“Unless he changes his whole style this fight is not going to go the distance”

Boxingtalky caught up with undefeated Light Heavyweight contender “Bad” Chad Dawson 23-0 with 15 KOs. Dawson is preparing to challenge for his first world title, when he faces undefeated WBC light heavyweight champion Tomasz Adamek, 31-0 with 21 KOs, on February 3, 2007. Showtime Championship Boxing will boradcast. In this must-read one-on-one interview, Dawson speaks with us in length about working with newly acquired trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., his thoughts on Adamek, and his eagerness to prove all of his doubters wrong, all that and much much more.

RC: Chad give us your thoughts on your upcoming about for the WBC title against current champion Tomas Adamek? And give us your take on him as a fighter?
CD: I think he is a one dimensional fight, I seen him fight one time when he fought Paul Briggs, which was a close fight and the other two fights he was in there with guys that shouldn’t have even been in the ring with him. So it is hard to say. But it doesn’t matter because I have so many different tools. I can box and I can slug, that is going to be the whole difference in the fight. With me boxing and staying on my toes and me picking him apart, I don’t think he will be able to deal with that.
 
RC: You are currently working with Mayweather Sr., why don’t you tell us how that came about and although we all know he is a great trainer, what do you feel he brings to the table for Chad Dawson?
CD: Brains, combinations… I mean since I have been working with him everything has changed. I am on my legs more; I am moving I am boxing. He brings a lot to the table. He has me working on my jab more, spinning, moving just things that professional fighters do when they get to this level. I went with Mayweather because he is one of the best, when the opportunity came for me to work with him I jumped at it. You see some of the things he taught his son and I just wanted to become a different fighter and show the fans something different.

RC: Give us an idea of what we will be able to see from the Chad Dawson that’s working with Mayweather oppose to Chad Dawson from the past?
CD: You will definitely see me on my toes more, bouncing, jabbing and throwing combinations… like I said things that when you get to this level that professional fighters do. The night f the fight I don’t think Tomas Adamek is going to be able to deal with my speed and my boxing ability. I am working with a new strength and conditioning trainer down here, so you are going to see a totally different fighter.

RC: So are you saying you feel that despite being a successful undefeated fighter, to this point, that you didn’t feel you were progressing and something was missing?
CD: Not so much missing something…. in my career as you know I have worked with a few different trainers, and it was time for a fighter like me to get a feel for a trainer. With Dan, Dan is a good trainer, but when it comes to learning certain things, Dan was more of a basic trainer. He basically tried to base everything off of what he did with Winky. Winky and me are both southpaw’s so he tried to do the same thing with me, but we are two totally different fighters. With Floyd, he has never worked with a southpaw, this is his first time but we are both learning together, and I am just happy to be learning what I am learning right now. Floyd Sr. is a much much better trainer.

RC: Comments like that might cause some …
CD: (Cutting in) It’s the truth, if I felt that Dan was the better trainer I would say it, but Floyd is definitely a better trainer and he knows the game. You can say that he knows the game better for the simple fact that he has done it; he has been a fighter there in the ring. So we can relate….

RC: How long have you and Mayweather actually been working together?
CD: About four weeks now.

RC: In the past you have always expressed here on Boxingtalk.com that you love to keep busy and fight frequently. Going into the ring for this fight, your first world title bout, you will be entering the ring coming off an eight month layoff, are you concerned about that at all?
CD: Nah nah, I think the eight months I had was good for me, I had time to grow into the light heavyweight division. I have been eating and relaxing, so my body is more like a Light Heavyweight’s now. Oppose to when I fought Eric Harding when I just put on the weight, but now I am actually physically stronger and ready to take on anybody in the division right now.

RC: Who have you been working with out there in preparation for this bout as far as sparring goes?
CD: I have been working with Akinyemi (AK47 Laleye) he is a kid from Florida, I have been working with Aaron Williams who is an up and coming cruiserweight, that’s my main sparring partner.’

RC: How do you plan to make up for the slightly more experience that he has than you, and the fact that he is a career 175lb Light Heavyweight?
CD: My advantages are my youth and my hand speed. I don’t think he will be able to handle none of that. A lot of people… I have been reading stuff on the internet and stuff, and a lot of people think he is going to kill me, but hey I like when people are against me. Someone even said that it is going to be like another Jeff Lacy and a Joe Calzaghe. On that night Adamek will find out and the whole world will find out about Chad Dawson.

RC: This is a pretty big stage for you headlining on Showtime Championship boxing, in your first world title fight, do you feel any extra pressure to show and pr…
CD: (Cutting in) No I don’t… you know just as well as I know I am a fighter and fighters go out there and they perform. Me? I love performing, this is will be the biggest stage I will be on, and I love to perform. I love to fight so there is no pressure on me, I look forward to big fights.

Kofi Jantuah is out here helping me out to, helping me get ready for this fight. He gets me up early in the morning and he runs me. The camp that I am in now is the best camp I have ever been in. I got good sparring, and I am training at Top Rank, I am getting stronger and feeling confident about myself and my abilities. I’m just very confident about this fight overall. I got to bed thinking about this fight, I am ready, I am mentally ready and I am ready physically ready.

RC: With the way your confidence is soaring right now, do you see this fight going the distance?
CD: The way I see it is this guy stands there right in front of you and he is right there to get hit. So if he stands rights in front of me…unless he changes his whole style this fight is not going to go the distance. My prediction is it is going to get stopped on cuts or something but I don’t think it is going to go the distance.

RC: Is there anything else you would like to add in closing?
CD: Everybody better watch out for me, this is it. Like I said it is my time and I am ready to take on all comers. Hopefully I will get the fight with Bernard (Hopkins) or (Joe) Calzaghe after this.

RC: Now, we all know that can be a problem that you are looking at fights with Hopkins and Calzaghe, seeing as how you have a very tough task in front of you in Adamek. Can this be a sign that you be looking past him a tad bit?
CD: I am not looking ahead of Adamek; he is the one looking head of me actually.  I heard he has already signed to fight Glenn Johnson.

RC: Does it motivate you more in any way knowing that he might be looking past you seeing as how he already had plans to fight Glenn Johnson?
CD: Definitely, it definitely motivates me. He has his opinion on the fight and I have my opinion. I know I am going to win, I know my skills and I know what I can do in the ring, and from what I have seen of him, it is going to be a good fight but… whoever comes prepared to fight is going to win the fight., I am prepared

RC: Has the whole switching of the arena affecting you in anyway?
CD: It is really not going to be that much of an affect on me, they switched the arena, and the fight is probably going to be in Chicago, in his hometown but it doesn’t matter because the fans cant fight for him. So it doesn’t matter to me…

RC: So your saying the fight is headed to Chicago?
CD: That’s what I am hearing

RC: You just said the fans cant fight for him, but they can certainly have an affect when you are going into your first world title bout on Showtime against a world champion in his adopted hometown. That’s can be a bit much for a young fighter such as yourself…so that has to change your disposition somewhat… Going from the fight-taking place on neutral territory to it going into his adopted backyard. You outlook has to change somewhat
CD: ooh yeah it is a lot more pressure but like I said the fans don’t get in the ring, it is just me and him in the ring. As long as I am there I am going to perform and do what I do, I know I trained and did what I had to do to prepare for this fight, then I am not worried about nothing.

 

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