Dawson And Pavlik Are Accomplished Yet Unproven

There is a ton to like about "Bad" Chad Dawson. He’s an immensely talented boxer, has a glistening, undefeated record (29-0, 17 KOs), and owns two victories apiece against former light heavyweight champions Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson. More impressively, he owns a victory against the best cruiserweight in the world, Tomasz Adamek (39-1, 27 KOs). You’d think this resume would impress fans and networks alike.

Well, it does, sort of.

For all of his talent, I often ask myself if Dawson is hiding something when he fights. Is he protecting a less-than-durable chin? He’s been dropped/hurt by Eric Harding, Adamek and Johnson in earlier fights. Or maybe Dawson fears running out of gas late in fights? He tired towards the end of his first fight with Johnson and has fought at a more measured pace ever since.

Whatever it is, his recent wins have lacked the drama, but more importantly, the knockouts. Trust me, I totally understand and respect that defense is often the key to winning fights. But Dawson’s handlers must understand that defense to a fault becomes must-turn TV, especially if the opponents are either past-their-prime like Johnson and Tarver or not household names.

Since I do not see "Bad" Chad "making it rain" at a dance club near you nor Dancing with the Stars anytime soon, he’s going to have to build his name by winning more impressively than he has recently against the best challengers available. His promoter Gary Shaw will be busy in 2010 trying to make that happen.

Kelly Pavlik is at a similar career crossroads, but in a different way. He has natural punching power (86% knockout ratio), only one loss in his career and has defeated former middleweight kingpin Jermain Taylor twice. But unlike Dawson, he once had the undivided attention of fight fans and cable networks alike.

Enter Bernard Hopkins.

Ever since Pavlik’s humbling defeat at the hands of this ring legend last year, many questions have arisen. How bad is Kelly’s staph infection that has sidelined him for some time? Why is he continuing to fight mis-mandatories like Marco Antonio Rubio and Miguel Angel Espino? Is he scared to fight Paul Williams? It sure seems like it. First a re-schedule, then a cancellation of their December 5th fight and now the scheduling of Pavlik vs Espino for December 19th. Although there is no proof that he and his handlers are ducking Paul Williams, they are leaving more evidence than O.J. Simpson did. Yes, the jury is still out on Pavlik.

Chad Dawson and Kelly Pavlik are widely-recognized as the best that their respective divisions have to offer. That’s the good news. The bad news is that they do not have any big names to fight in their divisions. Dawson has the talent to perform at the highest level, but lacks the killer instinct in the ring as well as the fan base outside of it.  Pavlik has the killer instinct in the ring as well as a rabid fan base, but may lack the skill and talent to perform at the highest level.

I have an idea. Let’s make Chad Dawson vs Kelly Pavlik happen at super middleweight in the spring of 2010. I hope Bob Arum and Gary Shaw are listening.

Note to Ben Finesilver: I apologize for not writing a preview or recap of David Haye’s fight with the sleep-inducing Nikolay Valuev. Word on the street is that Haye is now slated to face off against John Ruiz. Hats off to the "Hayemaker" for ridding the boxing world of two of the most boring heavyweights in the past quarter century, assuming he gets past Ruiz. Let’s then hope that he fights one of the Klitschkos very soon. I’m not sure about his chances against either, but I am sure I’d watch either fight.