By Mark Vester
At the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, IBF light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (28-0, 17KOs) won a unanimous twelve round decision over Antonio Tarver (27-6, 19KOs) to retain his title. The scores were 116-112, 117-111 and 117-111 for Dawson. He breaks Tarver's streak of winning return bouts. Prior to the fight, Tarver had never lost a rematch.
After a cautious start by both men, a fight broke out in the fourth round when Tarver made a decision to stand his ground and fight. Dawson got lured in and began to trade with Tarver in the fourth and the majority of the fifth. During the seventh round, Tarver buzzed Dawson with a right hand. He followed up with a flurry of punches that forced Dawson to hold on for a bit. Dawson came back in the eight with very hard combinations to the body and the head, backing Tarver up.
