AP News, February 3rd, 2007
Chad Dawson takes on WBC light-heavyweight champion Tomasz Adamek in a matchup of undefeated fighters Saturday in the marquee bout on a card featuring three 12-round title fights.
IBF lightweight champion Jesus Chavez defends his title against Julio Diaz, and IBF junior middleweight titlist Cory Spinks faces Rodney Jones, the division's top-ranked challenger. The fighters all weighed in Friday evening.
The Dawson-Adamek and Chavez-Diaz bouts at the Silver Spurs Arena will be televised by Showtime on the "Super Saturday" card promoted by Don King.
Adamek and Chavez both face young, quick challengers, while Spinks is 10 years younger than his opponent.
The 30-year-old Adamek (31-0, 21 KOs) is making the third defense of the title he won in May 2005 with a 12-round decision over Paul Briggs.
Dawson (22-0, 15 KOs) is a 24-year-old southpaw who earned his shot at Adamek with a 12-round unanimous decision over Eric Harding.
"My dream is to become a world champion," Dawson said. "It would be great to win and then to go the Super Bowl the next day."
The 34-year-old Chavez (42-3, 29 KOs) is making his first title defense since his Sept. 17, 2005, victory over defending champion Leavander Johnson, who died a few days later from injuries he received in the fight.
Diaz (33-3, 24 KOs) is the IBF's interim 135-pound champ.
"We're 100 percent right now," the 27-year-old said. "I've got good speed and skill. I think that is all I need."
Spinks (35-3, 11 KOs), the 28-year-old son of one-time heavyweight champion Leon Spinks, earned the title last July with a majority decision over Roman Karmazin.
The 38-year-old Jones (37-3-1) has not fought since earning his title shot with a win over Raul Frank on Feb. 24, 2006.
King's "Super Saturday" venue was changed from Miami two weeks ago. The longtime promoter had hoped to feature the title bouts around the city's Super Bowl activities, but it fell through when a third-party investor bounced a $500,000 check.
