Bernard Hopkins (52-5, 32 KO’s) Vs. Chad Dawson (30-1, 17 KO’s)

This is a very tricky fight prediction for me. Chad Dawson has the faster hands and faster feet. Being the younger and fresher fighter, I also expect him to be busier in every round.

"B-Hop" counters with superior experience in big fights, a tighter defense and an overall better boxing I.Q.

This has all the makings of a highly-competitive, but highly-tactical (code word for boring, unless you’re a boxing purist like yours truly) championship fight.

When I computed the likely outcome of this fight with my handy fight prediction tool, all signs point towards a decision victory for the venerable Hopkins. But when I adjusted the weights for hand speed and foot speed to reflect the significant gap in these areas between both fighters, Dawson came out on top, albeit narrowly.

Ultimately, Dawson will be faster, fresher and just too active for Hopkins to keep up with over the 12 rounds. This will be reminiscent of Hopkins’ narrow losses to Jermain Taylor, except that Dawson is a far superior boxer to Taylor.

Chad Dawson will defeat Bernard Hopkins via a clear-cut unanimous decision victory on Saturday, October 15, 2011 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

And it doesn’t hurt that Chad has the better last name (wink).