it's what i thought it would be. both guys are very respectful of each other and so are both trainers. was it just me, or did dawsons' camp seem a bit more confident/sure of themselves? ward and hunter seemed to be almost making excuses already. the fight is going to be more entertaining than the 24/7....but i did enjoy the behind the scenes for both camps. they're not going to reveal too much...but i enjoy listening to virgil hunter analyze shit. he's one of the best in boxing and doesn't get the credit he deserves. when it's all said and done...he'll be recognized as one of the best i'm sure.

havent seen it, any chance of a youtube link?

I enjoyed it as well, and yes, it played out exactly how you said it would. What is Ward and Hunter making excuses about? I was just curious about that, to be sure that I didn't miss anything.

Virgil's analogies were wild man! That Uzi and .38 analogy did it for me...made perfect sense too. Hunter kinda freaked me out during his portions...his whole tone and demeanor had "creepy" written all over it...gave me a Hannibal Lecter feel.

Kinda boring and predictable. Two nice guys dont make for good 24/7's in my opinion. Somebody's gotta be an asshole. Heck, both guys are so nice and likeable, if there was ever a fight you wanted to see end in a tie, this is it.

the part where virgil was going on about there being no such thing as a smooth camp. i had no idea ward broke his hand before the fight with froch. i get that they were telling that story and it just made me have that much more respect for ward...but it also made me wonder is there something going on in this camp? also wards part about advantages not always being advantages...it just didn't seem like the confident talk i'm used to hearing from him.

virgil is on point. had the pleasure of meeting him a few years ago and his boxing mind is brilliant. very calculating...plenty of understanding. that uzi and .38 analogy was tight.

The best trainers also always have the best analogies

i agree. but after watching the 24/7 a second time and listening to that analogy again....it's as if they conceded the thought that dawson is the superior weapon. could it be mind games? could it be strategic gamesmanship? why make a statement like that when u know ur fighter is listening? why give ur opponent the upperhand like that? maybe i'm reading too much into it? maybe they know exactly what they're doing? these are the things i ponder.

what would i give for just a couple of training sessions with either trainer lol

very possible if ur willing to go to the kings gym in oakland or to the lions den in connecticutt. well...i'm not sure about virgil but scully is a very accessible guy in the gym i'm told.

even freddie roach will train one on one clients if time permits. i've watched him work with every day common ppl.

sure just gotta get a plane over and somewhere to stay

no problem. u can use my jet this weekend. i wasn't planning on going anywhere. just refill the tank when ur done.

just found this from virgil hunter:


"To hear the Dawson camp, they have all of the advantages. So I would say that just in that sense itself, we have the advantage in him having all of the advantages. I'll take that advantage. I'll take my advantage in you having all of the advantages," said Hunter, who guided Ward to an Olympic gold medal in 2004 after Ward's father died in 2002 of a heart ailment.

"Their advantage in height and the reach is a given, although, the height is more in the length in his [Dawson's] neck and not true height. Reach has never been a significant factor in boxing in my book and in a lot of other books. You know, it's distance and range, but he can have those. Our advantage is being at a disadvantage in their eyes, and I'll take that."


now it makes sense. i like that dude.

ah perfect ill get it waxed

Aw shit, c'mon Professor, I thought it was my turn to use the jet. No fair man...no fair.

oh shit...i forgot. work it out between urselves. just make sure u clean it up when ur done. i will be going through that shit with a black light!!! i don't want to find any condom wrappers or blunts in the ash trays!

don't forget to armor all the tires!!!

How do you expect us to have any fun, if you're gonna go through it with a fine toothed comb? You gotta let us live it up Professor!

its cool i know a guy, come pick me up from leeds bradford airport

I love the match-up, but this fight might be bad... What was it 7lbs that Dawson is supposed to be dropping for this fight? I don't expect him to make weight, but man...

they say it's not going to be an issue. i think chad is one of those guys that doesn't struggle to make weight at all.

I don't think he does either. I read an interview of his an he is pretty good about keeping his weight down in between fights. I think he walks around around 185 he said

ok...the game has changed....i read this in another forum....supposedly, chad got dropped nasty during a sparring session with edison miranda a few days ago.

why they sparring miranda!? he ain't nothing like ward. makes no sense.

Man I heard about that shit last Wednesday on the radio show...wasn't sure if it was 100% true, but you are about the 3rd person I've heard this from. And yes, WTF is Miranda there for? He fights nothing like Ward. Most of all, why in hell is Chad getting dropped in sparring? Not many people go 100% in sparring, unless that shit got out of control.

u can't control jealousy/envy in the ring. i can see a cat like miranda looking at chad sideways and wanting to make a name for himself. shit gets heated quick. a good trainer will pull his guy before it gets ridiculous. from what i am told by ppl who have worked with miranda in the past...he is capable of working without getting out of hand....but i also know chad throws with heat when he spars. i guess what goes around comes around. i am now confirming my pick. ward by ud.

You and Shels always holding out the behind the scenes info lmao...with that said, I was reading an interview Scully gave and he has been very adamant that they have been having great sparring and that the sparring partners they've brought in have been very good in terms of emulating the style of Ward. It seems as if we have been misled then...

Miranda has nothing in his arsenal that can be compared to Ward. And he allegedly got droped? This is NOT good for Team Dawson, I was picking Ward to win any way but now I am thinking if his sparring his with the likes of Miranda, then this fight might not be as competitive as I hoped it would be.

I brought tickets to the fight and will be in attendance, I hope it is an exciting fight and whoever wins will have propelled themselves up the P4P ladder

*in my Denzel voice* "My man" hahahaha

NOT a good sign for Chad, smh. You're right, jealousy and envy cant be controlled in the ring, and I've seen Miranda lose his composure in a few fights but who knows.


Lol, no inside info from this time. Anytime I hear something, I usually wait to see if it breaks out somewhere else, or when I get the cue spill the beans. That's Professor with all of the secret squirrel info. I've also been hearing that Julio hasn't been taking his fight/training camp as serious as he should be, and Sergio looks like a machine a this point.

Anyhow, I'll be in the west coast the weekend after you, to catch this Chavez/Martinez bout. I may attend that special edition of FNF that Thurs at the Hard Rock, I believe. Maybe I can catch some of the fighters out there, or at least try my hand at a dance/lapdance from one of those Tecate girls, without security getting involved. Lol

As for Ward getting dropped, I dont know what to make of that. Hopefully he just got caught with something quick, and it had little to do with the possible effects of the weight loss. I dont see how he called Ward out, suggested a catchweight (which got declined), then said that the weight "was no issue". Hope we're wrong here.

Uh oh.. no Bueno

Maybe the weight is affecting his chin?

u know...scully is a good cat who i think is a good trainer. but like all trainers...they have to keep a poker face when dealing with the media. i don't doubt he's been getting good work. i just really wonder about this rumor with miranda. these things happen. vegas is definitely the spot for sparring. on the flip side...i've heard (from a friend of a friend) that ward has been putting it on his sparring partners...so much so that one of them chose to bounce his ass back to l.a. rather than endure the ass whoopin. i get the feeling that ward is going to stake his claim with this one. i believe the weight loss is definitely going to be an issue for chad(read a great interview with virgil where he makes some very valid points)...plus he needs his ass whooped for giving his kids those jacked up names. sir chancellor!? for real?

no secret squirrel info...i'm just bouncing between boards at the moment. i don't like to put info out that isn't already out there either. (unless it's misinformation on one of the homies)

weight definitely makes a difference. i can't see him taking off much muscle....so it has to be water. dehydration is very dangerous. he has to drop 7lbs....muscle weighs more than fat...and he didn't have much fat to begin with.

Get the lapdance LMAO.....

I just read an interview Scully did and Professor is right, they brought up the fact that Dawson is coming down in weight and Scully reverted back to bringing up the strength and conditioning coach and says that he makes sure to get constant updates. I don't know, I think this spells trouble for Dawson and his team. And in the same interview he even admitted that though they won the fight against Hopkins, that it was times where he had to reel Chad back into make him focus

He can't afford to do that against a fighter at the level of Ward. On the flip side, Virgil Hunter recently did an interview going in on the negative aspects a strength and conditioning coach can have on a fighter. He talked about Khan and De La Hoya and provided some good insight to the other side of the coin when dealing with a strength and conditioning coach

I think we read the same article lol and I agree with what he said. It makes you wonder about certain people in the fighters' camps and if they have the fighter's best interest in mind.

LOL I wasn't going to get on the names but those kids will probably be a better fighter then their father. Because with names like that they'll have to fight their way thru the playground lol

trust me...i know all about growing up with a name kids will tease u over. on the positive side...like u said, they'll be better fighters.

as for the strength and conditioning coaches....don't get me wrong...i like alex ariza....but that dude really oversteps his boundaries. he's not a cut man. he's not a promoter. he's there to help the guy get in shape. nothing more...nothing less. i've watched him work corners during sparring with some world class guys and they end up looking like shit because he isn't capable of seeing or understanding the adjustments that need to be made. i don't give a shit who he worked with in the past....i'm sure he learned a lot from freddie but he's light years behind him and most of the coaches in the wildcard.

everyone wants to be that person...."i told him to do this....and then he won!" it's a great feeling....and like virgil said about trainers themselves...they get more credit than they deserve. it's the fighters who have to walk thru the fire....not the coaches. viril is a deep cat and has great understanding. he's definitely one of my favorites in the game.

I think Virgil is underrated as a trainer but he probably likes it that way. Just listening to him, you can tell he is one of the few trainers out there today who are knowledgeable about the necessities of boxing and being a trainer in the sport of boxing.

I agree that Ariza wants the spotlight. I like him and his personality, he'll definitely call BS on Arum or anyone else for that matter but Virgil brought up an interesting point about the issues that fighters who train with Ariza have. Like the cramps and what not.

absolutely. these guys are great at putting weight on fighters...but they fail at taking it off. he brings plenty of valid points. that dude needs to write a book because he's really good about putting his knowledge into words. more so than most coaches.

True, he has a wealth of knowledge that could help a new generation of trainers. Because I see few people that are true trainers and teachers of the sport these days. It's so messed up in boxing that you can turn a baseball cap backwards and throw a towel over your shoulder and that person starts to act like a trainer and talk like a trainer but doesn't even know the little nuances or how to make adjustments. Just sad