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Remember when Chad Dawson beat Bernard Hopkins? Man, he was the king of the light heavies! It was a quick trip downhill for Dawson, though, first getting schooled by Andre Ward and then suffering a first-round KO at the hands of Adonis Stevenson.
Now we have the Dawson of 2014 who'll be taking on Tommy Karpency October 4th on Showtime. No disrespect to Karpency, but he was routed in 2012 by Nathan Cleverly (who himself was chewed up by Sergey Kovalev) and knocked out by Andrzej Fonfara (who fell to the aforementioned Stevenson).
Let's just be honest that this is a showcase bout for Dawson, and one he must win convincingly to keep his career alive.
Also on the card is Rances Barthelemy who'll take on Fernando Saucedo of Argentina. Many will remember Barthelemy's two fights with Argenis Mendez. In the first bout, Barthelemy rocked Mendez—who could not continue—with a shot that clearly connected after the bell to end Round 2. First ruled a KO, the result was changed to a no decision and Barthelemy won an immediate rematch by UD.
Since being nearly shutout by Chris John in 2010, Saucedo has won 14 straight against nondescript competition, all of the fights taking place in his home country.
Finally, Vanes Martirosyan will meet Willie Nelson. Full stop.
Simply put, this is another disappointing card to throw on the raging grease fire that has been this year on Showtime. It boggles the mind to see Chad Dawson in a showcase bout on premium cable in 2014. And IMHO, Barthelemy-Saucedo and Martirosyan-Nelson are FNF-level matchups.