PASCAL IS THE MAN

Hey Doug
I've got to be completely honest, I did not see that happening. I thought that Chad Dawson would win a clear decision, but man am I glad to be wrong. Jean Pascal completely confused Dawson with his unorthodox style and speed. He fought a really smart fight by moving a lot to his left, staying away from Dawson's jab and straight left.

The thing that impresses me the most about Pascal, is how much he improved since the loss to Carl Froch. In each of his fights since he showed a little more each time. We knew he had heart and a chin (to all those who might think Pascal was about to be taken out in the eleventh, I just want to point out that he has been hurt a couples of time in his career, but he's never been down and always recovered well) but to see him beat (convincingly) a fighter like Dawson was really impressive.

As for Dawson, well he has a lot load of talent but he seems to be lacking something, but lets not forget that he is still young and hey, a loss doesn't end a career. As for the future, I would really like to see Pascal against Tavoris Cloud, the rematch with Dawson, and Lucian Bute take the fighter that gets out of the Super Six (not Green) after round three, then ultimately the fighter that wins it, and then see Pascal and Bute square off (if they keep winning). But hey, I'd settle for them fighting next spring. That would be mad up here.

Lastly, I know its two weeks away but just wondering what was your take on Giovani Segura vs Ivan Calderon. I think that youth and power will be too much for Calderon at this stage of his career. Sorry, a little long, as always, have a good week. — Simon, Montr├®al

Though I considered Pascal a live dog, I also believed Dawson would win a clear decision. I thought Pascal would box cautiously in the early going and not try to check Dawson’s chin until the middle rounds. I figured he had the power to hurt the American, but Dawson has always survived rough spots and I thought he’d be the stronger man (in terms of stamina) down the stretch. However, Pascal started throwing power shots with bad intentions in the first round, which earned immediate respect with Dawson, which helped make his lateral movement more effective. He set the tone for the rest of the fight by taking some chances in the first three or four rounds. Good for him. Pascal is deserving of the recognition as the real world light heavyweight champion and I think he injects a lot of excitement into the division.

Although Calderon-Segura matches the ultimate stick-and-move boxer against a sometimes sloppy slugger, I think it will be a very entertaining fight. If it took place just two or three years ago I’d automatically go with the super-slick boxer, but the Puerto Rican vet has been slowing down in recent fights. Segura is the hardest puncher the champ’s faced since Hugo Cazares, who gave him trouble. Right now, I see the fight as a toss-up. I’m going to visit the Azteca gym in Bell, Calif., real soon and see how Segura is looking in sparring before I make my prediction.

THE NEXT FIGHT AT 175 POUNDS

Hey Dougie,
Well, to start with, Dawson only has himself to blame. I think the way he came back late was part Pascal being knackered and part Bad Chad touching the gas pedal. If he'd planted it to the floor earlier then who knows what might've happened.

Oh well, 175 has suddenly become a hot division and could be getting even hotter! Bute hasn't got much to fight down at 168, what with the Super 6 boys all being contractually tied for a little while longer and so getting a fight on with Pascal could be must see at 175 — sod it, it's now probably in my top 3 fights I want to see made (the other being you know who vs the ego and JuanMa vs Gamboa). I think a couple of the losers will go north to 175 once the Super 6 is done as well. Froch v Pascal deserved a rematch after their FOTY contender first time round and could hopefully get made in the future @ light heavy, etc… Kessler has been at 168 for a while and could move up. All in all the division could be stacked this time next year, not to mention Cloud who with his 100+ punch output per round is going to be entertaining against guys who will look to get in a ruck with him.

One final thought. I find it mildly amusing that boxers have been telling all the internet hardmen their opinions don't count, (well they do because we're the big supporters of boxing who pay our money for tickets and PPVs) and yet now 'some' of them are engaging in a war of words via Twitter and other similar networking sites! Hope all is well. — Geoff, London

For the most part, Twitter is for twits. I forgot that I had a Twitter page until you brought this subject up. All I have to say is that both fighters and internet writers can be hyper sensitive at times and both probably have too much free time on their hands. Here’s the solution to all of these Twitter battles: Get married and have kids like Yours Truly. Then you won’t have time to Tweet.

Of all of the potential matchups for Pascal the rematch with Froch is the one that escaped me. That’s an obvious ticket seller and must-see TV. Good thinking. Froch has more of a light heavyweight frame than Pascal does. I bet he’d carry the weight well. We’ll have to see how he fares in the rest of the Super Six, though. He’s locked into Showtime’s innovative tournament for the time being and we both know anything can happen. If Froch gets KTFO by Arthur Abraham and then schooled by one of the Dres, that return match with Pascal will definitely lose a lot of luster.

GOOD SUMMARY

Hi Doug,
I was at the fight, and your story “Dawson played it safe and paid the price vs. Pascal” is a good summary of what went on, despite the comments of GSP and the rest. Cheers. — Eric

Thanks Eric. Sometimes a fight can look different live than it does on TV, but I think most fans would agree that Dawson just a little too cautious in the early rounds and not mean enough in that 11th round when he had a golden opportunity to really blow the fight open for himself.

Having said that, like Dawson’s promoter Gary Shaw, I wanted to see the fight continue after the head butt occurred. I know the cut was bleeding like crazy, but that’s why fighters have cutmen. What’s the point in having these corner men if they don’t a get chance to work on the cuts that fighters sustain? It would have been interesting to see if Dawson’s cutman could have controlled the flow of blood enough for the southpaw to fight effectively in the final round of the bout.

REMATCH!

Dear Dougie,
As I saw it Pascal got rounds 1-3, 5, 7 & 8. Chad got 4, 6, 9 & 11. Round 10 I scored a draw for a total of 106-104 in favor a Jean Pascal. It was a good fight. Pascal reminds me a little of Roy Jones for his reflexes and speed. Bad Chad is technically better and I think he was in route to a KO in round 11 or 12. There should be a rematch. What do you think? PS I'm a big fan since your Maxboxing days. — Enrique, Puerto Rico

Thanks for the kind words and for reading my stuff all these years, Enrique.

I don’t know if Dawson could have stopped Pascal in the 11th round, but it sure looked like the Canadian was quickly running out of gas and was clearly buzzed twice. Maybe Dawson could have closed the show in that round. We’ll never know because he didn’t jump Pascal’s ass when the poor man’s RJJ was on stiff legs. Maybe he could have stopped Pascal in the 12th but we’ll never know because the accidental headbutt and the doctor and ref took him out of the fight before the final round.

REMATCH NEEDED

Dear Doug,
I'd expected another boring Dawson UD. I agreed with the 106-103 score for Pascal. I'd like to see a rematch, though, as I thought that Pascal was exhausted. I think there's a real chance Dawson could've gotten to him in the last round. I have no idea why Dawson didn't follow up when he had Pascal hurt in both 9 and 11 (and even in 4, which I thought Pascal stole).

I liked Merchant's idea: Cloud/Dawson. How about a 175 “Final Four” in which Pascal would fight Bute in the other half? The winners could meet next spring.

One question: I thought that, in WBC title fights outside the U.S., the uninjured fighter is docked a point for a butt. When it happened, I was thinking to myself that we might have a draw if two judges had it 6-5 Pascal because of the point deduction. Did the WBC scrap that absurd rule? I hope so. Take care. — Patrick

I don’t think the WBC has scrapped that silly accidental headbutt-point deduction rule that saved Julio Cesar Chavez’s butt in his rematch with Frankie Randall. I recall Antonio DeMarco losing a point in that round his elbow slashed open the late Edwin Valero’s forehead in their match that took place in February. I think Pascal was so comfortably ahead on the official cards that the point deduction didn’t matter. I could be wrong.

A light heavyweight “final four,” huh. I like it! Heck, I think there could be Super Six at 175 pounds (although if HBO were to put it on it couldn’t be the round robin format Showtime came up with). Pascal, Dawson, Cloud, Bute, Shumenov, and either Glen Johnson, Gabriel Campillo or another 168-pound contender (preferably whoever wins the Super Six, but Librado Andrade would be welcome, especially given his history in Montreal, where I have to believe many fights would take place).

NAIL ON THE HEAD

Your Pascal-Dawson fight report echoed my exact thoughts throughout the bout: What the hell was Dawson waiting for? Why did he wait to throw his hardest punches until the 11th round? Frankly, if that was by design, the fight plan sucked. Perhaps fighting a bunch of slower, older guys gave him a false sense of security that he can win every fight in a safety-first manner. If that's the case, too bad; sometimes a boxer like Dawson with extraordinary talent has to use at least some heart and balls and take a stand. It seems like he waited way too long to even try to let Pascal know who was boss… and it wasn't Dawson for the first 10 rounds. — Gordon

Agreed.

ELOY PEREZ

What's up Dougie? I hope you got a chance to see Eloy's performance via DVR. I thought he looked very good. He took out a guy no one has ever taken out before! I can't wait to see him take on Roman Martinez next year. A few more Telefutura fights and maybe an ESPN joint in there and the lil’ muscle man will be in high demand to take on the PR slugger. What do you think?

BTW, the whole gang from Dave's was in full support live at the bull ring (an awesome place to have a fight) as many of 68 people from Salinas and a handfull of people from Washington made the long trek to Pico Rivera to see The Prince in action. A tribute to his loyal fans. Take care Doug.

(P.S. I’m going to Rios/Peterson and Mosley/Mora how bout you?) — Sam Garcia

I’ll be watching Brandon Rios vs. Anthony Peterson (the co-feature to the Yuriorkis Gamboa-Orlando Salido fight) on TV. That’s a scrap to sit back and drink beer to if there ever was one. I’m not sure if I’m covering Mosley-Mora of if I’ll be at the JuanMa Lopez-Rafa Marquez in Las Vegas that night (Sept. 18)

The 130-pound division is wide open and in need of some new blood. I think Perez can be a player if he stays busy and continues to learn his craft. Maybe this time next year we’ll all be in Puerto Rico for what I think could be a very entertaining challenge of Rocky Martinez, one of the most exciting fighters in the sport.

GOOD FIGHT, NO HOME COOKING

I just got home from the Jean Pascal-Chad Dawson fight and dumb as it might sound, one of the highlights for me tonight was seeing Michael Buffer announce live. Say what you want about him and HBO, they know how to put on a show.

Doug, what a blast I had. This was a good fight with lots of skills and action and that was NOT a hometown decision because I felt Pascal clearly won at least 6 of the 11 rds including the first 3.

I've known Jean Pascal from the Ring83 and Grant Bros gyms. I can’t say that we are friends or that I really liked him but he takes on the challenges and performs in the ring so I have to call myself a fan now.

Dawson clearly has trouble with explosive speed and awkward movement, not to mention solid punches landing on his chin. I think he might do himself a favor and step out of his “pure boxer” identity and be a little more aggressive because he had some success when he went on the offensive, in any caseÔǪ

I think Pascal-Bute here would be monumental! And u better come for that one Doug! The boxing crowd is different than the hockey crowd but both go nuts and it’s a blast. — Steve, Montreal

Count me in, Steve. I’ll be there for Pascal-Bute whenever that fight is made.

I’ve never received so many emails from Montreal fans as I did Saturday night and throughout the day on Sunday. You guys are very proud of your light heavyweight champion and you should be. He’s a badass and he represents Montreal, Quebec, and Canada very well. However, I think you guys are going to have to learn to share the champ because Pascal made a lot of fans outside of Montreal with his performance on Saturday.

Doug Fischer can be contacted at [email protected]