HARTFORD, Connecticut, United States

Jamaica's ageing 'Road Warrior' Glen Johnson has vowed to continue his journey in professional boxing, despite glimpses his march is slowing after a second unanimous decision defeat to American 'Bad Chad' Dawson in a world light heavyweight title fight.

But the 40-year-old Johnson conceded that there will be uncertainty over demand for his services following the loss on Saturday night at the XL Center here, which cost the former world champion a claim on the World Boxing Council's interim title and Dawson's International Boxing Organisation (IBO) crown in the 175-pound division.

"I really don't know," the Clarendon-born United States resident admitted when asked about possible retirement after the fight. "I'll just wait and see who wants to put me to work right now."

On Saturday, Johnson, whose record dropped to 49 wins, 13 losses and two draws, appeared to get all the work he could handle, most of it chasing the elusive undefeated Dawson (29-0) all over the ring for 12 rounds. But despite being the stalking aggressor for much of the fight, the Jamaican was never able to land enough effective punches to convince anyone the final result would be in doubt, as he did when the two first clashed in April 2008. Johnson failed to hurt Dawson, and later credited the American for executing an effective strategy.

"He fought a smart fight," Johnson said. "He did what he had to do ... I give him the applause."

The three judges awarded the hometown favourite the bulk of the points. Michael Pernick and Duane Ford scored it 115-113 for Dawson. Glenn Feldman gave the world champion a bigger winning margin of 117-111.

Relentless pursuit

Unlike their first fight, hardly anyone objected to the verdict, despite pockets of boos that rained down from the half-filled arena as Dawson repeatedly skipped away from any confrontation courted by Johnson's relentless pursuit. The CompuBox punch count proved the judges correct. Dawson threw more total punches (756) than Johnson (688), and had a decided advantage in those which connected - 246 to 167.

Johnson, who was convinced he needed a knockout to beat Dawson, especially since the American was fighting in his home state, also fell behind in the number of power punches landed, connecting with 90 to Dawson's 142, even though the Jamaican threw more power shots (259) than his opponent.

"He was able to escape some of my bigger punches," Johnson said. "He didn't try to fight like he did in the first fight. He stayed away from it."

For almost the entire bout Dawson pricked Johnson with his long raking jab - he averaged 42 per round - while cleverly slipping out of the challenger's reach and rattling off quick-fire combinations. He never let Johnson get too close too often and avoided the powerful body shots the Jamaican had hoped to use to slow him down.

But while Johnson lacked the speed and power to corner and punish Dawson consistently, his camp appeared disappointed with his execution. Both trainer Orlando Cuellar and assistant Hamlet McKenzie said Johnson lacked the urgency, fight inside often and early, a key part of their plan leading up to the bout.

"Glen took a long time to get started," said Cuellar.

Dawson well prepared

But Johnson admitted it wasn't that simple.

"(Dawson) was moving well," he explained. "He was able to keep me off balance. Every time I got aggressive, he would move to the side I was being aggressive on and slide out to the other side. So he was getting away from me."

Jamaican-born McKenzie agreed that Dawson was well prepped, especially to avoid a toe-to-toe brawl in the rematch which almost cost him the first fight.

"We trained for this fight," McKenzie said. "But (Dawson) came prepared better, I would say. I'm not taking away anything from Glen Johnson ... but Dawson was the better man."

The American, meanwhile, said his execution was nearly flawless.

"I wanted to outbox him," explained the resident of nearby New Haven. "I had youth on my side ... used my jab, used my speed, outclassed him."

Too early

Now it's back to the drawing board for Johnson. His wife Jillian, who attended the fight, said the couple will discuss his future when they returned home to Miami, Florida, insisting that Saturday night was too early to make any decision.

"Everything's still fresh now," she said.

Yet, despite the seemingly one-sided nature of the scoring, Johnson hardly looked a battered washed-up veteran. A small cut above his left eye was the only obvious indication he had been in a fight. He also earned the respect of Dawson, who believes the Jamaican can still be effective in the ring.

"I definitely think he has a lot to offer the sport still," said the reigning IBO champion. "He's 40 years old, but he doesn't fight like a 40-year-old. He still puts the pressure on. It's just that (Saturday) I was just on my 'A' game and I just know what I had to do to win the fight and I did what I had to do."

It's now Johnson's turn to do what he has to.

"At this point in time, nobody knows," he said minutes after leaving the ring. "It's all about going home and seeing if the phone rings and if the phone don't ring, then basically it is what it is. If it's my choice, I wouldn't quit yet, but you know again, I can't go to the dance by myself. So if I have an opponent to dance with, then we go to the dance."