying in his face, dropping the Connecticut boxer in the third and fourth and tenth. The ref halted the scrap when Dawson didn't act like he wanted to fight on.
Big, big ups to Ward for kicking Dawson *** I don't want to here any excuses about Chad coming down in weight. He is without a doubt number 2 p4p in world behind Mayweather but if they was the same size right now I would pick Ward in that fight. Btw big ups to Mister Lee for saying Ward would be p4p one of the best fighters in the world at the beginning of his career I know u proud of your boi. One last thing I don't run and hide when im wrong I man up unlike some ppl on TSS. B-Sug thank God I didn't bet against the SOG or I would have owed u some bread. If Sergio wins his fight with Chavez hopefully he will move up and fight Ward just a thought.