Dawson-Ward and Klitschko-Charr are the marquee fights of a loaded weekend of boxing
This coming weekend sees one of the most stacked Saturdays of the year, with 10 global cards hosting four world championship fights.
While two events in Mexico have plenty of lower-weight class potential and a wide variety of match-ups can be found in Ontario, all eyes will be on Moscow and Oakland in California as Vitali Klitschko embarks on what may be his final fight and two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world go at it.
Ward-Dawson is one of three California cards on September 8 and with Antonio DeMarco defending his WBC lightweight title against John Molina, the Pacific time zone is set to close the evening out with a bang for those viewers with the energy to go the distance.
But the party starts locally — Alexandra Palace in London, to be precise — as Tony Bellew looks for an upset over Edison Miranda which would surely solidify his ambitions of remaining on the world title stage after a thrilling encounter with Nathan Cleverly last year.
Bellew certainly puts up as much of a verbal fight as he does in the ring, with the Colombian's vows of violence having slowly gotten to the Liverpudlian in recent times.
Miranda has even hinted at a future fight with Carl Froch: that was the last straw for Bellew, whose rage bubbled over at the idea of being viewed as a mere stepping stone in North London on the eighth.
But while the Brit has proven his quality to an extent — particularly when negatively motivated — The Pugilist suspects he will go down swinging on Saturday.
(And be prepared for a potential treat of an undercard, in particular Purdy-Carrasco and Ochieng-Toms…)
PUGILIST PREDICTION: Miranda d. Bellew in rounds 10-12
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London was also where many fans finally got to know Manuel Charr, the undefeated German heavyweight named as the next challenger for Vitali Klitschko's WBC strap to a unanimous chorus of head-scratches.
Charr strolled into the post-fight press conference after David Haye had defeated Dereck Chisora at Upton Park, grinning ear-to-ear whilst uncomfortably proclaiming that he would love to defend Vitali's belt against the Hayemaker after he sent 'Dr. Ironfist' into retirement in Russia.
Pretentious? Yes. Hideously lacking in verbal skills and presence? Definitely. An ironic parody of the infamous Haye-Chisora presser invasion which had led to the 'Licensed to Thrill' main event in the first place? Probably.
But could it actually happen? As a matter of fact, yes.
Undefeated or not, when a fighter's 27-bout run is highlighted by 'names' such as Danny Williams and some Brazilian bloke who bombed out of the last Prizefighter one-night tournament, few will take them seriously against one of two brothers who have spent years eating little-known boxers for breakfast in mostly-tedious affairs.
But the wildcard in this one is Vitali's participation in Ukraine elections in October. Though he has remained tight-lipped for the time being on whether he will retire before 2012 ends, he has already hinted that if he were to make progress in politics, it would require his full attention.
The 41-year-old is now at a prime age to head towards the beckoning sunset and, let's face it, if he really wanted to fight Haye or offer Chisora another shot, it would have been announced by now.
While a victory followed by abdication and the proverbial hanging up of the gloves seems a good bet, TP can't help but suspect a 12-round distance duel which ends with the unfancied former Muay Thai champion's hand being raised — justly or not.
PUGILIST PREDICTION: Charr d. Klitschko by decision
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And around the same time that British-Nigerian Ajose Olusegun and Lucas Matthysse go to war in Las Vegas's Hard Rock Hotel for the interim WBC light welterweight crown, Ward and Dawson fight for the former's WBC and WBA super-middleweight titles — as well as a genuine claim to being the world's greatest - down the Interstate 15.
The fight, which our American Yahoo! cousin Kevin Iole quite rightly feels has received a shocking lack of publicity, sees light-heavyweight Dawson move down to super-middle after years at 175 in an effort to build momentum following his defeat of Bernard Hopkins at the second attempt in April.
Ward, who last fought in the cracking climax to the successful Super Six tournament against Froch, looks to get back into his groove at the very deepest end after recovering from a broken hand.
And the Froch victory — as well as the weight drop for 'Bad' Chad — is a strong indicator of why the 'S.O.G' (Son of God) has a strong chance of remaining undefeated against the dangerous Dawson at the Oracle Arena.
As 'The Cobra' proved against Lucian Bute in May, he is a vicious, rugged and determined boxer who can devastate some of the very best around. And yet, Ward executed a total masterclass in December to neutralise and frustrate his English foe and move on to 25-0.
Dawson has promised to leave Ward laid out should he box on the inside on Saturday. But The Pugilist wouldn't dare to presume that the 28-year-old will ever find himself in a situation where he has no answer for an opponent.
PUGILIST PREDICTION: Ward d. Dawson by decision
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Log onto uk.yahoo.eurosport.com Saturday night and Sunday morning for full results and reaction to all the marquee fights of the weekend, and check back in with The Pugilist next week for all the fallout.