“There Will Be A New Champion Come Saturday Night!”

Written By Robert Jones

This Saturday night at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, FL, “Bad” Chad Dawson will try for his first World Title.  His opponent, Tomasz Adamek, the WBC light heavyweight champion, will be no stroll in the park.  Adamek has beat Paul Briggs twice, in very entertaining fashion, with a title defense against Thomas Ulrich squeezed in between the Briggs fights.  Dawson has seen all of these fights, and has trained accordingly.  Not many fighters will share there thoughts just three days before a fight, but Dawson was nice enough to do just that.  Below, is a glimpse of what is going on inside of a fighters head just days before the biggest fight of his career. 

Robert Jones: The fight is a little over three days away.  How are you feeling?

Chad Dawson: I feel good, I’m ready and I’m in 100 percent shape.  I did everything I needed to do to prepare for it, and I’m just ready to go. 

RJ: You seem to have a very versatile body, as you’ve fought from 160-175.  Your next fight, of course, will be at 175.  If need be, do you still think you can make 160 in future contests, or are you staying at light heavyweight for a good bit.

CD: "Nah, I'll never make it back to 160. But 168 is no problem."  Hopefully there is a fight for me at light heavyweight after this fight I’d love to stay up here.  I have the option, either way.  What ever one is the best.  What I’d really love is a Jermain Taylor fight. 

RJ: Give the readers an account of a typical day in your training camp?

CD: I wake up at 6:30 in the morning and do my running with Floyd Mayweather Sr. I am back in the gym at 12:30 to do my training and my sparring.  Mainly the rest of the time is spent resting and making sure I’m eating all the right meals, and at the right time.

RJ: Who are some of the other boxers you have sparred with that have helped you prepare for this fight?

CD: Aaron Williams, a cruiserweight has been my main sparring partner.  He is a great up and comer.  I like to spar with a bunch of different people; small guys, tall guys, get as many looks as I can get. 

RJ: In your last fight, Eric Harding knocked you down briefly in the first round, but you went on to win a very comfortable decision from there.  Do you think that flash knockdown helped in a way to get out the jitters before a big fight?

CD: That knockdown was a wake up call for me.  That’s what I call it.  He put me down and  when I got up I knew I had to get up and do what I was trained to do.  It built my confidence up to get back up and then go onto to win the fight the way that I did. 

RJ: One of Adamek’s strengths that he’s held over his opponents is his size, particularly his height.  Against you, he wouldn’t have that strength, as you are actually about an inch taller.  Has this fact affected your game plan at all?

CD:  No, that really hasn’t came up.  The game plan is to give him a boxing lesson. That is basically the game plan for all my fights.  Floyd Mayweather, believes in throwing combinations and showing your opponent a bunch of different angels.  I want to be the whole package.  I am very confident in Floyd and he is confident in me.  Basically, our whole team is confident they we will be victorious on Saturday.    

RJ: Adamek has been in two brutal fights with Paul Briggs.  Now, obviously you are still training for him as if he will be full strength.  But does the thought ever creep in your mind, “Well, maybe he has lost a step or two?”

CD: No, that has never crossed my mind.  He’s a champion, and we are training for him like he is a champion and the  best fighter in the division.  I don’t look at that (that’s he’s lost a step). In his last fight, I thought he lost against Briggs.  My goal is to walk out of the ring on the new lightweight champion. 

RJ: While most of your time is obviously spent focusing on Adamek, what have you done to relax during training camp. 

CD: I like to catch a few movies. But,  mainly I rest. I mean, we are up so early that I usually need to rest.   But, if I can I like to catch a movie.  I am also glad that it’s basketball season because I can also watch the Phoenix Suns, my favorite team, play.   

RJ: Let’s jump ahead to Saturday night.  It’s a few minutes before curtain time.  Are you the type of fighter that likes to be surrounded by friends and family before the fight, or do you prefer to be alone?

CD: It doesn’t matter to me.  It’s always good to have family around.  My family comes and sees me about a half hour or an hour before the fight, my two sons, and everything.  After that though, it’s usually just me and my team waiting for the start of the fight. 

RJ: I want to thank you very much for taking this interview just a few days before your fight.  I wish you the best of luck this Saturday.  Is there anything else you would like to add to the readers at Pound4Pound.com

CD: No, just know that there will be a new light heavyweight champion of the world come Saturday night, and his name will be Chad Dawson.