Chad Dawson and Andre Ward are scheduled to meet on August 8 in Oakland California in what is expected to be one of the most competitive bouts of the year. I don’t predict this fight will be a box office hit, but the boxing purist will be in heaven.
Most matches feature fighters with clear advantages over each other in some area (such as power or speed), but this one does not. Both fighters are pretty evenly matched in all areas, so this fight will be decided by tactical decisions and, most importantly, intangibles.
That said, Dawson has a fight on his hands. This will definitely be his toughest match since his first fight with Glen Johnson. Ward is not a guy who makes a lot of mistakes, and when he does, he only makes them once.
Dawson must first and foremost exploit the narrow advantage his left-handed stance gives him. You can accomplish this by moving to your right to place Ward’s left foot on the inside (the left side) of your right foot. This leaves Dawson out of reach of Ward’s right, while Ward finds it more difficult to see or anticipate anything Dawson does. its right. Peppering Ward with jabs and right hooks will help keep Ward out of position. Plus, a quick step to the right from this position allows Dawson to counter Ward’s jab with his own left.
Dawson must also take advantage of his height and gain the advantage. Both men are very good at fighting on the outside, but Dawson’s five-and-a-half-inch reach advantage (according to boxrec.com) gives him an advantage at a distance. This only works if Dawson throws hard punches. If he throws rangefinders, Ward will run and mistreat him.
Although both men have excellent defensive skills, Dawson’s defense and reflexes are slightly better. You can only make this work from the outside, where you are perfectly capable of making Ward fail and then making him pay. Ward will likely be the busiest fighter, and he’s perfectly comfortable being the aggressor, so Dawson’s ability to use his superior defense will be critical to his winning.
The last thing Dawson needs to consider is how to handle Ward on the inside. Ward is a very canny fighter, and despite all the tactics Dawson can employ, a great deal of the action will take place in the trenches. Ward is much better than Dawson on the inside, especially when it comes to taking shots and shifting his body weight for leverage. Without a way to counter this, Dawson’s chances of winning are slim.
On the inside, Dawson has an escape route: his southpaw stance. If he can hold his ground, with his right foot off Ward’s, Dawson will be able to turn and counter. While this strategy is solid, it won’t always work. If not, Dawson should tie it up. Practicing a combination of each of these strategies should effectively nullify Ward on the inside.
These techniques will work only if Dawson is able to impose his will on Ward. If Dawson doesn’t do these things with true conviction and faith, they will work, they won’t. He has to get into Ward’s mind and make him believe that there is nothing he can do that Dawson is not prepared for. Underneath it all, these are the intangibles that will decide the fight.