Chad Dawson officially retires: Does the IBHOF await?

My mind was focused on redemption. Not anything pertinent to my own life, but in the career of Rydell “Super” Mayes Jr., the cruiserweight prospect local to me. Mayes had swiftly avenged his lone career loss on July 23 and then was back to Puerto Rico to finish up training camp with Jake Paul. Paul was still in training for his soon-to-be-canceled bout with Hasim Rahman Jr. Along with Mayes, former Lineal World Light Heavyweight Champion, and fellow southpaw, “Bad” Chad Dawson was in camp for sparring. On social media, Mayes posted a picture of him with Dawson: the local hero from my transplanted home of Murfreesboro, TN with one of the greatest boxers ever to emerge from my home state of Connecticut.

The image brought back a flood of memories from a marvelous career. The tide of nostalgia subsided but rose again when just a matter of weeks later Dawson took to social media to officially announce his retirement from the ring. The former light heavyweight king waited specifically for the twenty-first anniversary of his pro debut, a second-round stoppage over Steve Garrett in a super middleweight bout at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT in 2001.  

“Twenty-one years ago today, I made my pro debut. After a long successful tough career, I feel it’s time for me to let go of the sport I gave my all,” Dawson said. “I accomplished the highest level in boxing and became a World Champion. I did everything I wanted to do in boxing and I’m looking forward to life after boxing. Thanks to God, my family, my fans, trainers, and everyone who supported me throughout my career. I greatly appreciate you all. Passing the torch to my sons and only pray they’ll be even better than me.”

He signed off on the post, “ ‘Bad’ Chad Dawson - Officially Retired.”

Dawson’s debut came on a card with a handful of unbeatens in Emmanuel Lucero, Kermit Cintron, Malik Scott, and Daniel Judah. The New Haven resident went on to soar far above that evening’s headliner and undercard representatives.

It would be impossible for me to forget my first exposure to Dawson in the professional ranks. Yes, Dawson grew into one of Connecticut’s best and a personal favorite, but on this particular night, there was something historic in the making. The then 6-0 fighter sought his seventh victory on May 18, 2002, at Mohegan Sun underneath Arturo Gatti vs Micky Ward I. Dawson didn’t work nearly as hard as the main eventers and walked away with a first-round stoppage over Gary Grant. However, having earned my undergraduate degree in New Haven, I had a new prospect to keep a watchful eye on.

Dawson kept winning and transitioned from prospect to a young contender with victories over Carl Daniels, Ian Gardner, and Eric Harding. Harding, also a Connecticut resident, had bested Antonio Tarver to hand him his first defeat as a professional. That led to a title bout against Roy Jones Jr., a rematch with Tarver, and a fight with Johnson. Harding lost them all, but rebuilt with solid wins over David Telesco and Judah. Harding represented the first opponent with a genuinely even shot at beating him as of 2006. Down in the first round from a short counter right hand, Dawson fed his detractors who thought he may have bitten off more than he could chew. Instead, he bit down and outboxed Harding the rest of the way to take home a unanimous decision. Ready or not, Dawson thrust himself into the deep waters with the victory.

In his next outing, Dawson fought for a version of the light heavyweight title against Tomasz Adamek on February 3, 2007, in Kissimmee, Florida. The polish boxer couldn’t have been more the opposite of Dawson as an orthodox technical brawler who threw caution to the wind in two memorable wars with Paul Briggs. Dawson worked hard to box around the constant pressure of Adamek and even overcame a scare in round ten when the Polish belt-holder broke through with a right hand to deposit him on the canvas.  Dawson responded like a young Larry Holmes and battled his way out of the round to resume control of the fight. Dawson impressively lifted the title by unanimous scores.

I covered Dawson’s first title defense against Jesus Ruiz in Hartford, CT. It proved one of his easier outings as he entered his prime years. Dawson shared the evening with Antonio Tarver, who proved pertinent to the light heavyweight spectrum. Tarver would have to wait though as Dawson took on Glencoffe Johnson in his third defense. Although New Haven’s finest walked away with a unanimous decision, some felt Johnson had hurt him to the body and done enough to win. Dawson responded by doing what a great champion would do; he fought all the best contenders out there.

The war with Johnson served Dawson well as did the Adamek bout. They provided him with depth and opportunities to answer the hard questions about himself inside the ring. Perhaps he hadn’t seen it all, but he entered the ring with Tarver a true veteran, and Dawson handled the even more veteran fighter with true class.

The rematch seemed arbitrary, but Tarver fought better the second time around. The rounds were never easy, but Dawson controlled the action for most of the twelve rounds with sound boxing skills. Dawson won two comprehensive unanimous decisions. Having sat ringside for the Johnson rematch, I label that as Dawson’s best performance. The scorecards painted a very different picture. Having been there to see it for myself, Dawson looked like Pernell Whitaker at times forcing Johnson to miss shots and lunge in desperation for a connect. In the end, Dawson landed a third of his overall punches and an astounding fifty-six percent of his power punches.

“The first fight was a brawling fight,” Dawson recounted. “This fight I didn’t want to take it that way. I wanted to outbox him and use my legs. I had youth on my side. Man, I had every advantage. It was about me using all the tools I had and applying it to this fight.”

As Dawson traversed the apex of the division, he stumbled. Having fought the absolute best in the division, he sought to keep that trend going by traveling to Montreal to meet Jean Pascal. Pascal presented a terrible style match-up for the champion and Dawson struggled to let his hands go. After being outworked and cut, Dawson lost a technical decision after eleven rounds fair and square. He came back tough the following year and defeated Adrian Diaconu also in Montreal. His performance was sloppier than usual, but Diaconu forced that type of fight. In the meantime, old war-horse Bernard Hopkins had fought Pascal to a controversial draw and then dethroned him in the rematch on the same card as Diaconu-Dawson.

Dawson vs Hopkins was a natural and presented the big opportunity to claim the Lineal World Light Heavyweight Title. Dawson opted to dump Emmanuel Steward after just one fight and go back to John Scully, who trained him earlier in his career.

"I’ve been watching the tapes and discussing strategy with Winky [Wright] and we agree on some very key points in regard to what we need to do to be successful," Scully explained ahead of the bout. "I study [Hopkins] the same way everyone does for upcoming fights. Watch the tapes and pick out a few key areas where the other guy is weak and strong and focus on them. I’m happy to report that we seem to have picked up right where we left off and that Chad is a very natural athlete. We have actually had quite a bit more time to get ready than people seem to think we have had. Just because the world is just finding out about this doesn’t mean it is a brand-new development."

The bout came off on October 15, 2011, but the boxing world would not see definitive results until April of the following year. During round two of a slow starting fight, Hopkins leaned over Dawson putting his weight down on his back, Dawson thrust Hopkins off him and onto the canvas. Hopkins cited a shoulder injury and said he could not continue resulting in a TKO win for Dawson originally. However, the referee recanted his call and the commission voted to declare the bout a no-contest. Fueled by the letdown of the first contest, Dawson used his athleticism and higher volume punching to outwork Hopkins to score his biggest win as a professional. The judges handed down a majority decision, but Dawson left no doubt as to who was the premiere light heavyweight in the world by 2012.

“I would love a fight with Andre Ward, the Super Middleweight Champion,” Dawson responded in the aftermath of his victory over Hopkins. “I think that makes for a great fight. I can make 168 or we can do it at 175 or catchweight; it doesn’t matter. I want to make myself known; I want everyone to know who I am. I’m going after the big dogs.”

Dawson climbed back to the top of his division and now the sport of boxing. Typically, once a fighter does so there is no place to go but down. Dawson did just that figuratively and literally in boldly accepting the challenge of Ward, who had captured the World Boxing Classic Super-Six Tournament at super middleweight.

Perhaps unwisely, Dawson agreed to move down to super middleweight to make the fight happen just five months after the Hopkins rematch. Giving an already great fighter the advantage in the weight and rest departments proved costly. I

n a career-best performance, Ward dropped a drained Dawson in rounds three, four, and ten before the contest was stopped. Excuses aside, Ward controlled every minute of the fight.

No longer unbeaten and coming back from a tough defeat, Dawson still had a light heavyweight title to defend and scheduled his ring return nine months later. Back in Montreal, Dawson met the division’s most brutal puncher in Adonis Stevenson. Although he had earned his shot, opting for a Stevenson’s fight with nothing in between seemed risky. In reality, it proved downright damaging. Stevenson separated Dawson from his senses and his title with a single left cross just over a minute into the bout. Dawson rose unsteadily, but his lack of balance prompted the end without any further punches thrown.

Dawson took a year off before returning to the ring. However, his fire to compete did not burn as brightly as it had when he was taking on the best of the division in consecutive outings. His punches slowed and each outing looked more labored than the previous. His body began to fail him after a hard career. Dawson won five of his last seven outings. He defeated capable opposition in George Blades and Cornelius white, but lost a split-decision to Tommy Karpency and was stopped in the final round by Andrzej Fonfara along his final stretch.

Some bitterness toward his treatment in the sport boiled to the top following the Karpency loss, but in recent years Dawson comes off as a man at great peace. Always a respectable family man free of controversy outside of the ring, Dawson has too much to be happy about to let his perceived slights from boxing networks sully the championship life he has built. The pride he has for his children and their young boxing success seems to have filled any void in his heart left by the unforgiving trade he chose for himself.

Between 2006 and 2012, Dawson defeated Bernard Hopkins, Antonio Tarver twice, Glencoffe Johnson twice, Tomasz Adamek, and Eric Harding among others in what amounts to an exceptional career. His dominance over this elite group of fighters placed a firm stamp in his passport for the International Boxing Hall of Fame.