Eight months has passed since the first time they met but you'd think it was five years from the recent reports of their first meeting. Chad Dawson rolled to a decision win over Antonio Tarver but it was far from a beating. Yet according to the odds, this is one of the most lopsided title bouts of the year. Dawson (27-0m 17 KOs) was as high as -900 at some Las Vegas sportsbooks on Friday. The number has settled down but it's still at a very high in the -600 to -700 range. What's the deal?

The 40-year-old Tarver (27-5, 19 KOs) has a shot in this fight. He was more dedicated this time around with his training. Tarver got as a high as 233 pounds for the role of "Mason Dixon" in Rocky VI. He's generally cutting from around the 200 pound mark but there time there was no massive weight loss. If anything, he may have overtrained a bit coming in at 172 pounds during Friday's weigh-in. His dedication is from joining forces again with Buddy McGirt:

"Buddy is a great trainer," says Tarver. "We've had a lot of success together, and I think along with Jimmy Williams, two great minds are better than one. Where Jimmy is weak at, as a trainer, Buddy has strengths. And vice versa. They complement each other. And just to be able to have two guys in that corner that I love, and believe in and trust in, I think it just helps me. I know Buddy's going to be cool and calm under pressure and that's what I need between those rounds."

Trainer and fighter are both hard-headed but they put aside their differences for this one:

"It's been a year and a half since I worked with Antonio, and it was difficult at first. But we've worked hard, and I see Antonio winning back the championship Saturday night."

The fight starts tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET on HBO live from the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. This is the first major boxing card to be held at the Hard Rock's new venue concert/fighting venue The Joint. The $60 million facility is configured for 2,900 fans for boxing cards. Let's hope this fight performs better than the first one which sold less than 700 tickets in a similar venue, the Pearl at the Palms.