Knockout Nation: Dawson Beats Tarver Again, Roach Talks “Fraud Mayweather,” Ali-Terrell

Dawson Wins Rematch Handily

Aging

vet Antonio Tarver again came up short against undefeated

light-heavyweight champ Chad Dawson, losing a clear unanimous decision

this past Saturday in Las Vegas.

As

in their initial title fight, Tarver struggled to cope with Dawson’s

fast hands, especially when thrown in combination. Throughout the first

two rounds, Dawson easily bested the former light-heavyweight champ

behind a peppering jab and huge power shots.

In the 3rd

round Tarver picked up the pace and began moving forward to attack

Dawson. Although Tarver took the round on sheer aggression, the

defending champion was able to avoid any significant damaging blows

from the plodding Tarver.

Both men had their moments in rounds 4-6. In the 4th,

Dawson regained control by pushing Tarver back with hard combination

hooks to the body. Tarver utilized a close guard for most of the round,

but was still stunned by a huge left in the final minute. He returned

the favor in round 5 by taking the fight inside. There, just as

workhorse Glen Johnson did last year, Tarver scored with hard hooks

through Dawson’s leaky inside defense.

In the 6th and 7th

rounds, Dawson again wrestled control of the bout behind superior ring

generalship. Dawson kept getting off first with the right jab and hard

left hook to the body. At the end of the round, Tarver responded in

kind with 3 solid left hooks. The reprieve proved brief, and Dawson

went back to work with inside hooks, doing enough damage to put Tarver

back in a defensive shell.

By

the championship rounds, Tarver was far behind. Trainer Buddy McGirt

loudly implored Tarver to make it a dogfight if he had any hopes of

winning the bout. But in the 10th, the Magic Man had slowed,

and his laboring punches were easily slipped by Dawson, who would

sporadically fire back with body hooks and flush jabs to keep Tarver

off-balance. In the 12th, both fighters were guilty of more

inside mauling then boxing. However, Dawson cleaner and more forceful

punching still gave him the advantage.

Final

scorecards for the bout read 116-112 and 117-111 twice for Dawson, who

improved his record to 28-0, 17 KOs. Antonio Tarver fell to 27-6, 19

KOs.

With

Tarver now disposed, Dawson can turn his attention to a rematch that

matters against Glen Johnson. Their first encounter in 2008 was a Fight

of the Year candidate, and Dawson’s consistent but unspectacular recent

fights won’t be enough to elicit offers of big money fights from

Bernard Hopkins or Joe Calzaghe. And although Dawson has spoken about

dropping to 168 pounds, it remains to be seen if he can make the weight

comfortably.

For

Tarver, he appears at the end of the road after a very successful

career. Through sheer self-promotion, the Magic Man was able to goad

then pound for pound #1 Roy Jones, Jr. into a rubbermatch which

destroyed the Jones mystique. Now at 40 years old, and not having

fought more the twice a year in 9 years, it’s highly unlikely that

Tarver has the desire to build himself back up through tough fights

away from the spotlight.

Freddie Roach: “Rename him ‘Fraud’ Mayweather”

Manny Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach has wasted no time criticizing Floyd Mayweather’s recent return to the ring.

In

a statement to Doghouse Boxing, Roach dismissed Mayweather’s comeback

against pound for pound #2 Juan Manuel Marquez as a useless, boring

fight.

“The

fight stinks. Two counter-punchers waiting for the other one to make

the first move is boring and proves nothing,” Roach explained. “If

Mayweather wanted to prove he was the best all he had to do was wait

one day to see who won Pacquiao-Hatton before signing to fight Marquez.

You might as well rename him Fraud Mayweather, Jr.”

Roach’s

venom for Floyd is partly a receipt for Mayweather’s repeated

dismissals of Pacquiao’s skills during his brief “retirement.” Also, it

adds to the anticipation fans are already feeling at the possibility of

a Pacquaio-Mayweather showdown this year.

Let’s

just hope “Money” Mayweather not only takes care of business on July

18, but does it in impressive fashion. Marquez is no pushover, and

Mayweather could be in for a shocking surprise despite his weight

advantage.

Throwback Fight of the Week: Muhammad Ali vs. Ernie Terrell, 2/6/67

In

1967, Muhammad Ali was one of the most hated heavyweight champs in

history. Following his controversial conversion to Elijah Muhammad’s

Nation of Islam sect in 1964, many fans were hoping for anyone to

dethrone him.

For the champ’s 8th

defense, he was paired with Ernie Terrell; a tall, sturdy heavyweight

with a very good jab. Terrell was not intimidated by Ali’s taunts, and

actually provoked the champion to physically attack him by refusing to

call him by his new Islamic name.

Terrell

later said he hoped to gain a psychological edge in the fight. Instead,

Terrell inspired Ali to give him one of the most humiliating beatings

in ring history.

After

a good Terrell start, Ali’s great jab took over; swelling up the

challenger (Terrell would later state it was an errant Ali thumb to the

eye that damaged his vision). By the middle rounds, Ali was in complete

control, but refused to go in for the finish. Instead, he verbally

taunted Terrell round after round: calling him an Uncle Tom in the

clinches, and shouting “what’s my name?!” before launching another

stinging combination.

The

final scorecards were lopsided for Ali (148-137 twice, and 148-133).

Ringside reporters were appalled by Ali’s antics, stating that he was

unnecessarily cruel and even eclipsed the taunts he leveled at a

helpless Floyd Patterson in their 1965 bout.

Muhammad Ali would make one more defense a month later against an old Zora Folley, winning an easy 7th

round KO. He would then be stripped of his title and ability to box for

3 years over his refusal to enlist in the Vietnam War. Upon his return

in 1970, Muhammad Ali would engage in a memorable decade of fights with

Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, George Foreman, and Earnie Shavers.

After

the Ali bout, Terell would fight for another 6 years and never again

challenge for the title. He finished with a record of 42-9, 21 KOs.

Ali vs. Terrell, Part 1

Ali vs. Terrell, Part 2

Ernie Terrell Interview