Headliner Clash for Dawson Neale Harvey Kalgoorlie Miner Thu, 31 July 2014 8:07AM

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Goldﬁelds News Sport WA News Headliner clash for Dawson Neale Harvey Kalgoorlie Miner Thu, 31 July 2014 8:07AM

Goldfields-born boxer Daniel Dawson's career-defining bout with US star Austin Trout next month in California will headline the season finale to ESPN2s Friday Night Fights.

Dawson, 36, this week conﬁrmed August 22 for the clash at Temecula's Pechango Resort and Casino in what is likely to be a junior middleweight world title eliminator.

Trout is desperate to bounce back strongly after a difficult 2013, when he lost his 154- pound title and suffered the first two defeats of his career.

Dawson returns to the ring for the ﬁrst time in 11 months.

But he is unfazed by the long lay-oﬀ or the reputation of his opponent, whose scalps include future Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto.

"I'm fighting on the (ESPN) season finale, so how good is that?" he said. "I couldn't be happier to get this opportunity because it's an opportunity not many Australian fighters have in their career.

"There's nothing to lose for me."

Dawson leaves Perth for the US on August 11.

He will then enlist top-notch sparring from the Los Angeles gym of Australian expatriate Justin Fortune.

Dawson said his main focus had been on countering Trout's southpaw stance with various sparring partners, all with unique skill sets.

"Trout's style is somewhat defensive, but he does walk forward and punch as well," he said.

"From the start, we knew what we needed to work on.

"But instead of simply bringing in one great boxer and sparring him, Bobby (Dawson's trainer Bobby Mayne) likes to work on a strength at a time with a sparring partner with that particular style."

Dawson has fought in the US only once before - in 2010 against Serhiy Dzinziruk for the WBO title, but he was stopped for the ﬁrst time in his career.

In 12 years as a professional, Dawson has logged 40 wins and a draw, with 26 knockouts, against just three defeats.

Last September in Perth, Dawson claimed the vacant WBF strap.

Since then, he has been committed to claiming one of the more prestigious belts on oﬀer - including the WBA title formerly held by Trout.

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