Former two-time world light heavyweight champion, “Bad” Chad Dawson (32-3, 18KOs) will continue his comeback toward another world title when he squares off against former world title challenger, Tommy Karpency (23-4-1, 14KOs) in a ten round bout on Saturday, October 4, 2014 from the Fox Theater at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
“I`ve had a great camp, my weight is in check and I`m extremely excited to fight this Saturday,” said Dawson. “I`m looking to make a statement in this bout in front of my hometown fans and put the boxing community on notice that I`m back. After I defeat Karpency, I want significant fights in 2015.”
The Dawson vs. Karpency matchup will be televised on Showtime Boxing Special Edition which will headline reigning and undefeated International Boxing Federation (“IBF”) Champion, Rances “Kid Blast” Barthelemy (20-0-0 -1NC, 12KOs) as he defends his super featherweight title against former world title challenger and IBF third ranked, Fernando Saucedo (52-5-3, 8KOs), in the main event. These fights are co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Warriors Boxing.
Karpency has won two in a row this year as he avenged a previous loss when he unanimously outpointed Rayco Saunders in January and then he picked up the vacant NABA U.S. Light Heavyweight Strap after he beat Dhafir Smith in July. He twice challenged for a world title in 2012. Karpency lost to former World Boxing Organization (“WBO”) Title Holder, Nathan Cleverly and previous International Boxing Organization Champion, Andrzej Fonfara.
“He`s a great boxer and I know he`s coming into this bout to win and not collect a paycheck, so I`ve to fight well and be prepared for everything he throws at me; however, I`m extremely confident that I`ll emerge victorious,” said Dawson.
The New Haven, Connecticut native will be fighting in front of his home crowd for the first time in the last five years. Early in his career, Dawson fought eight of his first fifteen bouts at Foxwoods and won all of them.
This`ll be the 32 year old southpaw`s second bout after being out of the sport for a year following back to back defeats. He lost by way of a technical ten round knockout to Andre Ward, one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world and then suffered a first round defeat to Adonis Stevenson. His first bout on the comeback trail happen on June 21, 2014 and he garnered a first round technical knockout victory over George Blades. He scored two knockdowns from straight left hooks to the body, after which referee, Raul Caiz, Jr. halted the one side affair at 2:35.
“During this time off, I regained my hunger to become one of the best fighters in the sport which was missing from me for a while. Now that I`ve that desire back, nothing will stop me from becoming a world champion and the best fighter in my division,” said Dawson.
His hungry and determination were on display when he won his first world title, the World Boxing Council (“WBC”) Light Heavyweight Belt, at the age of 24, when he handed Tomasz Adamek his first professional loss in 2007. The following year, he defeated former world title holders, Glen Johnson and Antonio Traver. Dawson lost his WBC belt to Jean Pascal in 2010 but regained the title in 2012 when he beat future Hall-of-Famer, Bernard Hopkins.
Dawson`s ranked number eleven by the WBO and number fourteen by the WBC. His opportunity at another world title in the foreseeable future greatly increased now that Al Haymon, one of boxing`s most influential advisors/managers, is on his team.
“One of the biggest problems that I`ve throughout my career is that my managers and promoters didn`t care about me and they just wanted to make money off of me,” said Dawson. “Haymon is one of the first individuals who I`ve dealt with in this sport, which has a great deal of corruption, who`s honest and straight forward. He doesn`t hide anything and is always looking out for your best interest. He tells me to stay in shape and continue to win and in return, he`ll give me big fights and that`s the game plan that I`ll follow.”
Tickets for this fight are $45.00, $90.00 and $150.00 and can be purchased online at Foxwoods.com, by calling Foxwoods` box office at 800-200-2882 or in person at the Foxwood` s box office. Tickets may also be purchased through any Ticketmaster outlet or online at Ticketmaster.com. Doors open at 6:00 P.M. with the first bout scheduled for 6:30 P.M.
“I still believe that I`m one of the best fighters in the world and I`m eager to prove to the boxing community that I`ve a lot left to accomplish in this sport,” said Dawson. “I`m really looking forward to this bout on Saturday and going out there and having fun and bring back the old Chad Dawson, when I was one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world, for this bout and for the foreseeable future.”
