Dawson Wears Down Daniels; Estrada Dominates in Debut
By Stephen Tobey (December 11, 2004)
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MASHANTUCKET, Conn. – It was the biggest test of Chad Dawson's career and he aced it.
Dawson, the World Boxing Council youth middleweight champion, earned a TKO victory when former World Boxing Association junior middleweight champion Carl Daniels failed to answer the bell for the eighth round Friday at Foxwoods Resort Casino.
"I knew it was a step up and I was ready," said Dawson. “There was no way I was losing tonight. I looked at it like he was a veteran and I was going to learn no matter what happened tonight. I learned I'm a master boxer. That's what I'm going to be from now on, a master boxer."
The fight was stopped on the advice of two ringside physicians after they examined cuts between Daniels' eyes opened by the straight left hands Dawson landed throughout the fight.
In the sixth round, Dawson staggered Daniels with a right hook and followed with a quick left hand , putting him on the canvas. After Daniels got up, Dawson continued to pressure him, landing a hard right uppercut with Daniels on the ropes. Daniels got a brief break when a Dawson body shot strayed below the belt and Steve Smoger gave Daniels time to recover.
"It was a good body shot," said Dawson. "He was looking for a way out."
Dawson was in control for the entire fight, landing jabs, right hooks and straight lefts, causing some swelling under Daniels' right eye.
"I set the tempo from the first round,” said Dawson. "I broke him down and that was the plan."
Dawson, of New Haven, Conn, improved to 16-0 with 11 knockouts; Daniels, of St. Louis, dropped to 49-5-1 with 31 knockouts.
Dawson won all seven rounds, leading 70-62 on two cards and 70-61 on the third.
"I'm not taking any steps down," said Dawson. I'm ready for the top 10."
US Olympic team super heavyweight Jason Estrada won his pro debut, outpointing Joseph Kenneth Reyes of Miami over four rounds. Steve Weisfeld and Frank Lombardi scored it 40-35 and Glenn Feldman scored it 40-34, giving Estrada a 10-8 in the first without a knockdown.
"I was so anxious to get in there," said Estrada, who lives in Providence, R.I. "Even though I was in shape, I didn't want to blow my load in the first round. I need to relax more."
Estrada dropped Reyes with two clubbing overhand rights early in the second round. By the end of the second, Reyes' nose was bleeding, but Reyes was able to survive the round by holding.
"The guy was game," said Estrada. “I came right at the guy and hit him with some vicious shots. He stayed right in there."
Reyes showed some signs of life in the third, landing the occasional uppercut, but Estrada continued to outland Reyes, landing the left hook and straight right hand almost at will.
"He wanted to get more physical on the inside," said Estrada. "So I got more physical. I got busier and tried to land more little shots."
In the fourth round, Estrada continued to pepper Reyes with quick combinations, but he stayed on his toes the entire time. After landing one right hand, he turned to his corner and shook his hips.
"It was a tremendous four-round fight," said Estrada's trainer Peter Manfredo, Sr. "Everyone should be satisfied. He did exactly what we wanted him to do."
Reyes dropped to 3-4 with two knockouts.
In a fight for the vacant International Women's Boxing Federation junior welterweight title, Eliza Olson and Jamie Clampitt fought to a 10-round draw. Glenn Feldman scored it 96-94 for Olson; Joe Dwyer scored it 96-94 for Clampitt and Steve Weisfeld scored it 95-95. Maxboxing.com scored it 97-93 for Olson.
Olson consistently landed the straight right hand and uppercut controlling the action in the early rounds. Clampitt rallied in the later rounds, landing some solid combinations, though Olson's punches landed with more force. Clampitt, of Narragansett, RI is now 14-3-1; Olson, of Fresno, Calif is 8-4-3.
Olson replaced Clampitt's original opponent, Jane Couch, who won a decision against Clampitt in June. Couch withdrew from the fight earlier this week due to illness. Olson, the granddaughter of former world middleweight champion Carl "Bobo" Olson, lost a decision to Clampitt in October of 2003.
Light heavyweight Joey Spina of Providence knocked out James Johnson of Shreveport, La in the second round of a scheduled six. Steve Smoger stopped the fight without a count 13 seconds into the second round after Spina dropped Johnson with a left hook. Spina is now 14-0 with 11 KO s; Johnson is 17-13-2.
Phil McCants of Philadelphia stopped Angel Vargas of Haverhill, Mass in the first round of a scheduled four-round welterweight fight. Referee Joe Cusano stopped the fight at 2:26 after McCants dropped Vargas three times. McCants is now 2-0-1, picking up his first KO victory. Vargas dropped to 1-1.
Welterweights Josh Beeman of Providence and John Temple of West Monroe, La fought to a technical draw when an accidental head butt in the second round opened up a large cut along Temple's left eye. The fight was stopped at 1:26 of the second round. Beeman is 3-1-1; Temple is 6-6-2.
Light heavyweight Wayne Johnsen of Peabody, Mass scored a four-round unanimous decision over Terrance Jones of Oklahoma City. All three judges scored it 40-36. Johnsen is now 6-0 with four KO s; Jones is 10-7 with 6 KOs.
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