By Ian S Palmer
The Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada will host the WBC light heavyweight Championship showdown this Saturday June 8 when champion Chad Dawson of America takes on challenger Adonis Stevenson of Canada. The 35-year-old Stevenson is a southpaw who carries an impressive record of 20-1 with 17 Kos while the 30-year-old Dawson has a mark of 31-2 along with 17 Kos.
Stevenson’s hungry for a world title and this could be the only chance he’ll get at one so he should be motivated and ready to go in front of his local fans. However, Dawson’s one of the vest champions around and holds wins over the likes of Antonio Tarver, Tomasz Adamek, Bernard Hopkins, and Glen Johnson. He won his first world title back in 2007 and has fought in over 100 championship rounds since then, 105 to be exact.
Dawson was beaten in his last fight though, as he was stopped by fellow American Andre Ward in September of 2012 after 10 rounds. That loss was disappointing for Dawson and he’s anxious to get back in the ring and prove he’s not past his peak. He said he’s been training hard for the last seven months and realizes that Stevenson possesses a serious threat because of his punching power. He said he’s faced big punchers before, but feels his boxing skills will help him prevail.
Stevenson’s camp is confident his man will leave the ring with Dawson’s belt around his waist one way or another and believe his power will be the difference in the fight. The champion definitely has the better boxing skills while Stevenson has slightly faster hands and more power. He doesn’t have the experience of Dawson and his defense isn’t as good either.
Stevenson lets his hands go more in the ring as Dawson simply doesn’t throw enough punches in some of his bouts. When he does let his hands go though, he’s generally pretty accurate with them. The challenger is more aggressive while Dawson prefers to counterpunch. Stevenson will be looking to land big left hands, but he needs to be careful of Dawson’s counterpunching ability. With Dawson being the bigger man here, Stevenson can’t take the champion’s power too lightly even though he hasn’t knocked anybody out since back in 2007.
Prediction
Dawson is the more talented boxer here, but he’s going to have to pick up the pace and throw more punches if he hopes to retain his title. Stevenson usually fights as a super middleweight so his power might not be as effective at a higher weight. If Dawson can take his best shots it’s going to be tough for Stevenson to outbox him.
However, if Dawson performs like he did against Ward then he’s going to be stopped again. The champion’s fate lies in his own hands really, if he’s well prepared and throws punches he should be able to keep his belt by a decision. If he doesn’t let his hands go he’ll lose the title. Look for Dawson to have learned his lesson in the Ward fight and put on a better showing here. He should win the bout by a decision with the remote chance of a late stoppage.
