Dawson fired his right jab, following it up with left hooks and straight lefts. Dawson won the exchanges when they existed over the course of Saturday night's lopsided, 12-round unanimous decision over the aging Johnson before a partisan crowd at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
In victory, Dawson improved to 29-0 with 17 knockouts, earning the WBC's interim light heavyweight title while also defending his IBO crown, and in the process erasing all doubt as to who won the first Dawson-Johnson bout in April 2008.
Confidence has never been an issue for WBC champion Carl Froch.
In a wide-ranging interview, the outspoken and talented Englishman, who is 26-0 with 20 knockouts, says why he thought Andre Dirrell was "scared" in their Oct. 17 fight, why he believes Dirrell will defeat Germany's Arthur Abraham and why he will defeat WBA champ Mikkel Kessler.
Read what Froch had to say during this Q&A after the jump.
Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward may be adversaries in their upcoming bout for Kessler's WBA supermiddleweight title, but they share at least one thing in common besides being professional boxers.
Both Kessler, from Denmark, and Ward say they feel added pressure going into their Nov. 21 fight slated for The Oracle Arena in Ward's hometown of Oakland, Calif.
Showtime's Sports general manager, Ken Hershman, said that he is "thrilled" concerning the success of last weekend's two super middleweight bouts of the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament, even as he expressed concern and well-wishes toward Jermain Taylor, who was diagnosed with a concussion following his 12th-round knockout loss to Germany's Arthur Abraham.
After losing to Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) in a clash of former middleweight (160 pounds) champions, Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KOs) was hospitalized for a few days in Germany following their 168-pound battle.
England's Carl Froch overcame the speed, athleticism and switch-hitting tactics of previously unbeaten Andre Dirrell of Flint Mich., to retain his WBC super middleweight title by a split-decision Saturday night at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, England.
Froch benefited from referee, Hector Afu's, 10th-round, one-point deduction penalty against Dirrell during a session in which Froch was hurt by the challenger, only to rebound en route to the split-decision that was welcomed by most of the more than 7,000 screaming fans on hand.
German super middleweight Arthur Abraham is nicknamed "King."
And on Saturday before a partisan, sellout crowd of more than 14,000 at The O2 World Arena in Kreuzberg, Berlin, the 168-pounder crowned Jermain Taylor, stopping the Little Rock, Ark., resident in the 12th round of the clash of former middleweight (160 pounds) champions.
Abraham's 25th knockout came with 11 seconds left, after setting up a hard right hand with a short left, which deposited Taylor onto his back and stopped him cold.
In victory, the Armenian-born Abraham rose to 31-0 and increased the chances of achieving his goal of becoming a star on American soil, where he has fought only twice during his career.
On Saturday, Andre Dirrell, broke training camp in Big Bear Lake, Calif., where the former Olympic bronze medalist worked out at 7,500 feet above sea level for this coming Saturday's bid to win the WBC super middleweight crown from England's Carl Froch.
And it seems that from the moment Dirrell (18-0, 13 knockouts) landed in Froch's hometown of Nottingham, the Flint, Mich., native has been running his mouth as swiftly as he plans to move his hands and feet during their clash of 168-pounders.
"I've spent my whole life dreaming of this night when I fight for the world title," said the 27-year-old Dirrell. "Froch has been foaming at the mouth saying how hopeless my chances are against him. Frankly I find his rants tiresome."
Showtime and NFL Films have combined to produce the reality series, Fight Camp 360: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic.
The series is intended to take viewers inside of Showtime's Super Six super middleweight (168) tournament, giving them unprecedented access into the lives of the participants who are in an event featuring six of the top fighters in the weight class.
Problem is, out of Abraham's 30 fights, only two have been outside of his adopted Germany, and only one of those contests was in the United States.
But on Oct. 17, Abraham hopes to score a big victory toward expanding his name worldwide when he takes on Jermain Taylor in a clash of former middleweight (160 pounds) champions.
Southpaw "Bad" Chad Dawson moved effortlessly around the ring while Glen "The Road Warrior" Johnson was mostly flat-footed and looked old.
Confidence has never been an issue for WBC champion 
Showtime's Sports general manager, 
England's 
German super middleweight 
On Saturday, 
Arthur Abraham
