Chad Dawson vs. Antonio Tarver II Preview

Previews

The light heavyweight division of boxing has grown stagnant. Fights like this weekend’s rematch between Chad Dawson and Antonio Tarver are a reason why. Dawson proved to be a much faster and stronger fighter than Tarver in the first fight and Dawson still remains 14 years the junior of Antonio Tarver. The fight will be aired live on HBO on Saturday night accompanied by a replay of last week’s fight between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton.


Chad Dawson vs. Antonio Tarver (IBF Light Heavyweight Title)
Money Line: Dawson -800; Tarver +500

Chad Dawson easily handled Antonio Tarver in their first fight in October of 2008. He was much more active and scored a 12th round knockdown of the Magic Man. Dawson is 26 years old and entering his prime. He holds a 27-0 (17 KOs) professional record and also has wins over Glen Johnson, Tomasz Adamek, and Eric Harding in addition to his previous win over Tarver. Tarver has previous losses to Johnson and Harding. Dawson seems to be approaching this mandatory rematch with the mindset of “just getting it out of the way.” He hopes to move on to bigger things but even though he’s a prohibitive favorite, Dawson needs to be careful not to overlook his veteran challenger.

Antonio Tarver can be dangerous and he will be the first person to tell you why. Tarver is 3-0 in rematches in which he lost the first fight, besting the aforementioned Harding and Johnson in sequels as well as Roy Jones Jr. Tarver is 40 years old but I certainly hope I look that good when I’m 40. He’s a smart boxer and charismatic personality but his boxing skills have faded. It’s going to take an entirely new gameplan and an unmotivated Dawson for Tarver to come out of this fight with a win.

Fight Predictions

Corey: The first fight was heavily hyped, and Tarver only managed to pull out a round or two, in addition to getting dropped in the twelfth. He was completely put off by Dawson’s speed to say the least, and, now at age 40, I don’t think there’s anything he can do to change that. This fight, because of the first fight’s lopsided result, is flying under the radar as it probably should. But surely Tarver will make it a closer fight the second time around. He’s undefeated in rematches after all, but the last one of those came four years ago against Glen Johnson. I think it will be more competitive but just barely. Call it 117-111 Dawson. Tarver gives it his all in his last “big” fight but can’t overcome the speed and hunger of Dawson.

Trent: Second verse, same as the first. Antonio Tarver is still a capable fighter but you need to bring more than a capable performance to take down Chad Dawson. The only way I can see Tarver winning this fight is to make it as boring as possible. Hit and clinch. And this assumes Dawson comes to the fight unmotivated. Otherwise, the chances of Tarver getting off first are minuscule. Dawson will use his speed to control and hopefully humble Tarver. I don’t see this fight being closer than the first. In fact, I see it being more lopsided. Dawson in a Zach Greinke-like shutout.

Fight odds from Bodog.com.