Chad Dawson Looks Past Glen Johnson A Tiny Bit

Promoter Gary Shaw and former 175 pound champion Chad Dawson both expressed interest in entering the Showtime Super Six super middleweight tournament, should Jermain Taylor drop out.

Dawson and Glen Johnson chatted with media on a conference call Thursday to hype the Dawson-Johnson rematch, which unfolds on Nov. 7 in Hartford.

Shaw said Dawson (28-0, 17 KOs)  is contracted to HBO and that he'd be sitting down with execs there to hash out terms for a 2010 deal soon, but that he'd be open to Dawson slipping into the Super Six in lieu of Taylor, who was kayoed by Arthur Abraham on Oct. 17, suffered a concussion and was kept in a hospital for days after the bout.

“I think it is a great idea,” said the 27-year-old Connecticut resident Dawson, who won a UD from Johnson (49-12-2, 33 KOs) on April 12, 2008. “I talked to Gary a few times about getting in if Taylor does drop out. I'd love to take part.”

“I know he'd be welcomed into the tourney and would win it convincingly,” said Shaw, “even though I have Andre Dirrell.”

Shaw also, for what it's worth, said that Dawson is the “most talented fighter out there today, bar none” and that he believes one day Dawson will win a title at heavyweight.

“We've been stuck in a rut..we haven't been able to expose him like I'd like, but that time will come,” Shaw said on the call. Shaw isn't wrong; two fights with Antonio Tarver, and now a second one with Johnson leave fight fans with the perception that Dawson targets the games' elders exclusively.

The promoter injected some spice into the call by taking issue with Johnson's assertion that he was robbed in the first fight. He pointed out that the fight was in Florida, in his home state, and that the bout didn't come close to meeting the definition of a “robbery.”

“Paulie Malignaggi was robbed, this was not a robbery,” Shaw said. “I believe I won the first fight clearly,” Johnson countered.

Johnson, for his part, shared that he'd be more inclined to look to stop Dawson, since he feels like he'll get no love from the judges. “It's the only way to stay free from a robbery,” said Johnson, who turns 41 on January 2.  Dawson said he'll move more, and stand and slug less this time around. TSS-EM sees no way how Dawson doesn't win this one by a more comfortable margin. Like to see him get more aggressive, get it through his head that power equals earning power, but he's a pure boxer, not a boxer-puncher, even.

SPEEDBAG Shaw mentioned that the Jones-Hopkins winner would make sense as a foe for Dawson. Jean Pascal, who snagged the WBC 175 pound belt from Adrian Diaconu in June and gives Diaconu another crack next month, was also mentioned on a short list of potential Dawson opponents.

—Some of you might be wondering what title will be on the line here. Most of you won't be, but indulge me. The WBC's interim belt will be up for grabs, in deference to Johnson, who was supposed to get a crack at Diaconu, who had the crown before dropping it to Pascal. Does the world need a WBC interim belt? Does the world need Snuggies? Rest my case…