Jean Pascal upsets Chad Dawson in Montreal
by Scott Christ on Aug 15, 2010 12:02 AM EDT
in Boxing Results and Post-Fight Analysis
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Chad Dawson lost his undefeated record tonight, victim of an upset from Jean Pascal on the road in Montreal. Pascal outpointed Dawson on a technical decision after 11 rounds, when an accidental headbutt ripped open Dawson's eyelid. Official scores were 106-103 (twice) and 108-101, all for Pascal, who fought the best fight of his career. Bad Left Hook had it 107-103 for Pascal.
Pascal (26-1, 16 KO) used some effective charges, huge bursts of energy, and was helped by a shaky early performance from Dawson (29-1, 17 KO), who seemed to come into the fight very tight. It was Pascal's constant energy that looked better and won rounds, against Dawson's tentative nature and lack of output.
But Dawson, who was hurt himself during the bout, had Pascal reeling before the heads came together. We'll always wonder if Dawson, who was finally unleashing punches in bunches, might not have stopped Pascal and given us a stunning finish that could've lifted this from being a very good to a great fight.
After the bout, Pascal said he'd fight whoever, including Lucian Bute, and Dawson said he has a rematch clause, and that he'll exercise it. I can't wait for the rematch if that's what's going to come. It's still, in my view, the two best light heavyweights in the world, and they both had their moments. Dawson admitted he was outfoxed, but felt he could have stopped Pascal. He may well be right. I'd actually expect a rematch to be a better fight, given how much they learned about each other tonight.
Pascal is now the Ring Magazine light heavyweight world champion, and also picked up Dawson's IBO trinket to add to his WBC belt with the win. Congratulations to Jean Pascal, who will now be universally regarded as the best light heavyweight in the world, and deservedly so.
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Super Pissed
Right when Dawson comes to the realization of “I need to KO this guy” halfway through the 11th Dawson gets caught with an awful headbutt which came at the best possible time for Pascal. This isn’t “he was coming on I swear” like the Dirrell-AA fight, Dawson had Pascal seeing stars at least twice in the round. Would Dawson KO’d Pascal? I have no idea, but it was looking that Pascal was going to go down at least once and if Dawson stepped up the pressure, he actually might have earned a stoppage. I really hope the rematch gets made post-haste!
The parallel with the Dirrell-Abraham fight is one that hadn’t occurred to me, but now that I think of it, it’s actually a very strong parallel, right down to the sour-grapes post-fight interview. I suspect that the only reason why you are so defensive about it is that you were rooting for Dirrell in that fight, while you were rooting for Dawson in this one.
If anything, the parallel is even less flattering toward Dawson. Abraham, at least, starts slowly and depends on late KOs in every fight, so it can plausibly be considered a strategy of sorts, or at least a style. Dawson just had no reason for passing up the many opportunities he had to take control earlier in the fight. The fact that he was behind on the cards late and vulnerable to a TD in the event something were to go wrong is frankly his own damn fault.
Obvious slight bias but the difference in my mind is that Dawson actually hurt Pascal in the final round whereas AA didn’t hurt Dirrell at all in the last round of that fight. But you do make a good point that being the fighter that Dawson is, he should have never been in that situation.
Almost unrelated it makes me think how intentional Pascal was in getting the headbutt. Did he specifically put his head in a situation that he knew Dawson may get injured or himself?
by Waldo Rastel on Aug 15, 2010 7:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Reading RAD right now is kinda funny/sad at the same time. Lot of people calling it a “Canadian Screw Job” and wondering why Chad went to Montreal… oh Lord.
Officially boycotting Pacquiao vs. Margarito. In an economy that should be consumer driven, we suddenly find ourselves being force-fed by the producers of the spectacle. I say NO. If you agree with me, you should say NO too.
Chad was certainly not 'Bad' Chad tonight.
He was the superior talent and his corner was telling him virtually everything he needed to hear. He simply failed to listen and let his hands go. He has no one to blame but himself.
When you walk into someone else’s back yard, regardless of whether it is you or your opponent carrying the belt, you better bring your A-Game.
Dawson didn’t.
Wow.
Great upset by Jean Pascal, but why in the hell did Dawson even allow it to get this far?
http://sportsrandomness.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/montreal-hero/
Basically, Dawson has forgotten (if he ever knew how to begin with) how to take risks in the ring. Pascal and his trainer knew this so they fought a game plan that forced Dawson to take risks and open up in order to win – and Dawson wouldn’t do it. He finally started to get an inkling late in the fight, but by then it was too late.
I am not at all convinced that Dawson would have been able to KO Pascal had the head butt not occurred. Yes, Dawson was showing more aggression in the 11th than he had previously shown. But it was a difference in degree, not a difference in kind. After the opening flurry in the 11th that appeared to have Pascal hurt, Pascal got away and Dawson didn’t chase him. After Dawson hit him with the nice counter shot, he stared at Pascal for a period of seconds before punching again – his body language looked just like Paulie Malignaggi’s after he stunned Juan Diaz in their rematch. There were moments earlier in the fight when Dawson seemed to do well for a bit, and then stopped himself. He was trying harder in the 11th, but I think it was less than 50-50 whether he would have been able to push himself hard enough to actually get the job done, head butt or no head butt.
It’s the only place the fight could make money. His fights with Tarver in Vegas drew pathetic crowds, and his last fight in Connecticut with Johnson flopped, too. He has no drawing power.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Aug 16, 2010 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions
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