WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KO’s) doesn’t foresee himself having any problems whatsoever in making weight for his fight against WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KO’s) next month on September 8th at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. Dawson, 30, will be moving down seven pounds from light heavyweight to fight Ward at 168 in Ward’s home city of Oakland.
Dawson doesn’t see either of those issues being a problems for him in this fight, and nor is he worried about Ward’s excellent inside fighting ability.
Dawson told ESPN last night “I can make weight easy and I’m at the right weight. I’m not going to change my game plan. I’m not going to change my style. I have superior boxing skills. I know Andre Ward likes to be on the inside. He likes to rough guys up on the inside. People say he’s an all around fighter. I don’t see that. I see him on the inside wanting to trade punches. If it gets to that point where I have to trade punches I’ll have to be prepared for it. But all in all, I plan to use my superior boxing skills, outbox him and win the fight that way. The guys he’s been fighting haven’t been working behind the jab; they haven’t used boxing skills to try and beat him. They’re fighting his game plan. My job is to go out there and not fight his game plan. As my trainer John Scully said, ‘You have to make him deal with you – things that you do great. So I’m going to go out there and execute, and I’m looking forward to winning another title.”
Ward is favored by a lot of boxing fans who see his inside fighting ability as being the key to him winning. Ward tends to charge forward and get inside on his opponents almost immediately in his fights, and he stays inside all fight long. For Dawson to win, he’s going to have to use a lot of movement, a stiff jab and combination punching to keep Ward on the outside. Dawson will also have to show some inside skills as well, because it’s going to be impossible to keep Ward at range for the full 12. He’s a lot like Bernard Hopkins with the way that he is able to get inside on his opponents. The only way Dawson can prevent that from happening is to be able to move around like a young Roy Jones Jr. did in beating Hopkins in their first fight.