By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart
British Guyana: originally a Dutch colony, after a fight with the French it was ceded to Britain in the early part of the 19th century. Yet another colony, an exploited part of the world which is now the third smallest country in South America, it was now part of Britain’s Empire. However, relationships with the “home” country were complex. In 1966, having officially been part of that Empire since 1814, Guyana became independent, though many of its dependents have come over to the UK to seek a lot less than fame and fortune; often retaining a relationship with their heritage and a new relationship with their new home.
It has, however, an impressive history with boxing. The best – Joe Walcott. Not THAT Joe Walcott but a welterweight who became professional in 1890 and was rated by the founder of the Ring Magazine, Nat Fleischer, as the best ever at that weight. Closer to today, there have been Wayne Braithwaite, Howard Eastman, Dennis Andries and one, Adrian Dodson (Carew) 25-6, 17 KOs.
Dodson epitomizes that dual relationship as a proud Guyanese, and British citizen: he fought twice in the Olympics – once for Guyana in 1988, in Seoul, and then for the UK in Barcelona in 1992.
Dodson’s boxing journey began at age 13 at the Lynn Amateur Boxing Club. Straight away you could see he had something different as Mike Costello, DAZN’s commentator was to comment on, in later years, as quoted in Boxing News. It was a day when the young Dodson came in playing with a tennis ball on his feet, being kept in the air between them. The effect was hypnotic, “the gym stopped – no¬body took their eyes off him.” This was 1984 and Adrian Carew as he was known then, went on to win the Na¬tional School¬boy Cham¬pi¬onships at the Assem¬bly Rooms in Derby.
Dodson was a mere 17 years old when he appeared representing the country of his birth – Guyana – at his first Olympics in Seoul. Fighting as Adrian Carew, he beat Bilal-el- Masri of Libya and then Vukašin Dobrašinović of Yugoslavia before the man who was to go on and win bronze, Reiner Gies of West Germany stopped him in the third round of their contest. It was tight and Dodson wanted the Guyanese to file a complaint but when they didn’t, Dodson turned his back on them.
It was not the first and was never going to be the last time Dodson was to fall out with boxing people.
In between the two Olympics, he won the Sugar Ray Robinson award for outstanding boxer of the 1989 Golden Gloves. Back at the Lynn ABC, Dodson was to win the ABA title in 1990, but, the following year, when he was refused entry to the ABAs, he quit the club and, according to legendary boxing journalist, Steve Bunce – “That was very ugly, trust me.”
He then took his mother’s name, Dodson and went off to his second Olympics fighting for Britain. But Dodson did not get his own way because Robin Reid had the light middleweight berth forcing Dodson to drop weight to welter. And, whilst Reid went on to medal – a bronze – Dodson lost in the second round to Romanian and former world champion, Francisc Vastag.
And so began a “thing” with Robin Reid. Reid having the light middleweight slot for the Olympics, was what Dodson had wanted. When Dodson failed to medal and watched as Reid did, Dodson began talking of secret behind the doors deals to stop him getting what he felt he deserved. As Steve Bunce was to observe further in his Boxing News article, this was, “the recurring theme in his career and life, a soundtrack to every failing, defeat, incident and sabotage. But he could still really fight.”
Dodson turned professional in York Hall against Chris Mulcahy on the 31st of March 1993: Mulcahy was stooped in the first round. But the fight was not the headline event of his debut – the press conference to announce it was. There Ambrose Mendy poured champagne and claimed he had on his hands a clean man who would refuse to sully himself with the dirty system of boxing. Dodson was going to make $100 Million from pay per view fights.
People laughed, but some were taking the claims seriously. The fact was that Dodson could not only fight, he could really fight. And from that first fight Dodson went on to win his next 17. Then in 1995, he managed a marquee win in Millwall on the 25th of February 1995 when he beat Lloyd Honeyghan. It was impressive and it was sad – it was not vintage Honeyghan. But Dodson had caught everyone’s eye.
But he continued to be a troubled and troublesome presence in and out of the ring. On the 7th of October 1995, he won the vacant WBO intercontinental super welterweight title in Belfast when he stopped Hughes Daigneault in the third round, defended it successfully on the 2nd of December 1995 when he stopped Craig Snyder in the eighth round back in Belfast and then on the 4th of May 1996, he stopped John Bosco in the seventh round to defend again in Dagenham. He then made it a trio of defenses when he knocked out Anthony Joseph in the first round in York Hall on the 27th of November 1996. Busy and successful he was, hungry and ambitious too.
His first world title fight came in 1997 in Millwall when he faced Winky Wright for the WBO super welterweight belt. He lost and retired in six rounds. On the 8th of September, a year later, he faced Mpush Makambi for the lesser but vacant IBO middleweight title but was knocked out in the eleventh round in York Hall. On the 11th of December he went back in against Makambi to rematch for the title in Prestwick, Scotland, but was stopped in the eighth this time.
Three world title fights, no world title and no pay per view fights for his fortune either. Things were beginning to fade.
Then on the 5th of October 1999, his professional career took another dive. He was fined £1,000 and served an 18 month ban for biting Alain Bonnamie in the final round of their Commonwealth title fight in Bloomsbury. His career looked like a car crash and, according to Steve Bunce, “he upset so many people in the business. He made enemies and they lasted. He refused to follow any line. He was always promising resurrection…. He believed it. But he raged and raged and raged.”
In 2001 he was to fight once more for world honors though his time it was again for a lesser IBO title, this time at super middleweight. He faced Paul “Silky” Jones in Wembley on the 3rd of March, winning by knockout in the third. He was finally a world champion! But not for long. On the 7th of April 2001, Argentinian, Ramon Arturo Britez stopped him in the fifth and back at Wembley. From there it was nearly 2 and a half years out of the ring before his final contest – in Nottingham on the 20th of September in 2003, when he fought a four rounder against a journeyman and lost on points.
He did contemplate a comeback when it was announced he would feature on a Prize Fighter tournament at super middleweight in 2011. Interest peaked when it was also announced that Robin Reid would feature too, but Dodson sensibly realized that after 8 years out the ring he was not in shape for it and withdrew.
Where he is now is as enigmatic as his career. According to Steve Bunce, “I was told this, I was told that: He drives a taxi. He was in court. He is a singled dad. He still drives a taxi, it’s a Jaguar.” Chaos and curtains on a fascinating career of someone who was a character. Sometimes you lament the loss of such people in the sport, other times you are thankful that they have left. Dodson clearly had his feet stuck in both camps of opinion… but it was never, ever dull!
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