Chad Dawson – Jean Pascal Preview
Canadian boxing fans are salivating in anticipation for next Saturday, when undefeated Chad Dawson (29-0, 17 KOs) takes on WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (25-1, 16 KOs) at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The fight will be shown by HBO, and is in Pascal’s home territory, which goes a long way in terms of fan support but is no insurer of the outcome. Pascal will have his hands full with Dawson, who is widely considered the best light heavyweight in the world.
Due to some stark physical contrasts between the two fighters, many analysts are de facto weighing in on Dawson’s side for the win. Dawson is 6-foot-1, with a 76’ reach. He’s an incredibly gifted athlete with lightning speed and average to above average power. The biggest physical contrast is that Dawson is a natural light heavyweight, and so will therefore be able to use natural power and sway to his advantage. He’ll feel comfortable in the ring, and, depending on the style in incorporates, can push Pascal around and use that to his advantage.
Pascal, on the other hand, is the smaller man at 5-foot-11. His reach is 67’, a whole 9’ shorter than Dawson’s, which is a huge factor in a fight like this. Dawson tends to lean more on the side of boxing as oppose to slugging; likewise, he’ll play the outside of the ring and rely on keeping Pascal at bay with his long jab. If he’s able to keep things like this, it’s going to be a long night for Pascal, who will have little to no chance of getting in for damaging shots.
Pascal has shown that he can contend with the best (losing a 12-round decision to Carl Froch), but in top fights he’s also shown his defense to be penetrable. This is especially dangerous against a guy like Dawson, who is fast enough to score combinations and get out of harm’s way before his opponent can respond.
The interesting thing about this fight is that it really is the deal-breaker for the division. Chad Dawson, after wins against respected journeyman Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver, has nearly cleaned up the entire class. Jean Pascal is the end of the line. If Dawson wins, it’s presumed he’ll attempt to move down in weight class, for the simple reason of finding more equal competition.
There is also the question of Pascal’s right shoulder, an injury he sustained close to a year ago. In a second bout with Adrian Diaconu he dislocated it, and went in for surgery soon after. He’s been off now for 9 months, as the fight was originally scheduled for June but delayed for the sake of his recovery.
In terms of bets, this fight is dominated by Dawson. All of nature’s assets seem to be on his side. But there’s a big one that isn’t: as the fight is in Montreal, you can bet the judges are going to be more than a little partial towards Jean Pascal. Likewise, as Dawson himself is aware, in order to secure a win, he’s going to have to be spectacular, and not just try to avoid confrontation for most of the fight.
Dawson recently acknowledged: “I’m done chasing fighters. I want to call the shots. I feel like I have all the advantages. But he’s [Pascal] fighting in his hometown, and we know we have to go into the fight with the mindset we have to knock him out. I usually don’t say that, but in a situation like this, you can’t leave anything to chance.”
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