By Tom Donelson

Photo © Javiel Centeno/Fightwireimages.com

Last weekend, a new American boxing hero may have been born.  No one should ever use one fight as a measuring stick of greatness, but Dawson's victory over Tomasz Adamek showed a young fighter with the potential of being something special.  For twenty-nine minutes, Dawson put on a boxing clinic. 

Dawson's hand speed and foot movement troubled the tough Polish fighter.  Adamek never could get a rhythm as Dawson continually beat him to the punch.  In the seventh round, a body shot by Dawson caught an off balance Adamek by surprise and sent him to the canvas for an eight count.  By the time the ninth round rolled around, Dawson was so far ahead on points that all he had to do was to stay standing. 

As the ninth progressed, it looked like a mere repetition of the previous eight.  That is until an Adamek right hand sent Dawson reeling and on his back.  For the next minute, Adamek went for the kill and Dawson hung on to reach his stool at the end of the round.

In the eleventh round, Dawson nailed combinations with Adamek and took control once again.  Tired, Dawson boxed his way to victory in the final stanza and a new star landed in the light heavyweight division. Dawson beat one of the best light heavyweights in Adamek, an unbeaten champion that most experts picked to win.  While the last three rounds were rugged with both men throwing homerun punches, the first eight rounds were merely target practice for Dawson.  Dawson showed toughness and skill as he claimed the WBC version of the light heavyweight crown.  Now he is poised to take control of the whole division. 

The king of the Light Heavyweight is Bernard Hopkins and the linear light heavyweight title belongs to Hungarian fighter Zsolt Erdei. Dawson’s skill certainly puts him in as one of the division's elite fighters. At the age of 24, he has the potential for a long reign at light heavyweight and he may even grow into a leading cruiserweight.  In the light heavyweight division, there are plenty of big fights to made with plenty of name fighters walking around, including Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson and the IBF title holder, Clinton Woods.  Dawson will have plenty of opportunities to establish his own legacy for the talent is there.

Meanwhile, in the heavyweight division, another fighter who passed the test to the next level by beating James Toney in January, is being left back with a passing grade. The WBC has clearly shown the absurdity of the sanctioning bodies, which in turn demonstrates the biggest reason for boxing's decline.  

The WBC forced Samuel Peter to fight James Toney in a mandated elimination bout, not one but twice. The winner would receive a shot at their champion, Oleg Maskaev.  When Vitali Klitschko decided to come out of retirement two weeks, he went straight for Maskaev. Maskaev jumped at the idea of facing Klitschko because of the much higher financial upswing. 

Besides, Maskaev knows that he would be a decent underdog against either fighter, so go for the big bucks.  The WBC have no problem with Maskaev fighting Klitschko, since they can collects a bigger sanctioning fee.  Should we not forget, WBC had already collected sanctioning fees for each of the Toney-Peter fights, so Peter had already paid his due, over $100,000 in dues. 

Showtime's Al Bernstein complained, “Even by boxing organizations’ standards, this is a new low.”  The WBC, like the other sanctioning bodies, has simply refuse to enforce the rules that they have set up and Bernstein observed that is what “happens when rules mean nothing.”  Instead of fighting for a championship, Peter is stuck in limbo with no titles bout in sight. The WBC's refusal to force Maskaev to defend against Peter is acting in defiance of their own rules. 

There is very little that Peter can do, except sue.  The WBC is hoping that Peter will accept compensation by stepping aside to allow Maskaev-Klitschko to happen (some people would call it a bribe) but for the moment, Peter wants a championship bout - not money. 

The sanctioning bodies are the cancer of boxing, for they set rules and then refuse to enforce them when it's not convenient. They charge fees to fighters who take part in their championship fights, but these fees are nothing more than extortion.  As long as there is not a single honest person running a sanctioning organization with the best interest of the sport, boxing will continue its decline.  There is nothing wrong with the talent that is inside the ring, but there is plenty wrong outside the ring.