24 YEAR OLD AMERICAN COMES OF AGE!
Arlington, VA The light heavyweight division is getting healthy right now but its World championship remains broken. Its been broken for over a decade. More than two decades if you count its long vacancy after Michael Spinks left the division in 1985. History has waited since the late 90s for a restoration of sanity and the man to do it may have emerged Saturday night in Kissimmee, Florida. Ring Magazine # 10 Chad Dawson (24-0, 15 KOs) of South Carolina won his second in a row against Ring #5 and WBC #5 Tomasz Adamek (31-1, 21 KOs) of Poland. To the satisfaction of all who look for tests of character along with exhibitions of skill, Dawson rose from the deck to win for the second fight in a row as well (his last bout was against Eric Harding). His eleventh round assault on Adamek against the ropes only one round after being dropped and hurt echoed the gutsy return fire Larry Holmes once showed getting off the deck against Ernie Shavers. The questions going forward are not just whether he can become the division king, but whom he needs to fight to get there.
IS IT ZSOLT ERDEI OR HOPKINS? , Longtime readers will note that while Rings ratings are used here as the best available gauge of whos who in each division, the claim to their title belt at 175 is not held legitimate. Bernard Hopkins (47-4-1, 32 KOs), off his dominant win in 2006 against Roy Jones conqueror Antonio Tarver (24-4, 18 KOs), is undoubtedly the best in the division today. Even at 42 years of age. Hopkins claim to the real World title though is flawed and, frankly, historically false. Thats because, settled nicely in Germany, one Zsolt Erdei (26-0, 16 KOs) remains a stubborn reminder of another line of championsaka the non-Roy line. That line is older than the one that ends with Hopkins and unlike Hopkins title its birth was found in the boxing, rather than the political, ring.
IGNORING HISTORY DOES NOT ERASE IT!
The 1996 bout between Virgil Hill and Henry Maske not only unified two belts; it solidified the World championship of the division. The only other man with a recognized belt at the time, Fabrice Tiozzo, had lost to Hill prior to the Maske bout and Hill had not lost in the interim. Importantly, when Hill-Maske was signed the two men were ranked 1-2 in Ring Magazine at 175 lbs. and Roy Jones had not officially entered the light heavyweight ranks. Had Rings title policy of today been in effect then, there would be no broken history and Erdei would hold the Ring title right now. That was and is not the case. A series of political machinations would see two belts stripped from Hill conqueror (and then-WBO titlist Dariusz Michalzewski) and his proper title ignored in U.S. media in favor of Jones who went on a belt collecting spree. The true line, the Hill line, remains intact in Erdei. Hopkins is at best a sort of U.S. World champion and this Star Trek like dual history awaits a solution. Enter Dawson, only 24 and American. He is historys latest and best opportunity.
FORGET THE GREEN WBC BELT!
Forget for a moment that Dawsons dominant victory over the rugged veteran Adamek garnered him the WBC belt in the divisionand Im serious when I say forget it. This is the same WBC whose latest sins revolve around the Sam Peter-Vitali Klitschko controversy; that almost allowed James Toney to become a mandatory in 2004 by beating Rydell Booker; that made Julio Cesar Chavez a mandatory in 2000 to Kostya Tszyu off a loss to a journeyman (Tszyu subsequently laid a dangerous beating on the ancient Mexican great). In my opinion their belts, along with their governors, are so perceptually corrupted that legitimacy isnt a relevant question. This though does not yet overrule two other confluent realities in Boxing: economics and fighter egos. Lets face it, fighters like belts and the alphabet crowns have utility as bargaining tools. If Dawson was a run of the mill titlist whose belt was the height of his career, that might be worrisome. He is not. Dawson is quite the opposite. He is a skilled, athletically talented warrior who appears to be only skimming the surface of what he can become.
YOUTH WILL BE SERVED!
Dawson is unlikely for the moment as a contender to either Erdeis lineal title or Hopkins Ring title but time is on his side. Should victory remain perpetual for the undefeated southpaw, the big fights and big money will be his in short order. With a slew of talent below him at 160 and 175, along with solid veterans in his own class like Glenn Johnson and Clinton Woods, the world could soon be at Dawsons fingertips. Boxing needs what Bad Chad is: an eloquent young man just entering his prime who appears to have what it takes to stick around for awhile. Fighters like him can become magnets, building a star power that attracts whole divisions to challenge them. The longer Chad sticks, and the longer he wins, the closer the sport will come to a moment where everyone from the average guy on the street to the corporate talking heads to the hardcore (some might say tight-ass) history-first crowd will be able to point, finally, at one man and all be satisfied in calling him Champ.
24-KARAT NOTEBOOK
ADAMEK NOT YET DISMISSED: He may have lost big but considering that he was coming off three consecutive brutal affairs, lets not count Adamek out just yet. Dawsons speed and jab were mastering him all night, but he still had enough man in him to score a 10th round knockdown and take it to the trenches late in the fight. Methinks we havent heard the last of TomaszSPINKS-TITO? While we can all be grateful that Cory Spinks was off-TV, and reportedly dull, affair with Rodney Jones at 154 lbs., it sets up the intriguing possibility of Spinks against an again out of retirement bout with Tito Trinidad. Not sure its a good fight, but it would sell ticketsHEARTBREAKING: Did Jesus Chavez teary eyed declaration that he tried his best before losing his IBF 135 lb. belt on a knee injury to Julio Diaz bring a tear to your eye? Chavez is now and always has been the epitome of a class gladiator. Youre all heart JesusTIRED & OLD NOVELTY ACT: Laila Ali fought another stiff this weekend. It was off-TV where it belonged. Find a way to fight Anne Wolfe or join the WWE Laila. Thats how set-up your fights look to most lately anywaysHATTON NEEDS TO MAN UP: Finally, lets hope the rumors of Ricky Hatton making an IBF mandatory against Lovemore NDou before a proposed Jose Luis Castillo bout remain just rumors. Reports from Australia indicate that NDou looked good in beating Ben Rabah on Saturday, but hes still the same guy who lost to his last three top ten foes before this (Miguel Cotto, Sharmba Mitchell, Junior Witter). Ricky, you are the real (Ring, linealwhatever) champion at 140 lbs. Keep the sanctioning fees and junk that belt. They wont buy you greatness but they could harm your hold on fans respect.
Cliff Rold
Note: 24-Karat Rold is featured exclusively at www.RingTalk.com when it comes to boxing. Besides being the managing editor of The Diplomatic Courier, “24-K” also serves as a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Comments regarding this column can be left below.