GORDON WILLIAMS, Contributor

Challenger Glen Johnson (right) connects with a right to the jaw of World Boxing Council (WBC) light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson during the third round of the championship boxing match on Saturday night in Tampa, Florida. Dawson won by unanimous decision. - AP

TAMPA, United States:

Jamaican Glen Johnson was stunned Saturday night, but it was more by what ringside judges threw at him than any punch landed by American Chad Dawson in their World Boxing Council (WBC) light heavyweight title fight at the St Pete Times Forum here.

Thirty-nine-year-old Johnson lost perhaps his last grasp at retaining a world championship belt after the three fight judges delivered a controversial unanimous decision in favour of the defending WBC champion.

The announcement of the result drew a prolonged chorus of boos and chants of "bu... sh..." from a near capacity auditorium, which witnessed 12 rounds of contrasting fighting styles that started brightly for Dawson, but gradually swung the Jamaican's way as it intensified towards an electrifying end.

Judges N. Hildalgo, J. Woodburn and P. Trematerra all scored the fight 116 to 112 for Dawson. But others here had a different view.

"It's very disappointing," Johnson said as sweat poured from his body while handlers cut tape from his hands inside the dressing room.

"I can't believe that at this point of my life, this age, they would still have the heart to rob me after I work so hard and won the fight so convincingly. I don't know what else to do."

Appeal

Johnson's manager, who said he planned to appeal the decision to the Florida State Boxing Commission and demand a rematch, was equally dumbfounded.

"It's a travesty," said Henry Foster. "It's a ludicrous decision."

Dawson, meanwhile, claimed he was hardly surprised by the judges' call. According to him, the fight plan for Johnson worked like a charm.

"You know, that's the way you beat Glen Johnson," he said explaining his tactics of jabbing and moving, mostly backward, as Johnson pursued him relentlessly around the ring.

"If you stay inside and punch with him, you know, he throws a lot of wild punches. So our game plan was to keep him on the outside, box him. Don't get into a slugging contest with him and I did that."

Johnson, whose record fell to 47 wins 12 losses and two draws, probed and stalked throughout. He rocked the 25-year-old American, who remained undefeated after 26 fights, several times, mostly with hard, chopping right hands, especially in the frantic final rounds as he sought a knockout. But the much taller southpaw, armed with a longer reach than Johnson, was mostly content to skip away, using his raking jab and occasionally following up with snapping left, right combinations.

Despite Johnson's claims that he blocked most of Dawson's jabs and was never hurt by his combinations, the American appeared to pile up points early on the judges' scorecards. All three gave Dawson seven of the first nine rounds, with Johnson winning three and five.

The kill

But as the fight wore on, Dawson tired and the Jamaican cut off the ring and moved in for the kill. Rounds 10 and 11 proved to be Johnson's best. He repeatedly stung Dawson with thunderous right hand shots in the 10th as one woman screamed "C'mon Johnson! C'mon Jamaica!" from high in the stands.

Dawson wobbled under the brutal assault, finally wrestling Johnson into the ropes to buy recovery time.

But with the crowd roaring and on its feet, Johnson stepped up the pressure in the next round. Dawson, unable to escape the firing line, absorbed the Jamaican's quick-fire double left. Other bombs followed, but Dawson stayed on his feet. Johnson returned to his corner with arms raised and a huge smile.

"He was very close (to falling)," Johnson recalled. "I was just one or two punches away, but he kept on ducking me and kept pushing me off my balance."

The champion admitted he took some punishment, but denied that he was on the verge of being knocked out by the man known as the 'Road Warrior'.

I wasn't hurt

"Oh no, he didn't really hurt me," he said. "Oh, he caught me with some shots and I was off balance and it just looked like he hit me with some hard shots, you know. But I responded. I wasn't hurt, hurt."

With time to recharge between rounds, Dawson began the final three minutes determined to stay away from Johnson's power, earning another salvo of jeers. But Johnson failed to put him away.

However, the Jamaican still believed he had done enough to reclaim a world title, which he has not owned since he lost the International Boxing Federation (IBF) crown to Antonio Tarver in 2005.

"It's obvious," Johnson said. "I mean a one-eyed man or a half eye man could justify it and see that I won it. You didn't need two eyes."

Gordon Williams is a Jamaican journalist based in the United States.