Glen Johnson praised foe Chad Dawson after losing to him in Connecticut on Saturday. The 40-year-old is undecided on his future in boxing. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

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Glen Johnson has lost a lot of fights he didn't agree with, and he may have feigned disbelief (perhaps out of habit) when the scores were read for Chad Dawson on Saturday, but the veteran light heavyweight contender is full of praise for his two-time foe. He's also not sure if he's going to keep going at age 40.

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

...

"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."

...

"(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."

Dawson may not have delighted many on Saturday, but he showed what he can do with his pure skill against an older, wiser, more aggressive fighter. Johnson is surely on the downside of a long, up-and-down career (one that deserved more ups than he was awarded), but he's by no means a bad fighter. Dawson made him look old, which was probably past due.

As for his future in the ring, he's not committing to anything:

"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."

...

"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."

Do fighters come any more genuine than Glen Johnson these days?

Chad Dawson's second win over Glen Johnson was assertive and showed his skills. But it didn't thrill and it didn't draw in his home state. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

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There's no denying the pure, natural talent that Chad Dawson has, nor the fact that he's put in the work to become a world-ranked fighter, one of the best in the game today. And at 27, he has a lot of time left to become even better than he already is.

But he has one major problem that may haunt him for years to come: Star power. He doesn't have any.

At least not yet, anyway. The XL Center in Hartford, Conn., sold 5,230 tickets for Dawson's rematch with Glen Johnson. That's hardly the worst crowd you'll see at an American venue, but the fight was taken to Connecticut because that's Dawson's home state, where he theoretically has his most fans. And unfortunately for "Bad" Chad's immediate business future, that crowd of just over 5K probably was the most he's going to draw.

It's not all his fault, but you also can't say that his promoter, Gary Shaw, is really at fault either. What more could Shaw have done? We often can point at the fact that the promoter and fighter never really built a home base for the fighter, but for Dawson, that isn't the case. Dawson's rematch with Johnson on Saturday was his 18th fight in Connecticut in 29 professional bouts.

According to just about everybody, there was no real buzz about the event. Was that a promotional mistake, or was it more that Dawson just hasn't captivated anybody's imagination? A mix of both is most likely, but one is easily fixable. The other -- Dawson's appeal -- is not. As much as he might improve as a boxer, he's unlikely to become any more charismatic.

There was also noticeable booing near the end of the fight on Saturday. A portion of the crowd also chanted for Dawson, which seemed a combative measure. Dawson's post-fight interview also didn't get the warmest reception.

He's not a great presence. I don't know how to measure these things, but as good as he is, as many fine performances as I've seen from him, and as closely as I follow boxing, I've yet to be truly excited for Dawson, and it seems as though that's the case for a great many fans. He's been a feature, main event fighter on both Showtime and HBO. He's taken challenges from established stars. And he's never lost. Generally, he's even pretty dominant.

But name a great fight from Dawson -- you can't. Outside of the first fight with Johnson, he really hasn't even had one that's been all that much fun to watch.

Now, you can say the same about Floyd Mayweather Jr., the sport's biggest money man, but for years Floyd also had these problems. He wasn't a live draw (still isn't, relative to his stature), and was never a big draw on TV or PPV either until he met up with Oscar de la Hoya and was able to let his personality shine, whichever way you lean on that.

Will Dawson "sell out" like that? Will he become a villain to attempt to attract a bigger audience, even if that audience largely wants to see him lose? It's a great tradition in combat sports and even more so in professional wrestling. If you can't get them to really cheer you, get them to boo you. It's easier and you just might make a lot more money in the meantime.

Even Shaw understands (also from Dan Rafael's post-fight article):

"I don't think he is going to change. He's one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world but just like there are some that don't like the style of Floyd Mayweather or a Pernell Whitaker, Chad dominates. ... He has lightning fast hands so I don't understand why he doesn't throw more or walk someone down. I don't think he still has the confidence he can take people out and I really do think he can. If he throws the combinations he can hurt anybody."

Lou DiBella, who co-promotes Glen Johnson, has similarly mixed feelings on Dawson:

"I think he's a tremendous talent but he needs to be more cognizant of being an entertainer. He has the ability to be a whole lot more pleasing than he is. I think maybe he will be but he needs to make adjustments. When you're in your hometown and the fans are booing you that says something."

It does indeed. And it's that "something" won't be changing any time soon.

Full CompuBox statistics for last night's HBO card in Connecticut are available for your viewing. The statistics are posted after the jump. As always, I note that the numbers don't always tell the story, but they do for Dawson-Johnson, and they especially do for Alfredo Angulo's massacre of Harry Joe Yorgey.

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Chad Dawson defeated Glen Johnson decisively in their rematch tonight. (Photo via images.sportinglife.com)

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In the main event of tonight's HBO World Championship Boxing, Chad Dawson routed Glen Johnson over 12 rounds in a rematch of their tight 2008 battle, leaving no doubts this time about the identity of the superior fighter. Dawson kept his undefeated record with arguably the best and most impressive win of his career.

Still, the scorecards were close. Two judges scored it 115-113 for Dawson, and the third scored it a much more realistic-seeming 117-111. Bad Left Hook had it 119-109 for Dawson, who controlled the entire fight, landed all the best punches. HBO's Harold Lederman had it 118-110 for Dawson.

Dawson (29-0, 17 KO) clearly won the fight in my estimation, and everyone watching in our live thread agreed, so it's not just me. The scores sort of seemed as if they were overly cautious after the controversy of the first Dawson-Johnson fight. I felt the second Mayweather-Castillo fight had the same thing in a way.

But the right man won. Dawson made the 40-year-old Johnson look very old and slow for most of the fight. Johnson (49-13-2, 33 KO) never relented with his pressure, but he also never got anything established offensively.

Dawson's next move will be interesting. Hopkins and Jones are tied up, and past them there just aren't many names at 175. Dawson could fight the Pascal-Diaconu winner, or fight Tavoris Cloud. Both fights are attractive, but aren't money bouts, especially considering I doubt Dawson would go to Montreal to fight Jean Pascal, where it could do an excellent crowd.

Hats off to Dawson, who established himself for sure tonight. If there were any questions left, they should be gone now.

Alfredo Angulo got right back on the map with a dominant knockout victory over Harry Joe Yorgey. (Photo via www.cazadorpromotion.com)

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Our live, round-by-round coverage is continuing one post down. Dawson-Johnson II starts shortly!

On the first fight of tonight's HBO World Championship Boxing double-header, Mexican brawler Alfredo Angulo utterly destroyed tough Harry Joe Yorgey, knocking him out in the third round.

The first part of the opening round was ruled by Yorgey (22-1-1, 10 KO), but Angulo began to push him around in the second half. The second was a slaughter job, with Yorgey going down once, stumbling around the ring, and probably needing to be called down a second round.

Angulo (17-1, 14 KO) took the initiative in the third again. Yorgey stumbled around the ring some more, and once he was stuck in the corner again, Angulo found him with a monstrous left hook during a blizzard of punches, knocking him out stiff. On the way down, Yorgey was hit with another right hand.

It was a great performance by Angulo, who was simply in a different league than Yorgey. Yorgey's a tough guy, but just not a top-shelf fighter. He was totally overpowered by the stronger, more skilled Angulo. He hit Angulo and didn't even barely dent him. Angulo hit Yorgey and blew him up.

Referee Johnny Callas should have stopped this fight much sooner than he did, and when he didn't, the responsibility fell to the corner, and the corner didn't protect him. Yorgey didn't have to be knocked out that way. After some quick medical attention, Yorgey appeared as OK as you could expect, which is good news. But the referee did not protect the fight, and that matters.

Angulo now holds the interim WBO title, which might get him a bigger fight in his next outing. He's probably as good as he's going to get at 27. He'll always be a bit slow, but when he gets in his groove, he is a machine.

The rematch between top light heavyweights Chad Dawson and Glen Johnson will be live on HBO tonight, with the two-fight card starting at 9:30pm ET. Junior middleweights Alfredo Angulo (16-1, 13 KO) and Harry Joe Yorgey (22-0-1, 10 KO) do battle in the televised opener.

CHAD DAWSON	Rematch	GLEN JOHNSON
	Main Event

Nikolai Valuev and David Haye battle today in Germany for the WBA heavyweight title. (Photo via www.donking.com)

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Bad Left Hook will have live, round-by-round coverage, scoring and analysis for both of these cards. Valuev-Haye starts at 3pm on Integrated Sports PPV in the States ($24.99) and on Sky Box Office in the UK, and the HBO card starts at 9:30pm ET.

Nikolai Valuev v. David Haye (12 Rounds, For Valuev's WBA Heavyweight Title)

I'll flat-out admit again that I'm rooting for Haye because a win for him makes the stagnant heavyweight division that much more interesting. The last time the division got any shot in the arm, it was Vitali Klitschko coming back. And that comeback has simply led to two Klitschkos manhandling their opposition instead of just the one. Haye winning opens things up. Valuev winning does not.

But Valuev can win, and the closer we get to it, the more it feels to me as though that's what we're going to see. I don't like it, but for all the world this just reeks of a massive disappointment for an exciting, dynamic fighter whose chin simply isn't going to stand up. Valuev will be more aggressive here than he was against Holyfield. Valuev, soft as he is, is almost surely a better cardio guy than Haye, and his stamina is likely to hold up. Haye could stop Valuev, but I don't think he's going to get there.

But it's the chin, really. Monte Barrett clipped and wobbled Haye a year ago -- Haye's last fight, mind you -- and with all respect to Barrett (whose fights I've generally enjoyed over the years, and who is still owed a debt of gratitude for getting Tye Fields off of TV), he stinks now.

Valuev will lose some early rounds. Valuev will eventually catch and hurt David Haye. Haye will get up, try to fight back, and in his recklessness, get hit hard again. I hate doing it, and I hope I'm wrong, but I'm going with Valuev by TKO.

Alfredo Angulo v. Harry Joe Yorgey (12 Rounds, For the Vacant Interim WBO Junior Middleweight Title)

I know he's only 27 and that he's got only 17 pro fights under his belt, but this is an immediate future make-or-break for Angulo. He's mauled everyone except Kermit Cintron, and since I think Cintron is way better than Yorgey (yes, I just complimented Cintron), I sort of expect he'll do that again. Yorgey's a tough guy and a decent boxer, and I think he'll make this a pretty entertaining fight for as long as it lasts, but I just don't think he's in Angulo's league. Of Jack Loew fighters, Yorgey's over by Billy Lyell, not by Kelly Pavlik. Angulo by TKO.

Chad Dawson v. Glen Johnson II (12 Rounds, For the Vacant Interim WBC Light Heavyweight Title)

The WBC light heavyweight titlist, for the record, is Jean Pascal, who won it in June, defended it against a mandatory in September, and is fighting a rematch with Adrian Diaconu in December. But hey! Interim title! Good job, WBC! I'll be sure to take your moral stands from your idiotic convention really seriously!

Not even that, but Dawson held the title before and gave it up so he could fight Antonio Tarver instead of Diaconu. Yet Shane Mosley, who once gave up the interim WBC welterweight title, needs to publicly apologize for doing that if he wants the WBC to sanction a fight with Andre Berto in January. Who do these rubes think they are, exactly? I'm serious when I say a six-year-old could poke holes in their logic. I'm no rocket surgeon over here and it's plain as day to me.

Anyway, I expect Dawson to win this one clearly. It's not that I'm underestimating Johnson or don't think he'll make for another competitive, entertaining fight, but Chad's younger and faster and all that. Johnson's a 40-year old man, and 40 is going to be a big, flashing red light for a little while longer. If Johnson wins this fight, that'll put that to an end. Bernard Hopkins alone isn't enough to make me stop thinking fighters tend to decline pretty hardcore at this age. Dawson by UD.

Chad Dawson escaped with a narrow win over Glen Johnson in 2008. Tomorrow, he tries to do it again with no doubts remaining. (Photo via cache.daylife.com)

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He was referred to by Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the world's best pound-for-pound fighter during Mayweather's short retirement. Four of his last six wins came over top names. When he took the title, he really took it.

He's the only man yet to beat Tomasz Adamek. He routed Antonio Tarver twice. And he came out the victor in a highly competitive and very entertaining fight against Glen Johnson last year. But somehow, Chad Dawson still doesn't seem to have mass respect.

Part of it lies with the fact that many feel Johnson deserved the W over Dawson. I scored that fight a draw, and still feel it's hard to really make a good case that Johnson was "robbed," but since that's been the story of Glen's career, it's an easy story to market from the Johnson side.

Part of it also stems from the fact that Dawson, despite being a very likable guy who makes for solid fights when not against the frustrating Tarver. He's unbeaten, has had good backing from both Showtime and HBO, and has honestly taken the best fights he could get. The Tarver rematch was a contractual thing, the Johnson rematch something he admittedly didn't want to go after, but when his hand was forced, he did it, and he vacated a title to make it happen. It was the only fight out there for him.

Someday, Dawson will move up in weight. He's talked about going down to 168, but that would probably just serve to weaken him. There are several who feel -- and I'm one of them -- that Dawson will someday compete at heavyweight, as his old foe Tomasz Adamek is now doing. A stop over at cruiserweight could offer some attractive bouts, too, and would help him bulk up naturally.

For now, though, he's a light heavyweight, and you can argue he's the world's best (I don't, at least not yet, with Bernard Hopkins still existing). And the rematch with Johnson tomorrow night can go a long way to earning him the accolades he's yet to fully acquire.

Make no mistake, it's no easy win. Johnson is probably still the most dodged man in the division, and at 40 has shown no real signs of slowing down. He's as tough as they come, a relentless sort who loves to mix it up, with a chin made of granite and heavy enough hands to put down anyone. Since the narrow loss to Dawson, Johnson has again found it hard to get proper opponents. He has faced Aaron Norwood and rematched Daniel Judah in the 19 months since the Dawson loss.

Dawson, who lives in New Haven, will have the home field advantage in Hartford, Connecticut tomorrow. His family and friends will be there, the XL Center will be almost 100% his fans, and the truth is, he's the younger, faster, more athletic, more dynamic fighter. He should win.

And if he doesn't, make way for 40-year old Glen Johnson, the continually-ignored, continually-great fighter that refuses to go away, no matter how many times it seems like promoters or TV networks wish he would.

David Haye and Nikolai Valuev gave their final thoughts and quotes in Germany. The two meet Saturday for Valuev's WBA heavyweight title.

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David Haye:

"He hasn't fought anyone of my caliber; he's never fought anyone in their prime or someone so fired up," the challenger said. "I'm not one of these guys he's used to fighting. I'm not over-the-hill, I'm not tainted, I'm not past my sell-by-date. I am fresh, I am ready."

"Training has gone great and I am going to make him look silly on Saturday night. I am going to embarrass him, knock him out. He's never fought anyone as fast or who punches as hard as me, or as accurate. I know he feels I'm a little mouthy man from England, but he's gonna be in for a rude awakening when that bell goes."

"I don't care what I weigh. I haven't looked at the scales all through training camp. So long as I'm fit and sharp at the weight, I'm not bothered what the scales say. As far as bring my power up, I have no doubt I'll hit hard enough to knock out top heavyweights. I've never been in the ring with an opponent - amateur, sparring, or as a pro - who hasn't respected my punching power. I've floor top heavyweights, in the gym and in the ring, and none of them can ever believe how hard I punch for a smaller guy."

"It's never much fun getting hit by a man weighing 23 stone, so I'm not underestimating the power he generates. He must hit fairly hard. Technically, he does most things right. He's a well-schooled fighter that has improved over the years. Saying that, though, his last five fights have gone the distance, and I certainly don't think he's the fearsome and terrifying puncher he perhaps should be for a man of that size."

Nikolai Valuev:

"He can say what he wants. I have heard that from many opponents before. It is not going to happen. I will win."

Wilfried Sauerland (Valuev's manager):

"I don´t know where he takes it from. He is untested at heavyweight and got knocked down a lot of times in his career. Now he is facing a proven champion with 50 victories, so I really wonder why he is so optimistic."

Harry Joe Yorgey faces Alfredo Angulo on Saturday night on HBO. (Photo via harryyorgey.net)

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Alfredo Angulo wasn't supposed to be here. Harry Joe Yorgey wasn't either.

Angulo, the 27-year old brawler from Mexicali, was being set up to make a fast move to world title status by promoter Gary Shaw. In "El Perro," Shaw saw the exact type of fighter that embodies the famed Mexican warrior spirit. Angulo doesn't take a backwards step, doesn't seem fazed by any pressure, and hasn't even had any great reaction to the first loss of his career.

That loss came in May, when he faced former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron. The powerful Puerto Rican was seen as the underdog despite his edge in big-fight experience and his massive power, in part because we'd seen Cintron crumble against Antonio Margarito on two occasions, and Margarito (pre-wraps controversy) was always the fighter Angulo was most compared to. His toughness, his exhausting power, his constant forward motion -- Angulo had all of that.

But Cintron and trainer Ronnie Shields saw a flaw: Angulo couldn't box, didn't move around the ring very well, and thus they outboxed him all night long. Truthfully, the fight was closer than it's made out to be, but Cintron's win was legitimate, and it was the best performance of Kermit's career, just when he needed it most.

Angulo (16-1, 13 KO) didn't let it get him down. He returned against tough trial horse Gabriel Rosado in August, and knocked out the Philly battler in the second round. And instead of looking for something easy, he's lined up another tough cat out of Pennsylvania.

Harry Joe Yorgey (22-0-1, 10 KO) is nothing special, and I say that in a nice way. He doesn't have great speed or power, there's really nothing above-average about his game at all. Yorgey is coming off of a March upset of Ronald Hearns, taking Hitman Jr.'s "0" with a stunning ninth round knockout on Showtime. For Hearns it was a step up, but Ronald was still the heavy favorite.

Yorgey is 31 and has four children. He quit his construction job to become a full-time fighter, to try and make something of himself in one of the hardest professions you can go into. Jason LeHoullier was in his way last August. Hearns was in his way this past March. Now Angulo is in his way.

If you're looking for a great exhibition of pure boxing skill, this won't be the fight for you. Angulo and Yorgey are going to go toe-to-toe, and eventually, someone's going to break. Yorgey says he'll try to outbox Angulo, but I don't think that'll wind up working. Yorgey (now trained by Jack Loew) also believes his power will surprise Angulo, but "Perro" isn't worried about it.

But one thing I want to say is this: A good loss (you know what I mean by that, I'm sure) isn't the end of the world for either of them, so don't take it that way. Yes, they both would benefit greatly from the win -- focus on that. This fight, for both Angulo and Yorgey, is about who takes that step forward into a possible world title shot, not about who takes the step back. Something has to give between these two.

Prediction: And as far as that goes, I've got to go with Angulo. I think Yorgey's a great story and a heck of a tough fighter, and I don't think Alfredo's going to have an easy night by any stretch of the imagination. But I see Angulo, focused and improved, busting Yorgey up and stopping him in eight or nine rounds. Angulo steamrolled Rosado in August, and looked ferocious in doing so. Yorgey's skills are not massively better than Rosado's if they're really any better at all. But I don't think this will be the last we hear of either man, win or lose.