Weekend Preview: AARP Edition
Bernard Hopkins’ (left) place in boxing history is already secure.
After losing to Roy Jones Jr. in 1993 “The Executioner” went an amazing 12 years and 27 fights before tasting defeat again (losing twice to Jermain Taylor on points), including a record 20 defenses of his middleweight title. He knocked out Felix Trinidad in 2001 to become the first first undisputed middleweight champ since Marvin Hagler and boasts wins over a list that reads like the who’s who of middle and light heavyweight boxing in recent years: Oscar de la Hoya, Trinidad, Kelly Pavlik, Winky Wright, Glen Johnson, Jones, Antonio Tarver, William Joppy and Jean Pascal.
In May Hopkins became the oldest man in the sport’s history to win a major championship by defeating Pascal in a rematch of their disputed December 2010 draw to become light heavyweight world champion. By doing so he became an icon of the sport and an inspiration to anyone that has been told they are too old to do something. In a young man’s game Hopkins has managed to get better with age by treating his body as a temple and famously avoiding anything that might compromise his success.
So there was no need for Hopkins to accept a bout with former 175-lb titlist “Bad” Chad Dawson (right) for his first title defense. But BHop has always looked to prove himself against the best and tomorrow night will be no exception. Fighters with that kind of heart are increasingly rare in this age where top pros seem interested only in cashing a check against the softest possible competition.In many ways Dawson is the worst possible matchup for Hopkins: like Bernard he’s an extremely skilled technician, but also younger and faster. Unlike Pascal, whose technical deficiencies and lack of stamina became obvious over his past two fights, Dawson is a scientific boxer that shouldn’t let Hopkins’ mindgames affect him.
Dawson has some notable wins of his own over Tomasz Adamek, Antonio Tarver (twice) and Glen Johnson (twice). But he was strangely listless in losing his WBC and the Ring belts to Pascal last August. A promising performance against Adrian Diaconu on the Pascal-Hopkins undercard under the tutelage of Emanuel Steward has been negated by Dawson’s dismissal of Steward after refusing to re-locate his camp to Detroit. Dawson says he’s still bad, but no one knows which version of him will show up Saturday night at Staples Center.
So where does that leave us? Unfortunately, probably with a Pay Per View headliner that will appeal to boxing aficionados but turn off casual fans. Hopkins has never been the most watchable fighter and Dawson is even worse, especially since he lacks a similarly compelling story to match Hopkins’.
The reports are that ticket sales have been dismal, not surprising considering the promoters’ inexplicable decision to stage a fight featuring two East Coast boxers without mainstream appeal in one of the largest venues for the sport. Madison Square Garden would have been a much better choice, followed by Atlantic City or even Philly if Dawson were willing to travel to Bernard’s hometown.
As for a prediction, we envision an extremely close bout where both men demonstrate healthy respect for each other’s skills. Chad will likely stay busy early in hopes of banking rounds and use his bag of tricks and impeccable timing to control the fight. Dawson will try to work his stiff jab and counter, relying his superior speed and sharper reflexes. Dawson is a slight favorite but betting against Bernard has been a bad idea recently. We see this fight going the distance and Bernard getting the nod in a split decision as the sentimental favorite.
*********************
The good if not great PPV undercard for Dawson-Hopkins features a couple good scrapes: Jorge Linares vs. Antonio DeMarco for the vacant WBC lightweight strap and Kendall Holt vs. Danny Garcia in a junior welterweight title eliminator. The crossroads matchup between Garcia and Holt could be the fight of the night; we’ve always enjoyed watching Kendall fight and he rarely fails to bring the excitement. He’s not quite the fighter he was years ago when he held the WBO belt but he will still be a huge step up for the undefeated Garcia, fighting out of Philadelphia. The undercard will also feature 52-year-old Dewey Bozella making his professional debut after spending 26 years in prison on a wrongful murder conviction and Paulie Malignaggi continuing his welterweight campaign against Orlando Lora.
Kimbo Slice weighed in at 244 lbs. for his second professional bout, a four-round heavyweight tilt against Ray Bledsoe on Saturday night in the boxing hotbed that is Grand Island, Neb. The former MMA fighter and YouTube sensation has Butterbean written all over him, provided he doesn’t get knocked out early again like he did in his UFC debut.
The only other televised fights this week are the Friday night Spanish telecasts. Solo Boxeo on Telefutura is headlined by Mike Perez vs. Tyrone Harris at lightweight from Puerto Rico while Telemundo has a featherweight bout between Orlando Cruz and Michael Franco from Kissimmee, Fla.
Those looking to save some cash on PPV can wait a week to watch Hopkins-Dawson on PPV and instead spend $10 to stream a GoFightLive.tv card from Springfield, Mo. featuring cruiserweights B.J. Flores and Ryan Coyne. Flores’ lone loss came in a title show against Australia’s Danny Green last November; he will fight Paul Jeanette for two meaningless domestic belts. Coyne was less than impressive in eking out a decision against David McNemar in June. But this is boxing, where another shoddy performance would likely earn Coyne the title shot he has been seeking.