Tough words set stage for Showtime twinbill
Posted: Fri Oct 10 12:32 AM
By Lyle Fitzsimmons, Contributing Boxing Editor
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Don't expect a little trash talk to offend Ken Hershman.
In fact, the more venom he hears out of Saturday night combatants Chad Dawson and Antonio Tarver in advance of their bout for 175-pound supremacy, the more the hard-working Showtime executive looks forward to a spill-over into the ring in Las Vegas.
"Dawson has always been very soft-spoken, very business-like. You could ask him to show more emotion, but it would probably come off transparent," he said. "No, this rivalry is very much for real. Tarver is the consummate showman and I think Dawson has seen and heard quite enough.
"I do believe you will be able to see the tension on the screen come Saturday night."
The IBF light heavyweight title match is the back end of a highly anticipated dual-continent doubleheader on Showtime, which begins with a tape-delay broadcast of the WBC heavyweight clash between incumbent champion Samuel Peter and comebacking former claimant Vitali Klitschko.
The big men will actually tangle in Berlin several hours earlier in the day, but the bout will get live blow-by-blow treatment from the Nevada-based announce team courtesy of a feed from German broadcaster RTL into the Showtime trucks outside the Palms Casino.
The as-it-happened call will be shown to lead off the 9 p.m. ET show.
"It has its complications, but we are comfortable that it will work out well," said Hershman, Showtime's senior vice president and general manager of sports and event programming.
"Steve Farhood, our analyst on ShoBox, will be on the ground at O2 (Arena) in Berlin to get post-fight reaction from the fighters. It should be seamless to our viewers."
The two-city card is the latest in a recently concerted effort by Showtime to up the quality of its main-event 'Championship Boxing' franchise, which is complemented by the prospect-driven 'ShoBox: The Next Generation' on Friday nights.
The next ShoBox card is scheduled for October 24 in Montreal, when transplanted local favorite Lucien Bute defends the IBF super middleweight title against once-beaten challenger Librado Andrade.
Also on that card is Ronald Hearns - son of Hall of Famer Thomas Hearns - in a 10-rounder against Canadian middleweight Paul Clavette.
"This doubleheader features two fights that could easily headline separate PPV cards. I don't think anything can diminish the excitement we have for Saturday," Hershman said. "There isn't a fight fan out there that would want to miss (the Dawson-Tarver) match. The bonus is that you get to see the entire Peter vs. Klitschko bout on the same night.
"Either of these fights are good enough to headline. To combine them into one show we believe makes this the strongest card of the year. My goal is simple - to air the most competitive fights possible with the best boxers in the world. Tarver-Dawson fits that philosophy to a tee."
* * * * * * * * * *
As for the venom, Dawson simply saw no other options.
After several months on the short end of exchanges with Tarver, the Connecticut southpaw finally decided it was time to fire back.
"He talks a lot, and I've been hearing it for a year, a year and a half or two years as I've been trying to make this fight happen," he said. "And after a while I just get tired of hearing someone's mouth going like that all the time.
"I'm normally a quiet guy, but he just aggravates me. He's definitely a better talker than me. He's not a better fighter, he's a better talker. But there's a lot of difference between talking and fighting."
Now 26, Dawson relinquished his thrice-defended WBC belt to meet the 39-year- old Tarver - who'll be making defense No. 1 of the title he won with a decision over Clinton Woods in April in Tampa, Fla.
Dawson's last fight was in that card's final pre-main event bout, where he scored a close but unanimous verdict over former champ Glen Johnson - winning 116-112 counts on all three scorecards.
The triumph upped his record to 26-0 in a seven-year career.
"I (gave up the title) just to end all the talk from Tarver and from the critics and to make this fight," he said. "I beat Glen Johnson and I still looked at the rankings on the Internet and other places and I see that they have Bernard Hopkins and Tarver and Roy Jones Jr. ahead of me, and that upset me.
"There are guys who've never fought a light heavyweight fight in their lives and there are people out there ranking them ahead of me. So I can lose my own title and beat Tarver and then maybe they'll have to sit up and take notice."
Dawson won the WBC belt with a decision over Tomasz Adamek in February 2007, then defended with consecutive stoppages of Jesus Ruiz and Epifanio Mendoza in June and September, respectively.
"I was already confident in my skills, but I had to give up the title to prove that I'm the best fighter in the division and one of the best in the world," Dawson said. "Glen Johnson was a tough opponent, but I won a unanimous decision, and you can't do any better than that."
While Tarver claimed he'll attack at the opening bell like Johnson, Dawson is expecting more of a chess match from the 11-year veteran. Tarver recorded 14 KOs in his initial 16 wins, but has stopped just five of his last 11 victims while going the full 12 rounds on the other six occasions.
"I know he's talking that way, but that's not the kind of fight I'm anticipating from him," Dawson said. "The only advantage he's got on me is his experience, so I'm expecting a much more technical sort of fight. If he tries to come right at me like he says, he'll be making a big mistake."
* * * * * * * * * *
This week's title fight capsules:
SATURDAY
IBF light heavyweight title - Las Vegas, Nevada
Antonio Tarver (champion) vs. Chad Dawson (No. 5 contender)
Tarver (27-4, 19 KO): First title defense; three-fight win streak
Dawson (26-0, 17 KO): Voluntarily relinquished WBC title; 4-0 in championship fights
FitzHitz says: Dawson by decision
WBC heavyweight title - Berlin, Germany
Samuel Peter (champion) vs. Vitali Klitschko (emeritus champion)
Peter (30-1, 23 KO): First title defense; lone career loss to Klitschko’s brother (Wladimir)
Klitschko (35-2, 34 KO): Gave up title due to injury; first fight since 2004
FitzHitz says: Klitschko in 10
Vacant WBC super featherweight title - Torreon, Mexico
Humberto Soto (No. 1 contender) vs. Gamaliel Diaz (No. 5 contender - 126 pounds)
Soto (44-7-2, 28 KO): Failed try for WBO 130-pound title in 2007
Diaz (23-7-2, 10 KO): Failed try for WBC 126-pound title in 2007
FitzHitz says: Soto by decision
THURSDAY
WBC bantamweight title - Tokyo, Japan
Hozumi Hasegawa (champion) vs. Alejandro Valdez (No. 2 contender)
Hasegawa (24-2, 8 KO): Seventh title defense; 21-fight win streak
Valdez (21-2-1, 15 KO): First career title fight; 16-fight win streak
FitzHitz says: Hasegawa by decision
WBC featherweight title - Tokyo, Japan
Oscar Larios (champion) vs. Takahiro Aoh (No. 9 contender)
Larios (62-6-1, 39 KO): First title defense; won eight of 11 career title fights
Aoh (16-0-1, 8 KO): Fifteen of 16 career fights in Japan; first title fight
FitzHitz says: Larios in 7
Last week's record: 1-0
Overall picks record: 25-8
Lyle Fitzsimmons is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He provides 'In The Ring' commentary for Speeding Bullet Network (speedingbulletnetwork.com), is a periodic contributor to 'The Drive with Dave Smith' on KLAA radio (am830klaa.com) and can be contacted via e-mail at fitzbitz@msn.com.
