By Bill Emes

WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (31-1, 17KOs) says it was far from easy on Saturday night, when he secured a twelve round unanimous decision over Bernard Hopkins at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

Dawson said "I don't think Hopkins will retire, he can still beat a lot of the young guys."

Hopkins, at 47-years-old, went twelve hard rounds with Dawson, but lost a majority decision on the cards. The former two division champion is mulling over his future and plans to make a decision in the coming weeks. After a controversial first meeting that ended in a two round no-contest last October, Dawson found a new respect for Hopkins in their rematch.

"I'm just ready to get back in the ring and I'm ready for whoever is next," Dawson said.

"He came to fight. I said it a few times before. He fights like a much younger fighter. Hopkins fights like a 35-year-old. He picked his punches very good. He doesn't waste any energy. It was much tougher than I thought it would be. I knew that I couldn't make any mistakes because he would pick up on it. I knew that I had to keep my composure and I had to keep him at the end of my jab."