Hopkins vs. Dawson Weigh-In: Pre-Fight Drama Sets Stage for Showdown

Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson hit the scales on Friday in preparation for Saturday's matchup in Atlantic City, and it was as drama-filled as ever. 

Hopkins, for one, had refused to face off against Dawson at any previous media event and instead saved all of his fury—stored up since October—for Saturday.

There are still plenty of hard feelings lingering between the two heavyweights, stemming from a controversial meeting seven months ago in which Dawson flipped Hopkins to the canvas and Hopkins dislocated his shoulder. The fight was stopped in the second round.

Dawson is still smarting from the way things ended in October, and the only way to rectify those bad feelings is, in his eyes, to win.

He told the Press of Atlantic City's David Weinberg: 

"

If I beat him, people are going to say, "Big deal" because he's an old man. But I'm not worried about how people are going to react. I'm not in this for the praise. I want to win the light-heavyweight championship again.  

"

Dawson (30-1, 17 KOs), who weighed in at 174.5 pounds, doesn't even believe Hopkins was truly hurt when their fight was stopped in October. His promoter told Weinberg that there was no proof to Hopkins' injury, and that most likely, the older boxer was simply looking for a convenient way out of the matchup.

Hopkins (52-5-2, 32 KOs) has yet to be knocked out, and at 47, he's the oldest boxer to ever win a world title. He weighed in at 173.5 pounds on Friday, and though he is heralded as the underdog in the matchup, he still believes he's underrated and is using that perceived disrespect to fuel himself heading into Saturday's fight.

He told Boxing Futures: 

"

I believe that I'm the most underrated fighter that ever laced a pair of gloves on, that reached a level that I've reached in my 24 years. I'll just continue to kick the naysayers in and out of the ring, because that's the task that I've always been up against. 

"

Dawson, alternately, believes that he's the favorite for a reason. If he has anything to say about it, he'll make sure that by the end of Saturday night, he'll get the outcome he deserved in October.