The ​“Bad Chad” Express Rides To Glory

Godmother Honda Smith led fans pulling out of New Haven in a ​“party bus” in prayer. In the ring, Rafael Garcia the cut man spread adrenaline on a nasty gash from a headbutt. Jermaine Dawson urged his older brother to ​“stay focused.”

It took a village — hometown friends and family — to help boxing phenom Chad Dawson survive the blows of a veteran fighter and regain his world championship belt.

Dawson regained it Saturday night. A robust support crew rallied together as New Haven’s 29-year-old light heavyweight southpaw hit the stage in Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall for one of the most difficult fights of his life.

In a grueling, 12-round rematch, Dawson defeated 47-year-old boxing legend Bernard Hopkins, regaining the world championship WBC title he lost in 2010.

For New Haven supporters who’ve watched Dawson’s career since he started out as an 11-year-old kid at Ring One boxing gym in the Hill, the event made for a victorious road trip.

Supporters gathered in a parking lot on Pond Lily Avenue in West Hills at 1 p.m. Saturday to catch a ride on a ​“party bus” headed to the seaside escape.

Some aimed to get away from New Haven. Some planned to hit the slot machines. Others focused on the fight.

Wanesha Dawson (pictured) and her sister planned to see their brother show off his talent on an international stage.

“I know he’s going to do good,” Wanesha predicted. ​“He wants this bad.”

“I’m confident for him,” agreed 22-year-old Alan Williams, Dawson’s cousin. ​“Bernard’s career is nearly over, and Chad is in his prime.”

The trip was organized by West Hills neighborhood activist Honda Smith. Smith said most of the 47 bus-riders hailed from her ward, West Hills or West Rock.

Some were Dawson’s family. Others were friends. Most said they know Dawson or have seen him around town. Dawson’s family moved to New Haven from South Carolina when Chad was 7 so that his dad, Rick Dawson, could train as a boxer. Chad got his start at Ring One on Congress Avenue; he made his way through several New Haven public schools as his family moved between Fair Haven, Blake Street and Newhallville.

Despite his champion’s winnings and fame, Dawson can still be spotted at hanging out at West Rock barbecues, joining a stop-the-violence rally, or giving away Thanksgiving turkeys at the Howe Street Y. When he’s not training for a fight, he spends his time with his wife Crystal and four sons in their family home in Hamden. His parents live across town near Tweed-New Haven Airport.

“He’s a very respectable young man,” said a senior named Jerre before boarding the party bus Saturday afternoon. ​“Everybody’s rooting for him.”

The 47 seats on the bus filled up at 1:40 p.m.

“We’re here to celebrate the victory of Chad Dawson,” Honda Smith announced over the loudspeaker.

“How many party people on the bus?”

Shouts of glee came from those in back of the bus, some of whom had already been sipping Miller High Life in the parking lot.

“The bar will be open as soon as this bus start rolling,” Smith announced.

Smith (pictured) rolled a cooler to the rear. ​“I’ve got my special punch in there,” she said.

At 1:55 p.m., as the bus rolled down Elm Street, Smith asked those seated to join her in prayer.

“God, we’re going to celebrate the victory of our own Chad Dawson for the light-heavyweight championship of the world,” she said.

She asked God to watch over the hands of the boxer and the hands of the bus driver.

“Send your angels to give us traveling mercies,” she said.

“Amen,” came a chorus from the fuzzy gray seats.

By the time the bus hit College Street, the party had started.

“What do you want, rum and coke?” Smith asked.

Though all professed allegiance to Chad Dawson, at least two-thirds of the riders planned to gamble instead of see the fight.

They got started early aboard the bus.

Mae Ford (pictured at the top of this story) led the crowd through seven rounds of bingo. A West Havener, she often teams up with Smith to run trips for senior citizens in West Rock and West Hills. A self-described ​“bingo king,” Ford suggested bringing her supplies for the four-hour drive to Jersey.

Between rounds, Smith raffled off a wok with oven mitts and a stainless steel bar set.

“Thank God For The Angels!”

At 3:12, as the bingo-mobile entered the traffic crunch on I‑95 approaching New York, a Chrysler minivan pulled a hard left merge. The bus driver narrowly avoided a collision.

A woman in the back of the bus was feeling pugilistic.

“Ooh, I’m going to beat him down!” she declared.

“Thank God for the angels,” Smith remarked.

At 5:41 p.m., as the bus reached the end of the Garden State Parkway, Smith announced there would be a ​“complimentary round of lemon drops,” her special punch mix.

“Start passing the cups!” she declared.

“Don’t pass it to the driver, now,” warned a mischievous voice from the back of the bus.

At 5:55 p.m., Smith walked through the bus topping off or re-filling cups.

“That’s right. We’re going to the fight!” she said.

“Atlantic City, here we come!” cried a voice.

“To the head for Chad Dawson!” Smith declared, leading the bus in a round of more drinks. ​“Anyone else want to go to the head?”

Big Steve At Ringside

The bus pulled into the Tropicana Casino, where bus-riders got a $20 voucher for the slot machines and a free meal at the buffet as part of their $50 bus fare.

Boiled crab legs proved to be the most popular fare, reported two New Haveners leaving the casino.

Just a few minutes’ walk up the boardwalk from the Tropicana, undercards were warming up the crowd.

New Haven bail bondsman Steven Tracey (at left in photo, with wife Jacqueline and friend Julie Cestaro) got a ringside seat for the main event.

Dawson v. Hopkins II drew a slew of media attention, in part because it was a redo of a controversial no-decision fight. When the two met last October, Dawson pulled an unusual move, lifting Hopkins and dropping him on the floor. Hopkins dislocated his shoulder in the second round, prompting the ref to call a TKO. Dawson won the championship — only to see the win stripped away, replaced with a draw, after Hopkins appealed the call.

In pre-bout trash talking (where Dawson tends to be relatively civil), he vowed to send Hopkins to retirement. At age 46, Hopkins had become the oldest fighter to win a championship belt.

Julie Cestaro said she’s been following Bad Chad since her husband sponsored his events early in Dawson’s career.

“He has a lot of loyal followers,” Cestaro said.

Scot X. Esdaile, head of Connecticut’s NAACP and a Connecticut boxing commissioner, was also spotted in the crowd.

“You’re Going Down!”

Bad Chad made his entrance at 10:53 p.m. According to tradition, the challenger for the title enters first. He encountered a hostile crowd.

“You’re going down, Chad!” taunted a man as Dawson stepped in to the arena.

The majority of the 7,700 fans were cheering for Hopkins, whose North Philly roots and long career have earned him local appeal.

Chad wore gray and green ​“Champion Breed” threads, a phrase he has tattooed across his back.

As is his tradition, Bernard ​“The Executioner” Hopkins emerged at 10:56 p.m. wearing a black ski mask. His waist bore the letters B‑HOP, a nickname he earned during his renaissance after a brief retirement in 2006.

Dawson set the pace, but his opponent would not give in. The look in Hopkins’ eyes showed ​“he came to fight” — a change from the last time they met, Dawson would later reflect.

Hopkins stayed ferocious. After Dawson let out a volley of punches, Hopkins flashed a maniacal face, sticking out his tongue.

When Dawson and Hopkins tumbled to the floor together in an awkward slip in Round 11 …

… the elder man bounced back, showing his training crew a wide smile.

Between rounds, a team of four gray-and-green-clad men tended to Dawson, including his dad, Rick Dawson, a former boxer himself.

Dawson’s headaches began in Round 4, when Hopkins headbutted him in the face, ripping open the skin over Dawson’s left eye, sending blood dripping down his chest. The move was ruled accidental.

At the next break, TV cameras zoomed in on the gash, which was splashed onto the big-screen above the fighter’s head.

“He’s gotta go to the hospital,” predicted one fan.

“Stitches for sure,” said another.

Cut Man Gets Close In

Rafael Garcia, the legendary cut man who also tends to Floyd Mayweather, came to the rescue. A soft-spoken native of Mexico, he wears a white hat covered with golden pins of the places he’s visited over the years. He works with quick intensity. He got better access to the delicate wound by poking his right index finger through his latex glove. Garcia applied pressure on the wound. Then he doused it in adrenaline and topped it with Vaseline.

He fixed Dawson up enough so the blood stopped running and he could continue the fight.

After the headbutt, Dawson came back with vengeance, smacking B‑Hop against the ropes.

Advice poured from Dawson’s crew.

“What are you waiting for? Go on the jab!” urged out two-time world champion Marlon Starling of Hartford.

Dawson took another big blow in Round 8. He started to bleed above his right eye, too.

At the end of the fight, a straw poll of boxing reporters concluded Dawson had dominated. But the three judges took a long time to give final marks.

The first judge called it a draw — a judgment Dawson would later call ​“shocking.” The other two judges decided in favor of Dawson, 117 to 111, handing the New Haven boxer a majority decision.

That meant in his rematch, Chad Dawson had officially dethroned the Executioner, grabbing the WBC and Ring Magazine titles and regaining his status as the light heavyweight champion of the world.

“Dirty Dude” Dethroned

Dawson slung a huge teal belt over his shoulder and raised an arm in victory …

… then fist-bumped a couple of eager fans.

In the post-fight chaos, handlers steered him to the side for a quick radio interview.

His mom, Wanda Dawson, watched over his shoulder.

Dawson retreated to his locker room, where cut man Garcia gave him more treatments. The gash above his left eye was so big ​“you could put a dollar inside,” Garcia said. He padded gauze on Dawson’s face as the fighter answered questions for the one print reporter who gained access to the room.

“Congrats, champ!” called out a member of his crew amid the interview.

Dawson didn’t boast. He offered a relaxed ​“thank you.”

Meanwhile, the crew debriefed on the fight. Hopkins landed eight punches below the belt on Dawson’s hips, according to his promoter.

“He’s a dirty dude,” grumbled one member of the crew.

Mom Wanda Dawson said she held her breath during the arduous minutes before the announcer revealed who won.

“I was praying, please, please, please, please, please, please,” she said.

Watching her son fight is ​“nerve-wracking,” she said, ​“but he’s good at what he does.”

“I’m very, very proud,” she said. ​“I know he put so much into this fight — this is what he always wanted, and he did it.”

Dawson didn’t flinch as Garcia applied pressure to his wounds with gauze and then with a metal endswell. He said his success Saturday came down to staying cool.

“I kept my composure,” he said.

He focused on composure as he spent the last two months in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, training for the fight, he said.

Brotherly Jogs

The preparation was a family affair. Dad Rick Dawson (pictured) lent his wisdom and experience. Brother Jermaine, who’s 28, served as Chad’s official ​“motivator.”

Every week for two months, Jermaine got up in the morning and ran four to five miles with his brother. Then Dawson trained for three and a half hours, sparring every other day. On Saturdays, they ran six miles together. On Sundays, they rested.

Jermaine, a former amateur fighter himself, sat ringside and called out to his brother during the fight.

“Stay focused!” he yelled.

“I knew there was no way he could lose as long as he stayed focused.”

Chad Dawson said he got the same message from his trainer, ​“Iceman” John Scully.

The hardest part of the fight was resisting the temptation to get goaded into attack too hard, Dawson said. Hopkins is known as a defensive fighter who hangs back and waits for a mistake, then strikes.

In a locker room interview, Dawson said he was impressed by the support he got from New Haveners for his fight.

“People left their neighborhoods and came out to the fight” four hours away, he said. ​“I was very shocked and surprised.”

His head still aching from the headbutts he received, Dawson said he planned to go back to his hotel, ​“chill out” and spend time with his kids.

Three of his four sons joined him onstage in a post-fight press conference. His promoter, Gerald Shaw, bemoaned Hopkins’ skin-splitting headbutts and punches to the hip.

Dawson took the high road. ​“I’m just pleased I could be in the ring with him,” he said of his opponent. ​“He’s a very, very intelligent fighter in the ring.” Hopkins may be 47, but he fights like a 35-year-old, Dawson said. ​“I didn’t see him get tired one time.”

“Hey, man, you’re definitely a legend,” he told Hopkins. He proclaimed the match the most difficult of his career. 

Hopkins said Dawson ​“deserves the respect” of a champion fighter. He added that he’s been keeping an eye on Dawson’s eldest three sons, Prince Chadwick, Sir Chancellor, and Royal Tiger, who may just follow their dad’s footsteps.

As the family left the arena, Dawson’s sister Wanesha said she got what she came for when she boarded on the bus some 10 hours before.

Instead of a quick knockout — like the kind that sent ​“Gentleman” Chazz Witherspoon to a dizzy third-round defeat moments earlier Saturday — Wanesha said she was rooting for a full, 12-round fight to show off her brother’s talent.

She got her wish. And more.