Johnson gave his usual solid, high pressure performance and appeared to have the edge against the young champion in the contest, but all three judges scored the bout 116-112 for the unbeaten 25-year-old.

"I'm looking for any guy who wants to fight me. I'm available. I wanna stay busy. I don't have time to waste," Johnson said.

"I want to get back in the ring as soon as possible and continue to make my mark," added the 39-year-old former International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion.

Johnson has a ring record of 47 wins (32 knockouts) against 12 losses and two draws and the result was the latest in a long list of scoring disappointments for Johnson, who has a history of controversially losing close decisions on points.

The native of Clarendon, in central Jamaica, had beaten Britain's Clinton Woods to claim the IBF light heavyweight title in February 2004, and his victories over big-name Americans Antonio Tarver and Roy Jones later in that year earned him the 'World Fighter of the Year Award' for 2004.

Johnson has declared he wants a rematch with Dawson and when asked about possible match-ups with Jones, or Tarver who is the new IBF champion, he said he would fight anyone who wants to fight him.