Johnson - Louis Davis photo.
TAMPA, Florida (CMC):
AMERICAN WORLD Boxing Council (WBC) light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson has hit back with words of his own ahead of his title defence against Jamaican Glen Johnson next weekend.
The two outstanding boxers clash next week Saturday night for Dawson's belt and Johnson has been making confident pronouncements in recent weeks about winning the title.
Johnson declared this week that whether by "knockout or decision" he will be "victorious" and become the new champion, but the undefeated Dawson suggested that he will be ready to show who is boss in the ring.
"I'm in shape, and I've got my 'A' game. I'm not worried about anything. I just let my hands do the talking," Dawson said at a pre-fight press conference last week.
At 25, Dawson is 14 years younger than Johnson and boasts an unblemished record of 25-0 with 17 knockouts.
Successful defence
He won the WBC belt February last year when he defeated Tomasz Adamek on points in Florida, and successfully defended the title against Jesus Ruiz (in June) and Epifanio Mendoza (September) - both by technical knockout.
Dawson believes a victory over Johnson in their Showtime Television card at St Pete Times Forum in Tampa next Saturday night will allow him to continue on his path of becoming the king of the 175-pound weight division.
"Come April 12, I'm going to show everybody I'm not just the future of the division, I am the division, and I am the best light heavyweight in the world," Dawson added.
The 39-year-old Johnson is a former International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion with a record of 47 wins (32 knockouts) against 11 losses and two draws.
The native of Clarendon in Jamaica was 'World Fighter of the Year' for 2004 for logging superb wins over Britain's Clinton Woods and the American standouts Roy Jones and Antonio Tarver.
But Dawson believes Johnson's best years are behind him and he will have difficulty coping with the skills of a new champion.
Advantages
"My advantages are I'm younger and faster. Everybody thinks Glen Johnson's going to be stronger, but I don't know about that. I am fully focused for this fight and I'm in the best shape of my career.
"Glen Johnson is a tough opponent and I have respect for him. The last three or four years he has been very successful. I'm just looking forward to the challenge," Dawson said.
"I definitely expect him to be aggressive like he's been in previous fights. I'm going out there and executing. I'm pretty sure Glen Johnson's going to bring his 'A' game, so I'm going to be on my 'A' game. It's going to be a war," added Dawson.
Meanwhile, top Miami trainer Orlando Cuellar told the Fightnews website this week that Johnson was looking sharp in sparring.
Cuellar said Johnson has brought in "young, fast sparring partners", and brings in fresh legs every few rounds.
"On numerous occasions Glen has beaten young, fast fighters and we're very optimistic about this title challenge," Cuellar said.
