Ward and Dawson to State Their Respective Cases on Saturday

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – There is a mythical pound-for-pound crown that hangs precariously on the head of 35-year-old Floyd Mayweather Jr. Considering “Money May’s” age and his ever present out-of-the-ring distractions, the next wave must all be chomping at the bit to pick up where Mayweather will eventually leave off. Two fighters that have openly looked up to Floyd as their careers have progressed will have their chance at stepping into the heir to the throne role, as Andre Ward defends his 168-pound titles against current 175-pound titleholder Chad Dawson tomorrow night at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. Fighters for the HBO-televised event weighed-in outdoors Friday afternoon at the Oakland City Center.

Dawson (31-1, 17 KOs) of New Haven, Connecticut entered a hostile environment, much like the one that awaits him Saturday, on a much larger scale of course, as he took to the scale. Dawson enters Saturday’s contest off one of his biggest wins in name, as he reclaimed the WBC Light Heavyweight title he dropped in 2010 to Jean Pascal with a less than thrilling twelve-round majority decision over Bernard Hopkins in April. Though Dawson is coming down in weight, “Bad Chad” had campaigned as low as 160-pounds early in his career and was a super middleweight until early 2006. Dawson weighed in at the super middleweight limit of 168-pounds, his lowest number since November of 2005.

Ward (25-0, 13 KOs) of Oakland enters Saturday’s twelve-round contest on one of the better two-year runs in the recent history of the sport. Ward shocked nearly everyone outside of the Bay Area with his WBA title win over Mikkel Kessler in November of 2009 and has since disposed of two reigning or former champions, one multiple-time title challenger and one perennial contender in Allan Green. Ward’s last win over Carl Froch in November unified the WBC and WBA 168-pound titles he defends against Dawson on Saturday. Ward looked comfortable at the scale, weighing in at 168-pounds for his fifth title defense at the weight.

When two champions with records like the ones that stand next to the names Ward and Dawson meet up, the talk surrounding the fight almost always involves the often debated pound-for-pound title. A few years back Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, one of the many trainers to walk in and out of Dawson’s revolving doors, guaranteed to the media at a San Francisco press conference that his newest charge would be atop the pound-for-pound heap within two or three years time. Muhammad, who had taken over for Floyd Mayweather Sr. on Dawson’s team, has since been replaced, but with a win on Saturday, his prophecy would be closer than ever to coming to fruition.

With the recent struggles of Manny Pacquiao and even Sergio Martinez to a degree, it would be hard to envision a way to keep Ward out of that number two position behind Mayweather with a win over Dawson on Saturday. Yes, Dawson has given up the few pound advantage he would have had at light heavyweight, and yes the fight is in Ward’s hometown. But those are the perks that come with being a bona fide ticket seller, which Ward has proven to be and Dawson never has.

In the televised co-feature, Antonio DeMarco (27-2, 20 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico aims to defend his WBC Lightweight title for the second time this year against John Molina Jr. (24-1, 19 KOs) of Covina, California in a twelve-round bout.

Aided by the intelligent handling by their respective promotional teams, both DeMarco (promoted by Gary Shaw Productions) and Molina (handled by Goossen Tutor Promotions) have impressively rebuilt their careers following major setbacks in the last three years. Back in February 2010, DeMarco was utterly dismantled by the late Edwin Valero in his first attempt at a major title. DeMarco is 4-0 since against a strong crop that included his come-from-behind, title-winning effort over Jorge Linares last October. DeMarco weighed-in at 134 ½-pounds Friday.

After his upset loss to Martin Honorio back in November of 2009, Molina reeled off two quick wins before stepping in to upset previously unbeaten Henry Lundy in July of the following year. Mostly biding time for the right opportunity since, Molina has finally signed on for his first crack at a world title. The WBC #15 ranked lightweight Molina, who figures to have a strong supporting crowd making the trip up from Southern California, weighed in at 134 ½-pounds.

In undercard action, long undefeated heavyweight Malik Scott (34-0, 11 KOs) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania steps up to one of the tougher challenges in his slow-progressing career against big Bowie Tupou (22-1, 16 KOs) of Los Angeles, California by way of Nukualofa, Tonga in a bout scheduled for either eight or ten rounds.

Scott, who scaled 226-pounds, was one of the sought after prospects after the 2000 Olympic Games, but has gone nowhere in a hurry. Saturday’s fight with Tupou marks Scott’s third fight this year after a three-plus year hiatus. Tupou, who came in at 260-pounds, has not exactly been on the face track either, but has reeled off two solid wins against Manuel Quezada and Donnell Holmes in the last fourteen months.

In other heavyweight action, surprising contender Franklin Lawrence (17-2-2, 12 KOs) of Indianapolis, Indiana will keep busy in an eight-rounder against Homero Fonseca (9-5-3, 2 KOs) of Pearsall, Texas. Lawrence, who scaled 233 ½-pounds, raised some eyebrows with back-to-back stoppage wins over Lance Whitaker and Jason Estrada to claim minor titles. Fonseca, who came in at a soft 253-pounds, is 1-3-1 in his last five, but only one of those bouts were scored unanimously against him.

The rollercoaster career of 2000 U.S. Olympian Ricardo Williams Jr. continues against once-beaten Anthony Lenk (14-1, 7 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada in a welterweight bout scheduled for either six or eight-rounds. Williams (19-3, 10 KOs) of Cincinnati, Ohio strung together nine consecutive wins after regaining his freedom from imprisonment before running into eventual title challenger Carson Jones last December. Looking to rebound from that fourth-round stoppage defeat, Williams takes on the unproven Lenk. The only really recognizable name on the ledger of Lenk accounts for his only defeat, a hard-fought six-round decision loss to Jessie Vargas when each fighter had less than six pro fights. Both Williams and Lenk scaled 143 ½-pounds Friday.

Longtime Andre Ward sparring partner Tony Hirsch (12-5-2, 6 KOs) of Oakland gets a rare chance to fight at home against a tougher-than-his-record foe in Roberto Yong (5-5-1, 4 KOs) of Sacramento, California in a middleweight bout scheduled for either four or six-rounds. Last seen taking a tough fight on less than 24 hours notice all the way up at 180-pounds, Hirsch scaled a fit-and-trim 157-pounds on Friday. Yong, who weighed in at 158 ½-pounds, has never been stopped and was unlucky to only get a draw against previously unbeaten DonYil Livingston back in August of last year.

Carrying the pressure of his famous last name, Randy Guerrero of Gilroy, California embarks on his pro career against fellow first-timer Juan Urbina of Santa Ana, California in a four-round super bantamweight fight. Guerrero, the brother of world champion Robert “The Ghost” and a standout amateur in his own right, weighed in at 124-pounds. The equally confident-looking Urbina scaled only 119-pounds, which seemed to raise an eyebrow with members of the California State Athletic Commission, but the fight is officially set.

Tickets for the event, promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions, Gary Shaw Productions, Antonio Leonard TNT Promotions and SOG Promotions, are available online at Ticketmaster.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

WBC Super Middleweight Championship
WBA Super Middleweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Ward 168
Dawson 168

WBC Lightweight Championship, 12 Rounds
DeMarco 134 ½
Molina Jr. 134 ½

Heavyweights, 8 or 10 Rounds
Scott 226
Tupou 260

Heavyweights, 8 Rounds
Lawrence 233 ½
Fonseca 253

Welterweights, 6 or 8 Rounds
Williams Jr. 143 ½
Lenk 143 ½

Middleweights, 4 or 6 Rounds
Hirsch 157
Yong 158 ½

Super Bantamweights, 4 Rounds
Guerrero 124
Urbina 119

Mario Ortega Jr. can be contacted at ortega15rds@lycos.com.