Chad Dawson Can Cash in by Beating Glen Johnson

Chad Dawson is nothing if not a winner; he just hasn't cashed in for a defining, lucrative fight.

"We've not gotten the chance to really expose Chad like I would like to expose Chad," said Gary Shaw, Dawson's promoter. "But that time will come."

Among the 27-year-old southpaw light heavyweight's most impressive victories was in February 2007, when he routed Polish-born Tomas Adamek of Jersey City by 10, eight and six points respectively over the three judges' cards. Dawson earned the WBC's 175-pound title against Adamek, who lost for the first time in 32 bouts.

"I think that Chad is the best fighter in the world," said Shaw. "I think he's the most talented fighter in the world."

Since then, however, it is Adamek who has soared in popularity, having won eight consecutive fights, six of them by knockouts.

Along the way, Adamek has earned the IBF cruiserweight (200) title and defended it three times. And Adamek has risen to heavyweight, where he flattened three-time heavyweight title contender Andrew Golota in five rounds.

And while Dawson (28-0, 17 knockouts) has continued to win, it has been with far less fanfare than Adamek, even as he counts triumphs over Roy Jones conquerors Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson among his last five victories.

Dawson will face the 40-year-old Johnson (49-12-2, 33 KOs) yet again on Nov. 7 at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., in defense of his IBO championship in a bout that is for the WBC's interim title.

The duo will meet in a rematch of Dawson's unanimous decision of April 2008, when he won by 116-112 on all three judges' cards. Dawson hopes that a second win over Johnson, whom he vanquished before the latter's partisan fans in Tampa, will vault him into a world of limitless and lucrative possibilities.

"We've been stuck in a rut, and it's nothing against Glen Johnson, but we've had Glen and we've had two Tarver fights. And now we have Glen again," said Shaw, who would also consider a matchup with WBC 175-pound champion Jean Pascal (24-1, 16 KOs).

"Chad will show who he is this time, and then we'll move on to our next options after the fight," said Shaw. "Whether it's field an offer for the 168-pound tournament, or whether it's fighting the winner of Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins."

The "tournament" is a reference to Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic, featuring six of the world's top middleweights, including England's WBC champion Carl Froch, Denmark's WBA king Mikkel Kessler and Germany's former middleweight (160 pound) titlist Arthur Abraham.

The Super Six also features former Olympians Andre Ward, a gold medal winner from Oakland, Calif., and bronze medalist Andre Dirrell of Flint Mich., respectively.

Shaw believes that Dawson could enter the tournament amid speculation that former middleweight titlist Jermain Taylor may drop out following a knockout loss to Abraham.

"But HBO has a first and last punch at Dawson. And I know [Dawson] would be welcomed into the 168-pound tournament, which I believe he'd win convincingly," said Shaw, who also promotes Dirrell. "When this fight is over, we'll sit down with HBO. I have an appointment with them that week, and we'll talk about 2010."

Dawson would embrace the chance to drop into the lower weight class, but only after whipping Johnson.

"I'd feel great at that weight and I'd actually be much stronger at that weight too. I've never had any problems making 175," said Dawson.

"Sometimes, I've even weighed in at 172, 173. So making 168 is not that difficult for me," Dawson added. "But I'm not really even thinking about that tournament. I have to worry about Glen Johnson coming up next week."

A resident of New Haven, Conn., Dawson said that he is dedicating his fight to Jasper Howard, a former University of Connecticutt football player who was stabbed to death outside of a dance on the campus on Oct. 18.

Calling Howard's death "a horrible tragedy", Dawson plans to enter the ring displaying the No. 6 on his trunks, representing Howard's football jersey number.

Named the 2004 Fighter of the Year after a decision over Clinton Woods, a ninth-round KO of Jones and a split decision over Tarver, Johnson said he needs no more motivation than his belief that he beat Dawson in their last meeting.

"Chad Dawson has his rights to have his hopes and his dreams. The only thing that I care about is our fight," said Johnson, a Jamaica native living in Miami. "My motivation stays the same, which is to feed myself and my family."

Johnson's preparation has included sparring with Romanian-born IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (24-0, 19 KOs) of Canada, who will defend his crown against Librado Andrade (28-2, 21 KOs) on Nov. 28.

"[Bute] is a solid fighter and we had some great sparring," said Johnson. "He's a boxer. He showed me a lot of what Chad Dawson has done and is doing. He's a solid fighter, and we will use that to our advantage."