Brave Dawson gallantly defeated by Dzinziruk in title shot
Australian Daniel Dawson was unsuccessful in his challenge for the WBO light-middleweight title against champion Sergiy Dzinziruk, being outclassed and eventually stopped the undefeated Ukrainian in his sixth defense of his title.
Dawson was there to win, but he was clearly outclassed by Dzinziruk. Credit must be given to Dawson as he took all Dzinziruk's shots, wasn't knocked down and was still on his feet at the time of the stoppage. Dzinziruk controlled the fight easily from the opening bell through to the sixth round. From round seven Dzinziruk stepped on the pedal, lifting his workrate and punch output but he never put Dawson in any serious trouble.
The referee stopped the fight in the tenth round after Dzinziruk landed some solid punches, while Dawson who wasn't in any serious trouble didn't throw any punches back. It was a mercy stoppage more than anything. Dzinziruk had Dawson bleeding from the mouth and also caused bruising and a slight cut under his left eye.
Despite his inactivity going into the fight, many considered Dzinziruk to be one of the top fighters in a very talented light-middleweight division that consist of some of the best fighters in the world. For many it was their first opportunity to have a good look at him, but after ten rounds it was easy to see why he is so highly regarded. Dzinziruk fights in a textbook European style and does it beautifully; he has one of the best jabs in boxing today and fights behind it almost exclusively.
Against Dawson, Dzinziruk refused to fight on the inside and used great footwork and clinching to avoid any kind of infighting against Dawson who possesses a lethal right hand. Dzinziruk kept his eyes right on Dawson's chest and never seemed to get ruffled. The defending champion had a nice tight defense and didn't catch many clean shots. Showtime commentators Al Bernstein and Steve Farhood were very impressed with his footwork and how he used it to stay out of any trouble.
Dzinziruk's overall performance was consistent, looking extremely sharp and fast but criticism will be drawn from the fact he didn't take any chances to try and end this fight. The Ukrainian was totally outclassing Dawson and if he stepped on the pedal he could have ended proceedings earlier.
One question that will be asked of Dzinziruk after the fight is does he have the power to hurt any of the legitimate top ten light-middleweights in the world; until Dzinziruk displays this, doubts about his power will remain. The win over Dawson was impressive considering the 18-month break Dzinziruk was returning from. Based on his efforts against Dawson, Dzinziruk appears to have all the tools to rule the division.