Hopkins vs. Dawson: WBC Sets Mandatory Rematch After Controversial First Fight

Months after Chad Dawson's controversial TKO win that was later changed to a no-contest against Bernard Hopkins after Dawson pushed Hopkins to the ground, separating his shoulder, the WBC has mandated a rematch between the two light heavyweights, according to ESPN's Dan Rafael.

This is the right decision in my mind, as the boxing fans got absolutely nothing out of the first fight and deserve to see the two fighters got toe-to-toe in a fair fight.

Hopkins took to his Twitter with a short, but to-the-point tweet on the ordered rematch and said:

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"Only n boxing"

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Both Hopkins (52-5-2-2, 34 KOs) and Dawson (31-1-1-1, 18 KOs) have exchanged verbal blows before and after the controversial first fight, and one should expect the trash talk to continue throughout 2012 until the two fighters meet again.

Even though the fight is a mandatory matchup, it doesn't necessarily mean it's sure thing. But with the bad blood between these two boxers and the attention the controversial stoppage from the first encounter, we should expect the fight to happen in 2012.

It will be interesting to see how Hopkins comes back from his injury, as we all know he is at the ripe old age of 46, and the body doesn't exactly heal and recover as it does in their 20s or 30s.

If we go off the past, the "ageless wonder" known as Hopkins will be back in tip-top shape and give Dawson a run for his money—something the boxing world missed out on the first time around.