Photo by Will Hart/HBO
Tommy Karpency (23-4-1, 14 KOs) took a ten-round Light Heavyweight fight against former champion Chad Dawson (32-3, 18 KOs) on short notice.
It was, to be sure, the kind of short notice that was supposed to guarantee a win for Chad Dawson, as is the modus operandi for fights made by Al Haymon.
Nevertheless, Karpency scored a surprise split-decision win over Dawson at the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
The fight was the first fight of a triple-header presented by Showtime Boxing and Warriors Boxing Promotions.
“I knew I did enough to win, but thankfully the judges did the right thing,” said Karpency, who credits his calm pace and power punches as a major factor in his win tonight.
Karpency did land many left and right hands, one of which hurt Dawson in round three.
Dawson would then fight the rest of his fight with one hand as he injured his left shoulder in that very same round.
For the rest of the fight, both Karpency and Dawson boxed at the center of the ring, rarely getting too close to land punches on the inside.
Dawson had the lead with jabs thrown, but they were matched with Karpency’s left and right hands.
Nearly every round was close, but the power punches thrown by Karpency gave him the edge on the judges score cards.
Two judges scored the fight 96-94 for Karpency while one judge scored the fight the same for Dawson.
A visibly upset Dawson believed he had won the fight.
“I landed more jabs than he landed punches,” said Dawson, who faces a huge roadblock in his road back to the top of Light Heavyweight division.
Karpency, on the other hand, believes he is on his way there.
“I believe that I belong in the top ten light heacvyweights in the world,” said Karpency.
“He’s the last man to beat Bernard Hopkins. Chad had a couple of tought losses, but that doesn’t mean his skill is gone. I just took advantage of the situation,” concluded Karpency.
