Chad Dawson (born July 13, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019. He held multiple world championships at light heavyweight and was one of the most highly regarded boxers in that weight class between 2006 and 2013.
Dawson was born to Rick Dawson, a former boxer who compiled a 2-6-1 professional record, and Wanda Dawson. Chad has four brothers and two sisters. Dawson, a southpaw, made his professional debut at middleweight, later moving up to super middleweight where he defeated notable opponents such as Ian Gardner and Carl Daniels.
His trainer is "Iceman" John Scully. He was formerly trained by Dan Birmingham, Floyd Mayweather Sr.
Here's a look at some key moments and statistics from his career:
Early Career and WBC Light Heavyweight Title
Dawson rose to prominence on the world stage in 2007 when he defeated Tomasz Adamek to win the World Boxing Council (WBC) light heavyweight title. At age 24, on February 3, 2007, Dawson won the WBC light heavyweight title against the undefeated, top-ten ranked champion Tomasz Adamek. The judges gave Dawson a unanimous decision victory, with scores of 118-108, 117-109, and 116-110.
Read also: Behind the scenes of Murray's role
In June 2007, Dawson defended the WBC title for the first time, in a fight with Jesus Ruiz (19-5-0), winning by technical knockout in round six. The fight was broadcast on Showtime as part of a card that featured former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver. On September 29, 2007, Dawson defeated Epifanio Mendoza by fourth-round TKO in his second title defense.
In April 2008 as his third title defense, Dawson retained the belt by a controversial unanimous decision victory against challenger Glen Johnson.
Dawson vs. Tarver and Calzaghe Challenge
On October 11, 2008, at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Dawson fought IBF light heavyweight title holder Antonio Tarver. Dawson, who controlled the pace and landed most of the significant punches for a majority of the fight, was more active in methodically wearing out his opponent. Tarver landed the occasional punch, but Dawson was in control for most of the fight. With 2:11 left in the final round, Dawson scored a knockdown against Tarver, the only knockdown in the fight.
Seven months after their first fight, Dawson and Tarver fought a rematch on May 9, 2009, in Las Vegas. The fight was similar to their first, with Dawson in control most of the fight, outworking Tarver much of the fight, and earning another unanimous decision win.
On November 9, the day after Joe Calzaghe's win over Roy Jones Jr., Dawson issued a press release challenging Calzaghe and offered to fight him on his home turf in Wales. Dawson stated "I'm ready to give Joe the opportunity to draw the curtain on his great career in front of his family and friends and 70,000 fans," and "It's the best fight in the light heavyweight division between two undefeated champions." Calzaghe was to retire weeks later, as had been expected prior to the Jones Jr bout.
Read also: Chad Dawson: A Look at His Net Worth
Setbacks and Title Regain
Dawson's first career setback was a loss to Jean Pascal in 2010. On November 7, 2009, Dawson once again outpointed Glen Johnson. Pascal won the fight by technical decision in round 11 after an accidental head butt. Dawson returned to action on May 21, 2011, against Adrian Diaconu and defeated Diaconu by unanimous decision.
He would rebound by winning the WBC title for a second time, as well as the Ring magazine and lineal titles, by defeating Bernard Hopkins in 2012.
Dawson initially won The Ring, WBC and lineal light heavyweight titles due to a controversial TKO win, when Hopkins was unable to continue after getting thrown from a clinch. However, on October 20, 2011, the TKO ruling was ruled a Technical Draw by the WBC and Hopkins remained the champion. On December 13, 2011, the California State Athletic Commission changed the official decision to a No Contest (NC).
Dawson and Bernard Hopkins met again on April 28, 2012, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The fight was slow-paced, with Dawson controlling most of the action and pace of the fight. Hopkins would throw and land an occasional punch, but Dawson would land the harder and more effective punches and outwork Hopkins for much of the fight. Noteworthy to mention is a period after a middle round where his trainer, former contender Iceman John Scully, caught Dawson mentally slipping and motivated him back into focus.
Move to Super Middleweight and Loss to Andre Ward
Later in 2012, Dawson moved down to super middleweight, a division in which he had not competed since 2006, in order to challenge Andre Ward for his unified titles. In what would prove to be an ill-fated move, Ward handed him his second loss as it became clear that Dawson could no longer compete at a lower weight.
Read also: The Life of Chad Everett Harris
Reports surfaced that Dawson was knocked out by Edison Miranda in sparring for the Ward fight. The fight started quite cagey with both fighters feeling each other out and only exchanging single shots, with Dawson landing his jab on Ward comfortably. In the 3rd round, a clash of heads changed the entire landscape of the fight in Ward's favour, as he seemed to have found out his opponent and proceeded to catch Dawson with some telling shots, dropping him to one knee with a right to the body and short overhand left hook.
Dawson quickly rose to an 8-count and appeared to be dazed but managed to see out the round and return to his corner. In round 4, Ward showed no sign of letting up, upping the tempo and again catching a sluggish Dawson with a close left hook, again causing him to drop to his knee and the ref gave Dawson another 8 count. Dawson showed great resilience to see out the round and went on for the next 4 rounds avoiding Wards' troublesome left hooks with little activity himself. In round 10, it all came to an end as Dawson looked to have tired from Wards' consistent battery and possibly because of the weight loss also, he was caught flush with 4 shots in a row appearing to voluntarily take a knee. The referee stepped in asking Dawson if he wanted the fight stopped, Dawson did not speak but had the body language of a defeated man.
Later Career and Final Fights
On June 8, 2013, after his loss to Ward, Dawson returned to light heavyweight and defended his WBC, lineal, and The Ring titles against Haitian-Canadian Adonis Stevenson, a super middleweight contender who was fighting his first match at light heavyweight. Although Dawson entered the fight as a favorite, many were worried that draining himself to fight Ward, and the Ward fight itself had taken something from Dawson.
Early in the fight he was caught with a hard left hook and fell backwards to the canvas. Although he got up from the punch and rose before the count of eight, the referee noticed that Dawson's legs were unsteady and stopped the fight at 1:11 of the first round despite the protests of Dawson and his trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.
After taking the rest of 2013 off Dawson accepted a fight with journeyman George Blades, which was televised as part of the preliminary bout undercard of a Showtime event on June 14, 2014. The fight was fought in the cruiserweight division, at a catchweight of 179 pounds. Dawson knocked Blades out in the first round after dropping him twice.
However Dawson's career took another hit when on October 4, 2014, he lost a split decision to Tommy Karpency. Dawson looked listless in the fight, displaying little of his once vaunted athleticism.
Dawson, who is married and has three sons, still lives and trains in New Haven, Connecticut.
One of the most memorable fights of Chad Dawson's career was his controversial bout against Bernard Hopkins in 2011. Let's delve deeper into the details of this fight:
Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson
The fight took place at Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, United States on 15 October 2011. Hopkins was making the first defense of the titles he won from Jean Pascal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada earlier in 2011 while Dawson was looking to win the WBC title for a second time and the Ring title for the first time.
After an uneventful first round, controversy marred the second round and the fight itself. While in a clinch, Dawson pushed his shoulder into Hopkins to break it. Hopkins was lifted off the ground, stumbled back and fell through the ropes, landing awkwardly on his shoulder. Referee Pat Russell checked on Hopkins, who said he could continue "with one arm". Russell elected not to let Hopkins continue and stopped the fight, awarding Dawson a technical knockout.
Hopkins and his promoter Richard Schaefer both said they would protest the result; Hopkins said a foul should have been called on Dawson and the result should have been a no contest. Dawson and his promoter Gary Shaw claimed that no matter what happens, he will not fight Hopkins again.
On October 20, the WBC announced that it agreed that Dawson had thrown and pushed Hopkins with intent to injure him, and its new decision is a technical draw. The WBC has reinstated Hopkins as its light heavyweight champion.
On December 13, the California State Athletic Commission, whose results are official and binding, overturned Russell's original technical knockout decision and declared the fight a no contest.
Bernard Hopkins vs Chad Dawson I | Full Highlights, 2011
Undercard Highlights: Bozella's Debut and More
The non-televised portion of the undercard was noted for featuring Dewey Bozella, who was fighting his first bout at the age of 52 after being incarcerated for a crime he did not commit for twenty-six years. Bozella, fighting at cruiserweight, defeated his opponent Larry Hopkins by unanimous decision in a four-round bout.
The three televised undercard bouts featured two former junior welterweight champions and a lightweight championship fight. In the first bout, fought at welterweight, Paulie Malignaggi defeated Orlando Lora in a lopsided ten-round decision. In the second fight, a twelve-rounder for the NABO junior welterweight championship and an elimination bout for the IBF title, undefeated Danny Garcia handed former WBO champion Kendall Holt his third loss in five fights by defeating him via split decision.
- Garcia defeated Holt via Split Decision.
- Malignaggi defeated Lora via Unanimous Decision.
- Hernandez defeated Collazo via Unanimous Decision.
- Livingston defeated Colvin via Unanimous Decision.
- Bozella defeated Hopkins via Unanimous Decision.
- Avila defeated Reyes via Split Decision.
Here's a look at the fighter purses for the event:
- Bernard Hopkins $1,000,000
- Jorge Linares $100,000
- Danny Garcia $75,000
- Paul Malignaggi $75,000
- Dewey Bozella $1,250
Popular articles:
tags: #Chad
