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WBC light heavyweight titleholder "Bad" Chad Dawson believes he'll be back to his real self in his return to 175 pounds on Saturday night, when he faces Adonis Stevenson in Montreal, live on HBO. Dawson's one-off shot at moving down to 168 didn't go well last September, as he was dominated by Andre Ward.
Chad Dawson
"I expect the crowd to be against me, but I'm not worried about that because I know that I can win them over with my performance. Stevenson is a worthy opponent but he's not on my level. I've fought and won over there before so I hope he's not banking on home field advantage because it's going to take a whole lot more to beat me. Once again I'm going to fight in someone's backyard and I'm fully confident I'll come out victorious."
"I'm grateful to my promoter Gary Shaw and HBO for giving me this opportunity. Now that I'm back at Light Heavyweight I'm going to get back to dominating the division."
"No excuses in my last fight, we'll just say that I'm a different fighter when I'm at 175 lbs. I can say with absolute confidence that my power is back, and not just my power but my strength as well. It's like I'm stronger in every aspect and it is playing a huge roll in training camp. I'm strong enough to push myself more miles, strong enough to go more rounds, and I'm stronger at the end of my workouts."
Gary Shaw, promoter
"This is Chad's return to his rightful throne at 175 lbs and he is fighting the most dangerous opponent available. Stevenson has been avoided by all the top guys and he is more dangerous with one punch than most guys throwing ten. On top of it all, he's going to Canada because he is a true warrior willing to prove time and time again why he is top dog at light heavyweight. HBO has been doing a great job televising meaningful fights in boxing, of course the lineal light heavyweight title falls under that umbrella. Everyone watching will get to see two warriors giving it their all to come out on top. This makes for a great night of boxing."