After defeating Bernard Hopkins last April, Chad Dawson looked into the HBO cameras and said he wanted his next opponent to be Andre Ward. He said he was willing to drop down to 168 pounds and fight the super middleweight champion in Oakland.
Some might say be careful what you wish for. Saturday night Dawson challenges Ward for his 168-pound WBA/WBC titles in Ward’s hometown of Oakland. HBO will televise the bout.
Dawson said he doesn’t regret issuing the challenge or accepting the terms.
“I think that is a credit to my ability and what I know I’m capable of and what I know I could do in the arena,” said Dawson, the reigning light heavyweight champion at 175 pounds. “I don’t care that the fight’s in Oakland. I don’t care that it’s at 168 pounds, because I know I’ll be comfortable and everything is going to go my way.”
Dawson has spent most of his life in New Haven, Conn., but moved to Las Vegas to train for this fight. He accepted Ward’s terms because of the prestige a victory would bring. Ward is the last American gold medalist in boxing, winning at the 2004 Games in Athens. He is 25-0 with 13 knockouts and recently captured the World Boxing Classic where he defeated Mikkel Kessler, Allan Green, Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch last December to claim the Super Six trophy.
“A victory over Andre Ward would mean a lot for my career,” Dawson said. “We’re talking about somebody who is rated very high on the pound-for-pound list, and somebody who has a lot of recognition. He won a gold medal in the Olympics. When you look at his resume, it doesn’t really get any bigger than that, especially winning a gold medal for the United States. … I’m looking forward to the fight and going out there and I’ll prove everybody wrong.”
Dawson (31-1, 17 KOs) isn’t exactly a prospect. The southpaw is a two-time light heavyweight champion and coming off a majority decision over Hopkins, a future Hall of Famer. At 6-foot-1 with a 76½-inch, Dawson hopes to use his size to control the bout.
“I’m not spooked by the height and the reach deficit,” Ward said. “I’m coming to get a job done. It’s no different than any other fight that I’ve been in. Whether it’s Abraham, who’s short, squatty, and explosive; Carl Froch, who’s strong, long, and wiry; at the end of the day you’ve got to find a way. I’ve always said that and [tonight] will be no different.”
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Tickets priced from $180 to $55 remain available for Saturday’s boxing card at the Prudential Center in Newark. Tomasz Adamek (42-2, 28 KOs) defends his IBF North American Heavyweight title this afternoon when he takes on Travis Walker (39-7-1, 31 KOs) of Houston in the main event. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. with the first fight set for 2 p.m.
It’s one of three scheduled heavyweight bouts. Former two-time cruiserweight champ Steve “USS” Cunningham (24-4, 12 KOs) of Philadelphia moves up to the heavyweight division for the first time to face Jason Gavern (21-10-4, 10 KOs) of Orlando. Also Bryant Jennings (14-0, 6 KOs) of Philadelphia battles Chris Koval (25-9, 18 KOs) of Youngstown, Ohio.
Showtime will televise a boxing double-header Saturday night from the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. Olusegun Ajose (30-0, 14 KOs) of Nigeria will face Argentine Lucas Matthysse (31-2, 29 KOs) for the vacant WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Championship, while middleweight J’Leon Love (12-0, 7 KOs) of Las Vegas battles Chicago’s Ramon Valenzuela (7-1, 1 KO) in the co-feature.