No quick rematch for Johnson

TAMPA, Florida (CMC)

Jamaica's former world light heavyweight boxing champion Glen Johnson is not expected to get a rematch against Chad Dawson any time soon, even though his title fight loss to the American Saturday was very contentious.

Fans at the St Pete Times Forum intensely jeered the unanimous decision that allowed Dawson to retain his World Boxing Council (WBC) crown after a fierce battle with the veteran Johnson.

Johnson, 39, immediately called for a rematch, but Gary Shaw, who promoted the clash, says the native of Clarendon in central Jamaica, will have to wait.

"He's not going to get an immediate rematch, there could be a fight for Glen down the road, but it won't be an immediate rematch," Shaw said.

A frustrated Johnson declared, after the fight, that it was a cruel blow at this late stage of his career - he turns 40 years old next January - and an unwanted setback, but the American promoter gave encourage-ment to Johnson's status in the com-petitive 175-pound weight class.

"Glen might be 39 in age, but he's 29 as a fighter," Shaw said.

Johnson's edge

Most experts believe Johnson had the edge in the tough 12-rounder but all three judges ? Nicolas Hidalgo, Peter Trematerra, and Jack Woodburn ? scored the bout 116-112 for the unbeaten Dawson.

Throughout the bout, Johnson used ag-gression and effective power punching to pres-sure the 25-year-old champion.

Dawson showed good skill but was almost floored in rounds three and ten, and Johnson was stronger toward the end, as he appeared to reclaim a major world title for the first time in three years.

With the victory, Dawson improved his ring record to 26-0 with 17 knockouts and Johnson slid to 47 wins (32 knockouts) against 12 losses and two draws.

Light heavyweight title

The card also featured an International Boxing Federation (IBF) light heavyweight title fight in which American Antonio Tarver easily unseated Britain's Clinton Woods as champion.

The two results set up a big money unification light heavyweight clash between Tarver and Dawson, possibly later this year and Johnson misses out on a great opportunity.

The fans booed the decision vehemently and even viewers at home on Showtime Television logged Johnson as the best performer - of the four light heavyweights ? on the night.

The viewers gave Johnson an 80 per cent score in the voting when asked, "Who impressed you the most tonight?". Dawson received only 10 per cent of the text voting, with Antonio Tarver receiving eight per cent and Woods, two per cent.

Johnson had beaten Woods to claim the IBF light heavyweight title in February 2004, and he defeated Tarver and the big-name Roy Jones Jr later in that year to cop the 'World Fighter of the Year Award' for 2004.