Dawson in line for US return
Daniel Dawson might have fallen short in his fight with Austin Trout but the West Australian boxer has had a win after all.
The Perth fighter was on the verge of pulling off a massive upset when he floored the former world light-middleweight champion twice in the third round of their non-title bout in California last month.
However Dawson, hampered by a mid-fight calf injury, was unable to finish off the American, who recovered to take a 10-round points decision.
Despite the loss Dawson won many admirers through his gutsy display, including a connection of one of boxing's biggest fight promoters, who Dawson says wants to get him back to the US before the end of the year.
"We're looking at December for the next fight over in America again. One of the matchmakers for Al Haymon, he absolutely loved us and wants us back over there," Dawson said.
"He said the way you fought with the injury, the kind of heart that you showed - and the power - that's what we like to see."
Dawson suffered a tear of the medial calf in his right leg against Trout. "It's four to six weeks (from the August 22 bout) before I'm back running and skipping, so that's a few more weeks yet," he said.
"It seems to be healing up pretty well. I haven't been able to do anything to test it, that's another two weeks away, but it feels like it's healing up well. I can still get in and do the stationary bike, I can go on the rower and do my upper body weights, so I'm trying to stay fit.
"Once I'm fully recovered we'll let them know when we're ready and they will book the date in. I think we're three to four weeks away from knowing where it will be."
Dawson says he looks back on the fight with both pride and regret.
"Coming down from the ring, you would have thought I'd won the fight," he said. "The whole crowd absolutely swamped me, everyone giving me high-fives, touching me on the head and on the gloves. The fact I didn't give up, a lot of people could see I suffered the injury but wanted to carry on.
"It was such a high feeling of doing so well but such a low to know that I injured myself at such a moment in that fourth round that I couldn't capitalise on it.
"But at the end of the fight I realised that myself and Bobby (trainer Bobby Mayne) have gone over there and shown we belong at that level. That I'm a top 10 level fighter. So we know we can make a good future there in the next few years."
