According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, World Light Heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins will take on Chad Dawson in a rematch of their aborted October 15th bout. The rematch will take place on April 28th in a more appropriate venue at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
The first bout ended in a controversial no contest which was originally ruled a stoppage victory for Dawson when he threw Hopkins down to the ground in the second round of their fight and Hopkins could not continue with a damaged shoulder.
“I have a chance to settle the bull—- from the first fight and straighten that all out,” Hopkins said. “A real athlete don’t want to win something on a disqualification or a no-decision or get something handed to them without doing the work. I’m ready to go.
“Dawson has a chance to prove to the world what he thinks he can do to me and I have a chance to prove that he’s not going to do what he thinks he’s going to do.”
“Richard (Schaefer) and I have made a deal and we have presented the fight to HBO,” said Dawson’s promoter Gary Shaw. “We’re working on the numbers but I congratulate Hopkins on his willingness to take a fight that a lot of people said he would not take again. As for Chad, he can’t wait for the rematch. He believed he was going to beat him in the first fight and he believes he will stop him in this fight.”
“We haven’t agreed on the number yet, but HBO is would like to do this fight and they told us they are OK with April 28,” Schaefer said
“The shoulder is good,” Hopkins said. “I wouldn’t be going in this early to start getting ready if it wasn’t.”
“I think it’s a perfect place for the rematch,” Schaefer said.
“Since 2001, when I was 35 and I beat (Felix) ‘Tito’ Trinidad (to become undisputed middleweight champion in 2001), I’ve been hearing I was too old,” Hopkins said. “Now it’s 12 years later and I’m older, heavier and feel little things I didn’t feel 10 years ago, natural things that are supposed to happen to you. But I’m ahead of the game against any 47-year-old who took a punch or never took a punch. I’m in great shape and ready to do this again.
“It’s time to correct the first fight and let people get what they paid for, this time not on pay-per-view. They paid for a fight. They didn’t come to see a round-and-a-half and then have that ending. It happened. You move on and you go ahead and give the people what they want and I’m pretty sure Dawson thinks the same thing and that he will be overconfident and think I will be easy to beat.”
“Since 2001, when I was 35 and I beat (Felix) ‘Tito’ Trinidad (to become undisputed middleweight champion in 2001), I’ve been hearing I was too old,” Hopkins said. “Now it’s 12 years later and I’m older, heavier and feel little things I didn’t feel 10 years ago, natural things that are supposed to happen to you. But I’m ahead of the game against any 47-year-old who took a punch or never took a punch. I’m in great shape and ready to do this again.
“It’s time to correct the first fight and let people get what they paid for, this time not on pay-per-view. They paid for a fight. They didn’t come to see a round-and-a-half and then have that ending. It happened. You move on and you go ahead and give the people what they want and I’m pretty sure Dawson thinks the same thing and that he will be overconfident and think I will be easy to beat.”
