Hopkins vs Dawson Promo
Hopkins vs Dawson
Hopkins
Dawson
28th April 2012
The WBC World Light Heavyweight Championship
Dawson takes the championship from veteran Hopkins
The second event of the night took us to Atlantic City to watch
the anticipated rematch of boxing veteran, and oldest titleholder
in boxing history, Bernard Hopkins fight against Chad Dawson, the
younger and physically impressive boxer who counts Floyd Mayweather
amongst his fans.
The fight was incredibly important for both fighters, both with
points to prove following their retrospective no-contest decision
in October.
In the build up to the main event we saw a win from 2008 olympian
Shawn Porter keeping his unbeaten record with a 6th round stoppage
against Patrick Thompson.
Our second fight was a heavyweight contest between undefeated Seth Mitchell and Chazz Witherspoon. Witherspoon started very strong, dominating the first round before Mitchell showed us why he's undefeated with a third round TKO, and providing an entertaining contest in the process.
A tentative first round kicked off our headline fight between Bernard "The Executioner" and "Bad" Chad. It picked up in round four, when we saw showboating from Hopkins, and increasing pressure from Dawson.
Not many expected it to end in knockout, and accordingly, despite a few flurries in the later rounds, we saw the fighters go the distance to take the fight to a points decision. In the end Atlantic City shone for Chad Dawson with scores of 114-114, 117-111, 117-111 to see him take home the WBC World Light Heavyweight Championship.
Hopkins and Dawson - The rematch
Bernard Hopkins, 47, defends his WBC World Light Heavyweight Championship against Chad Dawson, 29, in an all-American rematch after a controversial bout last October.
Controversy reigns in October
Their first fight - also for the WBC World title - ended in the second round when Hopkins, then 46, fell through the ropes and suffered a shoulder injury which meant he could not continue. Referee Pat Russell awarded the fight to Dawson on a technical knockout; a decision that was later contested and overturned, leaving the bout a no contest. This meant that the experienced American, Hopkins, retained his belt and paved the way for an April 28 rematch.
Tension surrounds the rematch
Bernard Hopkins took to Twitter in January to announce that he and Dawson would once more contest the WBC World belt in April. In his brief statement, he said he was seeking "revenge" on Dawson, who is 17 years his junior at 29-years-old.
"Bad" Chad's promoter, Gary Shaw, launched a retort where he said he "always thought Chad was superior and that was the one guy Hopkins didn't want to face," stoking the tensions ahead of their April clash.
Chad Dawson
Dawson, a former WBC, IBO and IBF World Champion at light
heavyweight, is known for his ability to launch stinging offensives
in the ring. If there's one criticism it's that once he has rocked
his opponents with pacey and powerful charges, he lacks impetus and
doesn't sustain his aggression for long enough. Despite this, the
South Carolina-born southpaw still has 17 knockouts to his name,
which make up an impressive 30 - 1 record.
If the challenger can keep up a high pace and intensity during the
early rounds, it's believed that he can overwhelm his veteran
opponent and regain the coveted WBC World Light Heavyweight
Championship.
Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins, 52 - 5 - 2, is the most experienced fighter in
the world of boxing right now. A legend at middleweight, where he
won almost every World Championship available, Hopkins now fights
at light heavyweight and is the current WBC World Light Heavyweight
Champion.
As he has moved into his mid-forties, the pace and mobility that
was once a trademark has been replaced with all-round ring craft,
wiliness and a near impregnable defence. October's fight gave us a
brief insight into the Hopkins strategy against his spritely
opponent, as the veteran fighter kept a strong defence and looked
to frustrate the challenger before controversy reigned in the
second round.
BoxNationTV will be live
We will bring you all the action from Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, LIVE as two experienced light heavyweights do battle on April 28th.
Early Undercard Fights
Mitchell 
Witherspoon
Mitchell floors Witherspoon in the third round
Our main undercard was a heavyweight contest between undefeated Seth Mitchell and Chazz Witherspoon. Witherspoon started very strong, dominating the first round before Mitchell showed us why he's undefeated with a third round TKO, and providing an entertaining contest in the process.
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