By Jake Donovan Bernard Hopkins versus Chad Dawson for the lineal light heavyweight championship of the world. It was always a fight that was intriguing on paper from a historical context but threatened to bomb in the ring and at the box office. A verdict reached by the California State Athletic Commission on Tuesday suggested the boxing equivalent of a wedding annulment. The original technical knockout verdict was... http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=47275#ixzz1gYU6IIO2
This was the only fair thing to do. You shouldn't win a title for throwing a guy on the ground in a boxing match.
Hopkins was on the way to losing the fight, and I can't imagine him winning a rematch as that he'll that much older. pretty good outcome for Hopkins really.
As somebody who has been a huge Bernard Hopkins fan for a long time............I find it pretty disgusting they're ducking a rematch, especially considering this was supposed to be for the alleged "lineal title". Bernard never wanted to fight Dawson. I said this a long time ago as a Hopkins fan and was surprised when he eventually caved in and signed the fight. Looks like it was just as true as I thought it was. :shit:
i said the same, and i agree. all except the part about the rematch. im disgusted by it, but dont care to see the rematch anyhow.
Same here. And quite frankly, nobody was terribly interested in seeing the first fight. Honestly, I'd have been fine with whatever came out of Tuesday's verdict, whether it was overturned or the original decision was upheld. Historically, it makes Hopkins' next fight mean that much more, whereas Dawson is still... Dawson. Beyond that, didn't really care one way or another, just for the damn thing to be resolved already.
Also, it was Dawson who got righteous in the moments after the fight, insisting that he would never give Hopkins a chance at regaining his title. The word 'rematch' didn't come out of his mouth until immediately after Tuesday's verdict.
While I wouldn't call myself a Hopkins fan, I'll admit that some of his later age work has been impressive. And when you look at the totality of his career, he's one of the top 20 fighters of all time in my opinion. That being said, he was looking for a way out in the Calzaghe fight and he was looking for a way out in the Dawson fight. I am not minimizing Dawson's actions or ignoring the actual injury Bernard suffered. But at the end of the day, just like against Calzaghe, Hopkins realized pretty quick that he was over his head and started hunting for the exit. So yeah, I don't want to see a rematch nor do I think it will be anywhere near Bernard's list of things 'to do' before he retires.
Don't you think it might have been said in the heat of the moment? After all, we were all pretty disgusted with the way the fight had ended, including Dawson, who didn't appear to want to win the title that way to begin with. :dunno: Forget if you want to see that fight again or not, isn't Dawson still the logical choice if you're going to once again declare Hopkins the "Lineal Champion"?
Scene reporting that the WBC ordered Hop to an immediate re-match with Dawson unless he wants to be stripped
Also, you can understand Dawson's frustration, probably having made a lot of financial concessions to make the fight, having prepared long and hard, and when the fight ended, having felt robbed of what must have seemed like his chance to give Hopkins a beating no other fighter had managed. I wouldn't call Dawson's response righteous. I'd call it human. I'd call Hopkins' behavior vaginal and consistent with the rest of his career. It doesn't get talked about, but the evidence suggests that Hopkins is a front-runner. Sure, he's a front-runner who's had a lot of success. But he's a front-runner nontheless.
I wouldn't call Hopkins a front-runner. He's worked his way back into many fights in the past and fought hurt before. Oscar brought out the bitch in him when he joined Golden Boy though. Always looking for the easy, entitled way out now, if things don't quite go his way. I think Dawson deserves a shot at Hopkins belts. It's the right thing to do IMO.
What I'm saying is that he's had two months to rethink that statement, and not only never recanted prior to Tuesday, but went as far as to say that he didn't care if he was stripped or not, that he's ready to move on. The shit ratings and empty venues that come with his fights obviously dictate otherwise and now his team is seeking a rematch. Not because they want to set the record straight but because he's out of options other than going back to Canada for a Pascal rematch that is even less lucrative now than it was a year ago.
Quite frankly, I don't need to see them fight each other ever again. Hopkins can retire for all I care. Dawson still needs to prove he actually desires to be a top fighter. The Diaconu fight was a step back in the right direction but the jury is still out.
I wouldn't want to see those guys fight again. Hopkins fought like a guy who didn't want to fight. I can't blame Chad for being angry. Hopkins didn't want Dawson and only got in the ring with him because he was contracted to do so. Seeing that Hopkins fought Antwun Echols twice and Robert Allen what...three times? Seems he'd be itching to get back in there with Dawson based on how the first fight ended. It was amusing seeing dawson yelling at him calling him a pussy. Dawson vs Pascal is a better rematch anyway.
he can thank two people for this... First himself for losing the Pascal fight in the first place. The other Gary Shaw who continues to be the worst "big name" promoter out there. Maybe Gary can get another deal with the Silverdome.
Yup exactly. Gary secured a TV package for Chad, but with the new regime he can kiss those exorbitant paydays goodbye. My guess is we wind up seeing a doubleheader leading to Dawson-Pascal II. Dawson-Cloud would be the other TV friendly venture of note, but since neither guy is a ticket seller or properly promoted... the question becomes where to put it, and how much will it cost?
What fights has he worked his way back into? Frankly, I don't believe anything Hopkins says or does and that includes anything to do with if he's hurt or not. Even if you believe he was hurt against Allen, for example, there's no question he was acting and trying to make more out of it than it was. And how about his little act against Calzaghe and RJJ? And now, if I had to bet, against Dawson as well. Some guys go out on their shields. Some guys quit on their stools. And some guys fake injuries and create drama when it's time for them to quit. Hopkins, obviously, falls into the latter category.
