11.10.08 – By Ted Sares, photo by Tom Casino / Showtime – This one was a great stylistic match up with both light heavyweights highly skilled and ring smart. Dawson has never lost and Tarver has never been stopped.
In the third round, a fight broke out when Antonio Tarver started catching Bad Chad Dawson with some nice uppercuts and straight lefts, but Dawson’s hand speed and tremendous combos to the body were the story. Dawson is a body puncher extraordinaire and his early work began to slow the Champion down.
Dawson took off the sixth round perhaps to tire Tarver out and show that he could take any magic Tarver had to offer. Dawson came back strong in round seven with brutal body shots generated by great hand speed..
Going into the eight, it was clear “Bad Chad” was ahead and now the question was whether the body work he was putting into the bank would prove an effective investment down the stretch. And that seemed to be the case in the eighth stanza as Tarver’s punches were not as sharp.
Tarver was having a decent ninth round until Dawson suddendly opened up with malice aforethought to take the round.
Dawson lived up to his nickname as he opened the tenth with a savage flurry. He proceeded to land uppercuts, multiple jabs, hooks to the body and straight lefts that tested Tarver’s ability to hang in there. Chad’s punch volume was simply too high.
Tarver had a decent eleventh round, but it was too little too late. Going into the last round, Antonio Tarver needed a stoppage to win, but it was not to be. Showing he a warrior, Dawson came after his foe with a fury (decking him in the process), but Tarver came back strong and hurt Dawson with several jolting shots. At the end, they held nothing back in this extremely a fan-friendly fight.
As expected, Dawson took the Championship belt by scores of 118-109, 117-110 and 117-110.
Chad Dawson is one very skilled fighter and worthy of the Championship belt.