Chad Dawson vs. Glen Johnson Preview

Previews

Chad Dawson battles Glen Johnson this Saturday in Hartford, CT. This fight is a rematch from a highly competitive match won by Dawson in April of 2008. HBO will be televising the fight. The action begins at 9:30 pm ET with an undercard bout pitting Alfredo Angulo against Harry Joe Yorgey.

Chad Dawson vs. Glen Johnson
Money Line: Dawson -450; Johnson +300

With Bernard Hopkins looking for the most lucrative fights he can find in other weight classes, Chad Dawson has risen to the top of the light heavyweight division. Dawson’s ascent has come quickly but not without some bumps along the way. Dawson is still undefeated at 28-0 (17 KOs) but Glen Johnson gave him all he could handle last year. Since winning a narrow unanimous decision over Johnson in 2008, Dawson moved on to former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver. Dawson rattled off consecutive victories over Tarver but the fans were still talking about the Johnson fight. Dawson is fast for a light heavyweight and uses that hand and foot speed to his advantage. He’s a southpaw that throws a lot of combinations yet also knows when to keep his distance and pop the jab.

Glen Johnson, 49-12-2 (33 KOs), is a throwback boxer. The kind of guy that will fight anyone on any given day. It’s that kind of attitude, however, that has led to his misleading record. He has been the victim of many “hometown decisions” yet he never let it deter him from the boxing ring. For all the bad breaks Johnson has been given, he still holds victories over the likes of Clinton Woods, Antonio Tarver, and Roy Jones Jr. The win over Jones Jr was a devastating knockout that left the former pound-for-pound king motionless on the mat. Glen Johnson shows his heart and toughness when he fights. He is the type of fighter that gets stronger as the fight goes on. This was evident in his first fight with Chad Dawson. Dawson won the early rounds but Johnson came back in the second half of the fight and outworked the much younger Dawson in the championship rounds.

Fight Predictions

Corey: The first fight between Dawson and Johnson was indeed close. I initially scored it a draw but could just as easily have seen Dawson taking home a 115-113 win. An important point to note is that of the five or six rounds Johnson won on my card, three of them were the closest rounds of the fight. The thinking here is that Dawson paces himself better this time around, fighting the rematch more like he did rounds five and six in the first fight and giving Johnson fits with his hand and foot speed. Johnson no doubt surprised Dawson by giving him such a tough fight at age 39. Now over 40 years old, Johnson doesn’t bring anything new to the table, and Dawson will win the rematch more convincingly, 117-111 or better.

Trent: It’s hard to believe that Johnson brings anything new to the table in this fight. Dawson, however, just came off of two fights with the wily Antonio Tarver. One would think that the 27-year-old Dawson picked up a lot of experience in those two wins. Dawson also has the advantage of seeing Johnson before. As Corey noted, I expect Dawson to have better pacing this time around. Dawson certainly has more respect and more knowledge of Johnson’s ability to rally and it should play a part in his gameplan this Saturday. I still expect the fight to be fun and competitive but Dawson has all the tools to win this fight. He just needs to use them correctly. I expect that he will and I see Dawson winning a unanimous decision over a game Glen Johnson.