OAKLAND, Cal. (Sept 8, 2012) – Andre Ward opened a lot of eyes on Saturday night as he punched the lights out on WBC and Ring magazine light-heavyweight champion Chad Dawson. Dawson was down three times, and surrendered after his final trip to the canvas, which occurred in the 10th round. They were fighting for Ward?s WBA/WBC/Ring super-middleweight belts. Dawson dropped down a division for the opportunity to take on the undefeated Ward.
Although Ward was the favorite going into the bout, Dawson was more than a live underdog. He and Ward were both in the pound-for-pound top 10, and their matchup was the best so far this year. Because neither of them exhibits the charisma of a Manny Pacquiao, or the audacity of a Floyd Mayweather, or the surliness of a Bernard Hopkins, the fight didn?t draw much attention in the mainstream media. But it was a bona fide superfight nonetheless, featuring two young warriors who had come up the hard way, fighting a Who?s Who of champions and contenders in their divisions. Between them, they had only one loss ? Dawson?s technical-decision defeat at the hands of Jean Pascal.
Because both men are boxers rather than punchers, the prevailing view was that they would engage in a 12-round fistic chess match, with few thrills and no spills. Ward had not scored a stoppage since his third-round KO of one Shelby Pudwill three years ago, and Dawson had never been knocked out.
Clearly, Ward had something else in mind. He came in as a boxer-puncher on Saturday, and Dawson simply couldn?t cope with him.
Any doubts about Ward?s long layoff (he hadn?t fought since last December, when he outpointed Carl Froch to win the Super Six super-middleweight tournament) and the hand injury he suffered in the Froch fight were certainly laid to rest in his masterful dismantling of Dawson. The only slight caveat here is that Dawson had to reduce his weight to 168 lbs from his normal 175. He could not have been unaffected by the drop in poundage. Still, it?s hard to imagine Froch or any of the other top super-middleweights laying such a decisive beatdown on even a weight-weakened Dawson. And Ward gave every indication that he could whup Dawson at a higher weight.
Speaking of a higher weight ?
Under ordinary circumstances, Ward would now hold both the super-middle and light-heavy crowns, by virtue of the fact that both fighters weighed under the 175-lb light-heavy limit. This was the rationale of the Sugar Ray Leonard-Don Lalonde bout of November 1988, in which the fighters were contesting for Lalonde?s WBC light-heavy belt and the vacant WBC super-middle crown. Leonard and Lalonde both weighed 168 lbs for the fight, in which Ray survived a fourth-round flooring to knock Lalonde out in the ninth, and thus claim both titles.
In the case of Ward-Dawson, however, supposedly only Ward?s title was on the line. If Dawson lost, he would retain his light-heavy crown. Technically, he shouldn?t. But if some arrangement were made beforehand that this would be a non-title bout for Dawson, then he?s still a world champion even in defeat. Usually, however, when a champion takes a non-title bout, it is contested at a weight higher, not lower, than his division?s limit.
Even though I?ve done a lot of searches for information, I?m really murky on exactly what the status of Dawson?s WBC and Ring titles is at this juncture, and what agreements on it were reached before the fight. If anyone out there could clear this up, I?d appreciate it.
What doesn?t have to be cleared up is that Andre Ward is at the top of his game ? which means that he?s at the top of the boxing game as a whole. And you know what? A battle between the Ward of 2012 and the Leonard of 1988 would sure be something to see. My pick would be Ward.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers. His award-winning novel, Damballa, which centers around a fictional heavyweight title bout, is available at Amazon.com.
