By Jake
Donovan
FightBeat.com President
Photo by Carlos Guzman
The crowd for “Bad”
Chad
Dawson’s
New Haven homecoming may not have been ideal, but
the result was.
Dawson
scored four knockdowns en route to an 11th-round
stoppage of Ian Gardner. It was the SHOBOX
main event, aired from the Greater Athletic Center
in
New Haven,
CT.
The first few rounds were typical of a Gardner
fight, even if the southpaw wasn’t in complete
control.
Dawson
carried the action, but Gardner’s awkward style
caused him to miss nearly everything. Action was so
dismal, that many in press row were more interested
in the war of words between the two camps at
ringside.
By round five,
Dawson
took over for good.
Gardner offered an occasional straight left, but
seemed more concerned with a shot that caught him
above the bridge of his nose. By round’s end,
Gardner
was slow to walk back to his corner, grabbing his
head, as if something was amiss. 
Rounds six and seven were more of the same. Gardner
refused to let his hands go, leaving it to
Dawson
to carry the action. Chad danced as hard as he could
for the hometown faithful. Those who turned out
seemed appreciative of his efforts, though more
frustrated with
Gardner’s
non-effort. Gardner’s camp grew increasingly
frustrated as well. At one point, promoter Rich
Capiello leaned over to press row, “I don’t know
what he’s doing out there. I’ve never seen him fight
like this before.”
It wasn’t the only rare sight. Capiello was soon to
see his fighter on the canvas.
Dawson
picked up the pace in the eighth, producing the
first of four knockdowns. Body shots forced Gardner
to fall along the ropes, touching his glove to the
canvas to break his fall.
Referee
Michael Ortega ruled it a knockdown, though
Gardner
didn’t seem to mind. A follow-up by Dawson had
Gardner staggering about the ring, though few
punches appeared to land clean. As in the prior
three rounds, Gardner’s slumping walk back to his
corner seemed an eternity.
Dawson
drove Gardner into his own corner early in the
ninth, once again forcing him to the canvas. This
time, Gardner’s fall was due strictly to momentum
and not a punch. Ortega correctly ruled it a push,
not a knockdown. Gardner was so elated, that he
pulled himself up from the bottom rope and
busted-out into a half-backspin, half-windmill. It
was his best combination all night.
Gardner
looked to have more fun in the tenth round, since
nothing else was working for him. Dawson’s jab and
body shots were working just fine; a right uppercut
to the midsection nearly doubled-over Gardner. The
crowd jumped up in anticipation of a stoppage.
Gardner
prolonged matters by surviving the round. The fans
soon get their wish.
The beginning of the end started at the beginning of
the eleventh. A classic one-two deposited
Gardner
onto the canvas. He took an eight count. This time,
Dawson
kept his foot on the gas. An overwhelming number of
body shots along the ropes once again had Gardner
down, and just about out. He, once again, beat the
count, but a laser-like straight left from Dawson
seconds later sent him crashing to the deck. This
time, Ortega wisely halted it at 1:20 into the
eleventh round.
Dawson
improves to 19-0 (14KO). As he predicted to
FightBeat.com earlier this week, Dawson’s the first
to stop Gardner, who’d only been on the canvas once
before. Chad picked up a regional super middleweight
trinket, though he’s not interested in keeping the
hardware, or his weight down.
“I definitely see myself as a light heavyweight in
the near future,” Dawson told FightBeat.com after
the bout. “Gary (Shaw) keeps joking that I’m already
on my way to becoming HEAVYWEIGHT champion at the
rate I keep growing. I felt good at this weight, but
I’ll be moving up to 175 real soon.”
Though unavailable for post-fight reaction, Gardner
(19-3, 7KO) and his team were overheard discussing
his future. They seemed in agreement: moving back
down to middleweight is definitely in his best
interest.
Jimenez Flunks,
Logan
foils and
Santos
flops
Benjamin Flores and Daniel Jimenez were to
throw-down in the chief-support, only to be scrapped
at the eleventh hour when Jimenez failed his MRI. In
its place was a junior welterweight scrap between
unbeaten Americo Santos and ubiquitous
Marteze Logan. The bout was intended as a
showcase for Santos; it ended up in a major upset,
as Logan dominated en route to a wide unanimous
decision win.
Fighting for the 15th time in 2005, the ubiquitous
Logan made his presence felt from the opening round.
Santos
came out the same way he starts all of his fights –
expecting his opponent to fall with every punch
thrown. Logan exploited Santos’ faulty game plan and
leaky defense throughout the bout.
Both fighters made the first four rounds difficult
to score. Santos looked to carry the action, but
found
Logan
an elusive target.
Logan
placed a right hand just below Santos’ chin,
knocking the Texan to the canvas for the bout’s lone
knockdown. Santos bounced up immediately, protesting
the call. The referee would have none of it, giving
him an eight count.
Santos
cleared his head, and looked to take matters into
his own hands, coming back strong in the sixth.
His best efforts were nearly for naught. A nasty
gash developed above his right eye, warranting an
extended examination by the ringside physician. Once
the officials offered the green light, the
combatants offered everything but the kitchen sink
in an action-packed seventh. Santos remained on the
attack, while Logan insisted on wagging his tongue
and pot-shotting. The Tennessean nailed Santos
enough to re-open the cut, and outworked him enough
to put the fight permanently out of reach.
Santos
tried his hardest to rally in the final frame, but
to no avail. Even with Logan dancing and
showboating, Santos was unable to get his punches
off. He was equally ineffective defending himself
against Logan’s long arm punches from odd angles.
In the end, the judges got it right. Scores of
78-73, 77-74 and 79-74 went to Logan, who improves
to 22-19-2 (5KO) with the huge upset win. Santos
loses for the first time as a pro, dropping to 23-1
(19KO).
OFF TV:
Juan Buendia
(12-0, 7KO) provided the quickest result of the
night, stopping journeyman Jonathan Nelson
(10-12, 6KO) in the first inning of their scheduled
six-round junior middleweight tilt. A left
hook-right uppercut combination deposited Nelson on
the canvas for the first of two times in the round.
Nelson beat the count, but ran into a whirlwind.
Buendia overwhelmed Nelson until he collapsed to the
canvas.
The referee immediately waved off the action, 1:28
into the opening round.
Hartford featherweight Mike Oliver (10-0,
5KO) got a lot more than he bargained for in taking
a six round unanimous decision over Mexican-based
journeyman Paulino Vilalobos (24-33-2, 15KO).
No knockdowns, though Vilalobos was docked a point
in the fifth for hitting on the break, in addition
to receiving a warning for an assortment of fouls.
Scores were 59-54, 58-55 and 57-56 for Oliver,
though the hometown crowd surprisingly booed the
decision, chanting “Me-Xi-Co” in appreciation of
Vilalobos’ efforts.
Unbeaten Mexican lightweight Antonio De Marco
sent Joseph Davis home early, scoring a third
round stoppage. De Marco (6-0, 5KO) turned up the
heat after getting rocked in the third. Davis
connected with a left hook that sent De Marco
staggering into the ropes. De Marco responded with a
right hook that snapped
Davis’
head back. It was all-downhill for the
Atlanta
lightweight from that point, as De Marco unloaded.
Davis (1-2) didn’t offer anything back, prompting
the referee to intervene, 2:54 into the third
round.
In the first bout of the evening featuring pros,
Boston-based heavyweight Tyrone Smith (5-1-1,
2KO) pitched a shutout over rotund Harold
Rodriguez (6-12, 3KO) of Taunton, MA. All three
judges scored it 40-36.
The show opened with a pair of pre-teen amateur
fights, with the four peewee punchers representing
New Haven’s
Ring One Boxing and Hamden (CT) Boxing Club. The
bouts were near and dear to Dawson’s heart. He began
his amateur career with Ring One. 
Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, presented the evening’s
events in association with Foxwoods Resort and
Casino and Metro Graphics & Printing.
****
