Does Chad Dawson have the heart to beat Hopkins

[Pugilistic]

I think Cap hit it pretty clean. His desire and fire in the belly are already in question before the bell rings vs Hopkins. Something that comes with a price.

Big to me is Dawson loves to downshift in fights and does not press advantages. He coasts and likes to look to control pace on his terms. He backs, he slides, he settles... he is fighting Hopkins who is a scribe in that exact thing. You can't out Bernard Bernard no matter what his age. Dawson has to come out of his comfort zone, initiate attack and come to terms to getting out thought and hit a few early & often if he has any hope what so ever. He should have listened to Manny. I think the last Hopkins I saw schools him.

I'm not so sure Hopkins schools Dawson, but I figure Hopkins' performance will stink a little less then what Chad's does, and Hop will get the nod in a boring fight that will not be pleasing to boxing fans.

And I agree, firing Manny was idiotic, like I said on another thread, Dawson likely fired Manny because Manny was jumping his ass about being lethargic in fights, and trying to get him motivated for Hopkins.

Who is Dawson with now?

He is with former trainer John Scully. Winky Wright is also apart of his new team according to this article.

Dawson Brings in Scully, Winky Wright For Steward - Boxing News

[Pugilistic]

Dawson has tremendous skills and if he can have his mind right like he did against Adamek and Tarver (1st fight), he will cause Hopkins hell.

The problem is, he is easily thrown of his fight plan. It's like he gets bored and he does take rounds off which is a bad idea against Hopkins.

Any mental lapses against X and he will make you pay for it.

I expect a close fight and i'm a big fan of both fighters so may the best man win.

[Rantcatrat]

Dawson has tremendous skills and if he can have his mind right like he did against Adamek and Tarver (1st fight), he will cause Hopkins hell.

The problem is, he is easily thrown of his fight plan. It's like he gets bored and he does take rounds off which is a bad idea against Hopkins.

Any mental lapses against X and he will make you pay for it.

I expect a close fight and i'm a big fan of both fighters so may the best man win.

For all this talk of Bhop making people pay, when was the last time Bhop ko'd anyone? Oscar in 04'. I don't think Bhop has the punch to really stop anyone of note at light heavyweight. Bad Chad has the ability to dominate Bhop, but I lean toward Bhop here. It's not his heart that is Chad's problem it's his mind. He doesn't have the mental stamina for 12 rounds even if he has the physical tools.

[Spicoli]

I've always believed that Hopkins would rather control a ring or beat someone up rather then have the conclussion of a ko. Sounds weird maybe but he seriously loves to admire his own work and play ring general, hold center stage. He's had guys ready to go in career and he keeps them wounded. Can be quite frustrating, and in case of Taylor 1 come back to bite him on the ass.

[FinitoElDinamita]

At this level, everybody has heart. Chad just seems to be an emotional person and he has trouble getting a grip on himself sometimes.. His heart isn't an issue imo... His real problem is that he
" thinks " too much instead of acting..

High workrate is what beats hopkins especially at this stage of his career. Say what you want about jermaine taylor's ring iq but it was actually his country boy attitude that gave him success against hopkins. He didnt waste time thinking with hops.u cant try to outhink hops. Taylor just took the fight to him and stayed busy, not giving hops much time to think and react. Taylor beat him through activity and calzaghe took the similar approach.

If dawson wants to win, he has to let that shit fly without spending time trying to outhink the old fox. He must use his youth and attack with conviction. If he can show effective aggression, thatll be even better but whatever he does, he needs to keep up that workrate.

[Rantcatrat]

At this level, everybody has heart. Chad just seems to be an emotional person and he has trouble getting a grip on himself sometimes.. His heart isn't an issue imo... His real problem is that he
" thinks " too much instead of acting..

High workrate is what beats hopkins especially at this stage of his career. Say what you want about jermaine taylor's ring iq but it was actually his country boy attitude that gave him success against hopkins. He didnt waste time thinking with hops.u cant try to outhink hops. Taylor just took the fight to him and stayed busy, not giving hops much time to think and react. Taylor beat him through activity and calzaghe took the similar approach.

If dawson wants to win, he has to let that shit fly without spending time trying to outhink the old fox. He must use his youth and attack with conviction. If he can show effective aggression, thatll be even better but whatever he does, he needs to keep up that workrate.

Dawson is 4-0 against old-timers so far...

[Master]

I think Dawson should win this but mentally needs the attitude Jermaine Taylor had when he fought B Hop.

[captainanddew]

At this level, everybody has heart. Chad just seems to be an emotional person and he has trouble getting a grip on himself sometimes.. His heart isn't an issue imo... His real problem is that he
" thinks " too much instead of acting..

High workrate is what beats hopkins especially at this stage of his career. Say what you want about jermaine taylor's ring iq but it was actually his country boy attitude that gave him success against hopkins. He didnt waste time thinking with hops.u cant try to outhink hops. Taylor just took the fight to him and stayed busy, not giving hops much time to think and react. Taylor beat him through activity and calzaghe took the similar approach.

If dawson wants to win, he has to let that shit fly without spending time trying to outhink the old fox. He must use his youth and attack with conviction. If he can show effective aggression, thatll be even better but whatever he does, he needs to keep up that workrate.

Dawson is 4-0 against old-timers so far...

Yes, but BHOPs is 2-0 against the same 2 old timers. And he beat both guys much worse than Dawson did. He beat Glen Johnson the way no one else ever did. And he made Tarver look very bad.

None of these outcomes have anything to do with BHOP/Dawson.

Dawson lost to Pascal and BHOP beat Pascal.
That outcome has nothing to do with BHOP/Dawson.

The only thing that matters is how they match up. Dawson has the jab and handspeed to give BHOP trouble. BHOP has the mental fortitude, desire, and attitude to push Dawson. What wins out?

[Hulk]

At this level, everybody has heart. Chad just seems to be an emotional person and he has trouble getting a grip on himself sometimes.. His heart isn't an issue imo... His real problem is that he
" thinks " too much instead of acting..

High workrate is what beats hopkins especially at this stage of his career. Say what you want about jermaine taylor's ring iq but it was actually his country boy attitude that gave him success against hopkins. He didnt waste time thinking with hops.u cant try to outhink hops. Taylor just took the fight to him and stayed busy, not giving hops much time to think and react. Taylor beat him through activity and calzaghe took the similar approach.

If dawson wants to win, he has to let that shit fly without spending time trying to outhink the old fox. He must use his youth and attack with conviction. If he can show effective aggression, thatll be even better but whatever he does, he needs to keep up that workrate.

Dawson is 4-0 against old-timers so far...

Yes on paper.

But, as I recall he got his ass fucking kicked by Glen Johnson in their first bout and received an absolute gift decision that nearly brought Johnson to tears.

[Pugilistic]

Dawson has tremendous skills and if he can have his mind right like he did against Adamek and Tarver (1st fight), he will cause Hopkins hell.

The problem is, he is easily thrown of his fight plan. It's like he gets bored and he does take rounds off which is a bad idea against Hopkins.

Any mental lapses against X and he will make you pay for it.

I expect a close fight and i'm a big fan of both fighters so may the best man win.

For all this talk of Bhop making people pay, when was the last time Bhop ko'd anyone? Oscar in 04'. I don't think Bhop has the punch to really stop anyone of note at light heavyweight. Bad Chad has the ability to dominate Bhop, but I lean toward Bhop here. It's not his heart that is Chad's problem it's his mind. He doesn't have the mental stamina for 12 rounds even if he has the physical tools.

Why are you even mentioning the KO ? i never mentioned it and i never would because Hopkins hasn't got it in him these days to get guys out of there. His punching power is respectable though and he can drop guys with his sneaky counters ( Eg. Tarver, Calzaghe and Pascal 2 which for some reason didn't get counted.)

Bhop makes people pay with hard counters and he can mentally take a fighter out of a fight with his dirty tactics also.

You can make a fighter pay by getting to him mentally, outboxing him and winning rounds.

A knockout isn't the only way to make a guy pay for his mistakes.