Hopkins Loses Nail Biter Close Decision To Dawson
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Did he, or did he not lose the WBC Light-Heavyweight title to "Bad" Chad Dawson? Two of the three judges present at the bout seemed to think so.
The oldest champion in the history of boxing, Bernard Hopkins, fell to the hands of Chad Dawson in their rematch bout in Atlantic City, NJ. On Saturday April 28th, Judge Luis Rivera stood alone with his view of how the fight went down, with his final scoring even at 114-114. However the crowd didn't seem too displeased with the scoring of 117-111 from judges Steve Weisfeld and Richard Flaherty in Dawson's favor. On the other hand, some may be thinking that the fight was closer than it was scored.
Despite what anyone might think, the facts stand for themselves. Dawson came strong, smart, and ready for anything that Hopkins had to throw at him. Throughout the twelve rounds, he was constantly aggressive, on a seek-and-destroy mission reminiscent of Arnold before his days in the office.
From the fourth round on after Dawson suffered a cut over his left eye from an accidental head butt with Hopkins, he kept completely on the offensive with the speed, power, and athleticism of a champion.
He would often find a home for his straight left hand, and stiff head rocking jabs. Combinations became the answer for Dawson, as he would often answer Bernard's one punch attack, with a counter of four, five, six punches. Left uppercuts, right hooks, body shots, everything was flying at Bernard from Dawson's fists.
Even though the 47-year-old champion showed skill, craft, and a lot of heart, Dawson's pressure was too much for him in the end, in the eyes of the judges.
And thus, Dawson dethroned Bernard Hopkins of his WBC Light-Heavyweight title. At the end of the fight, Dawson was very proud of his accomplishment, but also very respectful, yet bluntly honest on Bernard during this fight.
"I have to give him credit. He's a hell of a fighter. He's a future Hall of Famer. But he's a dirty fighter. I'm the younger guy so I had to be the aggressor. With all the head butts I had to keep my composure. I did what I had to do. I got my belts back," said Dawson.
Bernard however, stood firm in his belief that he did the more effective work, despite Chad coming at him with constant aggression. Bernard was not happy with the decision to take his belt away from him, to say the least. Once again he feels as though he got robbed of a huge fight.
"What did he do to win that fight? They did what they wanted to do. The only way I knew I would win is if I knocked him out. Let the public judge for themselves," Hopkins argued.
It seemed as though both fighters were proud of their performances and Chad Dawson went home with the belt to prove it. Who do you think won the fight?
Source: nydailynews.com
