Dawson decisions Tarver for IBF title

LAS VEGAS – Round by round coverage of Chad Dawson’s IBF light heavyweight title-winning victory over Antonio Tarver at the Pearl at the Palms. Official scores were 118-109, 117-110, and 117-110, all for Dawson.

ROUND 1
It’s a rare battle of left-handers. Tarver flicks a couple of jabs that miss. Dawson goes to the body. Tarver lands a left to the body. Dawson lands a double jab. Dawson connects with a hook and then a three-punch combination.
Iole scores it 10-9, Dawson

ROUND 2
They trade combinations. Tarver flicks a jab and Dawson goes hard to the body. Dawson lands a hook and then a good uppercut. Good body shot by Dawson. Jab-right hand by Dawson connects. Tarver is stalking but not throwing much now. Hook to the body, left the head and left to the body by Dawson. It’s a big round for Dawson. Right hook by Dawson connects.
Iole scores it 10-9, Dawson

ROUND 3
Dawson warned for pushing as round starts. Dawson is circling as Tarver is jabs. Hard combination by Dawson rocks Tarver. Tarver lands a short left. Dawson lands a right-left. Double jab by Dawson. Straight left and then a hard left to the body by Tarver lands. That was his best moment of the fight. Dawson circles away. Right to the body by Tarver. Left by Dawson blunts the momentum, at least momentarily. Tarver lands three jabs and Dawson dances away.
Iole scores it 10-9, Tarver

ROUND 4
Dawson lands a jab as they start. Tarver seems more motivated. Dawson is jabbing more. Right hand and a left by Tarver. Good left to the body by Dawson. Jab by Tarver. Double jab by Dawson snaps Tarver’s head. Hook and then an uppercut by Dawson, who has seemingly regained his mojo. Hard left hook by Dawson and then a quick and hard combination to Tarver’s body. Left by Tarver to the body. Triple jab by Dawson is impressive. Left hook by Tarver grazes Dawson’s head, but got the crowd excited. Left by Dawson at bell.
Iole scores it 10-9, Dawson

ROUND 5
Right uppercut and then a left by Dawson seems to rock Tarver. Dawson lands a three-punch combination that backs Tarver. Tarver seems OK, though. Dawson is circling quite a bit. Dawson lands a double jab. Right to the body by Dawson. Right-left-right by Dawson connects. Dawson’s defense and offense are working together well in this round. He makes Dawson miss and then makes him pay. Straight left to the head by Dawson. Left uppercut to the head by Dawson connects. Tarver digs to the body. Dawson is outworking him at this stage. Double left hook to the body by Tarver.
Iole scores it 10-9, Dawson

ROUND 6
Short right from Tarver opens the round. Tarver is still the one moving forward. Referee Jay Nady warns Tarver about kidney blows. Straight left from Tarver. Left to the body by Dawson. Right-left-right by Tarver. Left to the body by Tarver. Uppercut by Tarver lands. Dawson goes into a shell. Double hook to the body by Tarver. Dawson seems to be coasting here. Tarver continues to work the body well. Short left uppercut by Tarver.
Iole scores it 10-9, Tarver

ROUND 7
Jab and then two hard lefts by Dawson. Combination to the head by Dawson backs Tarver to the ropes. Dawson lands three hard shots. Tarver slides off and gets to the center. Double jab by Dawson, who is significantly more active in this round than he had been in six. Dawson is jabbing. Hook and then a straight left pushes Tarver back. Dawson rips Tarver with a left. Tarver misses badly with a left.
Iole scores it 10-9, Dawson

ROUND 8
Tarver goes to the body as the round starts, but Dawson circles away. Jab-left hand connects for Dawson. There have been few clinches in this fight. Pace has slowed as neither is landing much. Hard straight left from Dawson. Shot to the body by Dawson. Two shots to the body and then a good left to the head from Dawson. Combination by Dawson in the corner gets a rise out of the crowd. Tarver lands a right uppercut and a left to the body. Left hook and right by Dawson.
Iole scores it 10-9, Dawson

ROUND 9
Triple jab by Dawson to open the round. Double jab and then a short hook by Dawson. Combination to head and body by Dawson. Tarver lands a left to the body, but doesn’t follow up on an opening. Tarver lands a right hook and a straight left. Right-left-right by Dawson snaps Tarver’s head. Big combination to the body by Dawson. Combination to the body and then an uppercut bother Tarver.
Iole scores it 10-9, Dawson

ROUND 10
Big combination by Dawson rocks Tarver. Tarver is showing a great chin and a lot of heart. He is taking big, big shots and is still coming forward. Dawson pops Tarver with an uppercut. It’s almost target practice for Dawson. Hard left by Dawson to Tarver’s head. Hard combination to head by Dawson lands. Another similar connects. The rounds are getting more one-sided at this point but Tarver is still moving forward. Give him credit for that. He’s trying. Hook to the body by Dawson.
Iole scores it 10-9, Dawson

ROUND 11
Dawson picks up where he left off in the last round. Straight left by Dawson. Right hook by Tarver. Tarver lands to the body, but Dawson easily slips the home run punch Tarver hoped would end it. Dawson lands a jab. They trade on the inside, but Dawson has much more zip.
Iole scores it 10-9, Dawson

ROUND 12
Tarver lands a few to the head. Dawson connects with a combination to the body and then a left to the head. Tarver lands a left to the head. Dawson lands a right hook and then a left and Tarver goes stumbling down. Uppercut and then a hook from Dawson. Hard right by Dawson on the ropes connects. Dawson lands to the head. Tarver fires and uppercut. Tarver misses a chopping left. Left-hook right hand by Tarver.
Iole scores it 10-8, Dawson