By Ludwig O.Daza
Boxing fans were disgusted with what happened to the Dawson-Hopkins fight, and the Mayweather-Ortiz fight seemed like a punch to the solar plexus of the pay-per view customers. I wonder if these incidents would affect the pay per-per view results of the upcoming Pacquiao-Marquez fight.
No doubt about it, the actions of Chad Dawson and Floyd Mayweather ended their respective fights, leaving fans feeling cheated.
Chad Dawson could have definitively ended Bernard Hopkins’ career. And why not, he has the tools to put the ageless warrior to rest, but he foolishly ended the fight with a throw-down instead of punches.
Dawson is young and talented, but he doesn’t have the patience. So he got frustrated with Hopkins punch and clinch tactic, ducked the punch, used his shoulder like a true judo expert, and slammed Hopkins down the canvas.
Hopkins’ body seemed ageless outside, but inside are aging veins that can snap if not properly supported by his body during a slip or a fall.
Dawson can match Hopkin’s speed, so why the throw-down. He knew before hand that Bernard Hopkins fights that way, and he should have been mentally prepared to weather and allow Hopkins to do his dirty little tricks, but always mindful that sooner or later his senses will slow down, allowing him a small opening. And in war of attrition, if he is unable to nail Hopkins down, he always has the upper hand being so much younger.
The reason why Hopkins was able to frustrate and neutralize Jean Pascal is because the latter doesn’t have the balance. And Pascal is slower than Hopkins, so he won’t stand toe to toe with Hopkins because the moment the smoke clears, Hopkins will almost always get the better of him. Though Bernard’s punches are now less lethal, the effect of his punches will accumulate in the later rounds and make look Pascal bad.
So Pascal in his fight with Hopkins just used his tested style: offensive spurt every now and then. Regardless, the outcome will be the same because Hopkins has superior balance to counter Pascal’s offensive spurt.
Now, if I think a mentally prepared Dawson can beat Hopkins, why can’t Dawson beat Pascal who was outpointed by Hopkins? It is because Dawson cannot match the energy level of Pascal, and Dawson’s nonchalant performance in the middle added to his woes, not to mention his lack of mental fortitude, as evidenced by his recent mental meltdown that resulted to an MMA-like performance.
The common denominator in both fights is the inability of Chad Dawson to solve the style of Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal, which is essentially an offensive move followed by a defensive move. Pascal would pepper Dawson with punches and then move away from Dawson’s periphery, whereas Hopkins would unload a punch then tie up Dawson.
Hopkins-Dawson and Ortiz-Mayweather fights, if allowed to run its normal course, could have satisfied the fistic cravings of boxing fans. But In almost all cases, if one fighter doesn’t want to fight, things happen and fans get shortchanged.
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