Dawson/Diaconu Purse Bid Results Are In

A Chad Dawson/Antonio Tarver scrap has been in the works for a couple of years. The fans want to see the old lion take on the light heavyweight division’s young lion. But sanctioning body politcs may postpone the inevitable awhile longer.

Dawson (26-0) is the WBC 175 pound champ and his top rated challenger is WBC interim titlist Adrian Diaconu (25-0), the Canadian based hitter. Dawson must give Diaconu a crack at his belt, per WBC rules. The promoters for the fighters haven’t been able to hash out particulars so the mandatory went to purse bid on Friday, and the results are in: Diaconu’s promoter Gankor Promotions, Inc. topped the bidding, at $1.8 million. So, there is a purse to parse, but a site still needs to be hashed out, according to Dawson’s manager, Mike Criscio. Team Dawson would travel to Canada, but not Diaconu’s native land, Romania.

Diaconu fought in Romania in his last outing, against Chris Henry for the interim belt, and came away with a close decision. Criscio isn’t keen on having his man Dawson get the short end of the stick in a tight tussle. If Gankor is set on Romania, Criscio says, Dawson might just fight Tarver, the IBF champion, and dispense with the mandatory. Stay tuned…