Tarver chops down Woods

Tarver: Celebrating after hearing the judges' decision

I'm just a skinny boy from Sheffield and I never dreamed of things like this. All credit to Tarver, he did a fantastic job.

Clinton Woods
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Antonio Tarver ended Clinton Woods' reign as IBF light-heavyweight champion - and could have possibly have sent the British boxer into retirement.

The 35-year-old from Sheffield was well beaten on points by the American in Tampa and admitted afterwards that he will consider his future in the ring.

Such a disappointing performance on the big stage could well make up Woods' mind, as he failed to push an opponent lacking a little in stamina and looking past his best.

However, the judges at ringside all rightly gave Tarver the win by a wide margin, 116-112, 117-111, 119-109 being the final verdict on the three scorecards.

Skinny boy

"I fought the best light-heavyweight in the world," said Woods hearing the one-sided decision.

"I'm just a skinny boy from Sheffield and I never dreamed of things like this. All credit to Tarver, he did a fantastic job.

"I'm happy with my career but I don't know if I'll stop. I've done everything I wanted to do. I'll go home, see my wife and play with my kids and make the decision. Maybe I have something left."

A sluggish start from Woods set the tone and he rarely threatened to take the fight to his rival, despite his corner pleading with him to go on the offensive.

Dictated

Instead he sat back and allowed Tarver, who could be seen gasping for breath between rounds, to dictate the fight with relative ease.

By the sixth the writing was on the wall, as the Floridian fired in several uppercuts that left Woods with blood coming from around his nose.

With such a comfortable cushion by the middle rounds, 'Magic Man' was never forced to look for a stoppage and was happy to work away behind the left jab.

Both men tired in the closing stages and at the final bell Woods slumped into his corner, already resigned to the fact that his belt had gone from his grasp.

Controversy

The undercard at the St. Pete Times Forum saw Chad Dawson retain his WBC light-heavyweight title against Glen Johnson in controversial circumstances.

All three judges scored the fight 116-112 to the defending champion, who is now 26-0 as a professional after his latest success.

However, 39-year-old Johnson was not happy with the final outcome, a view the crowd seemed to share judging by the chorus of boos that rung out when the verdict was announced.

He wobbled Dawson with a big shot in the 10th and pushed hard in the final rounds, though it wasn't enough to convince the judges.

"He's a good fighter," said Johnson. "But he's not good enough to beat me. I can not believe that at age 39, they would rip me off like this. Of course I want a rematch."