Live Blog: Chad Dawson vs Antonio Tarver

One of the most unnecessary rematches in recent memory is taking place on HBO tonight.

Yes, we know that Tarver had a rematch clause, but that didn't mean HBO had to bid on the fight. But they did - and it's on (9:30 EST) - and we're live blogging it.

Photo © Ray Kasprowicz

Coverage will start at 9:30 PM EST. Please refresh this page often, as I'll be doing regular updates throughout the show. 9:34... HBO is live from The Joint at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. First off, they're going to look back at last week's Pacquaio/Hatton fight. Not sure what time the main-event will get under-way, but I'll keep you posted. 9:40... The intros from last week are still going on. I'd say we won't be seeing Dawson or Tarver until 10 at the earliest, but that's just a guess. If you're here early and waiting for Dawson/Tarver, check out The Boxing Bulletin's story on Chad Dawson from earlier this year... The Future Pound 4 Pound King by Mark Lyons 9:52... Last week's replay is in the books as far as the fight goes, although I imagine there will be a fair bit of chatter still. 10:00... The interviews from last week are over. HBO just showed clips of Dawson and Tarver getting ready in their respective dressing rooms. 10:01... Max Kellerman on a Floyd vs Manny fight, "It will be the most historically significant fight since Julio Cesar Chavez vs Pernell Whitaker." 10:04... Lampley is running through HBO's future shows. 10:06... Nice to hear Lampley point out that Glen Johnson's the man who deserves to be fighting tonight, but has been ignored. 10:08... Steward says that Tarver will be much better prepared tonight. I don't see it. I'm sure Tarver was prepared last time out, he's just a bit past it. 10:10... Ring Life with Chad Dawson is now on. 10:14... We're back ringside. Dawson weighs 184, while Tarver is at 185 on HBO's unofficial fight night scales. 10:17... Old man Tarver is in the ring. 10:18... Bad Chad is making his way in. 10:19... Lampley mentions how Floyd Mayweather said that Chad Dawson was the best fighter in the sport. Max Kellerman says that praise is a little unfounded, as Chad sometimes slips below an "A" during his fights. 10:21... Michael Buffer with the intros. From Tampa, Florida... The Magic Man, Antonio Tarver. From New Haven, Connecticut... Bad Chad Dawson. 10:22... "Can Chad Dawson turn in an A performance tonight and take that next step toward stardom?" - Max Kellerman 10:22... We're underway. 10:24... Steward comments that Dawson looks like the bigger guy, but acknowledges all the numbers indicate they're the same size. Kellerman remarks that Tarver's moving his hands more than he did in hte last fight, but those hands look pretty slow. 10:25... "Good round, more sustained combat in this past round than in the last fight." 10:25... "He got nothing, but I want you to be careful." - Dawson's corner. "Don't back up." - Tarver's corner 10:26... Harold has Dawson up 1-0. Not too much happened in it. 10:27... Dawson forces Tarver back with a series of jabs and follows up with a left hand to the body. He now fires off a nice combo the body. 10:27... "Dawson's got his jab on track this round." - Kellerman 10:29... Steward acknowledges that Dawson's outworking Tarver, but says nothing too clean has landed. Dawson is using the jab. Throwing combos. Tarver's just playing defense here and not doing much. He occasionally throws one shot a time. 10:29... Dawson is warned for hitting after the bell. 10:30... Lampley points out that Dawson threw twice as many punches as Tarver in the second round. 10:30... I wasn't paying attention to Harold's score, but I assume it was 20-18. 10:31... Tarver is shooting the jab out a bit now, but not following it up with anything. Perhaps trying to get Chad to open up and leave himself open. Chad does fire off a combo, but then he covers up before Tarver can respond. 10:32... Lampley points out that Tarver has switched from southpaw to conventional stance, but he switches back almost immediately. 10:33... There's the bell to end round 3. Tarver was a little busier in that one. 10:34... "Don't let him walk to you like that." - Buddy McGirt in Tarver's corner. "Hard jabs!" 10:34... Harold gave round 3 to Tarver. 10:34... Dawson starts off round 4 by letting his hands go with a series of nice combos, and has Tarver backing up a bit. 10:35... Tarver throws a left/right combo, but it's just too slow to bother Dawson who picks it off and counters. Dawson now bangs Tarver's body with a combo. 10:36... Dawson just landed a really nice hard left hand over th top. It caught Tarver clean and Tarver's backing up. Dawson probes with a jab and drills a shot to the body. Tarver has his legs and Dawson's not following up too strongly, but he's pushing forward. 10:37... There's the bell. Tarver had a decent moment or two in the last 15 seconds. He landed a good chopping left over the top. 10:39... Kellerman comments that Dawson is starting to take some more risks. Steward comments that even if Dawson chooses to trade more, he's still got the advantage. 10:40... Kellerman mentions that in the fighter meeting yesterday, Dawson said he didn't want to go toe to toe. He's mixing it up a bit now though. He just caught Tarver with a nice right left hand. Now they are trading shots in the center of the ring and Dawson's getting the better of it. 10:41... Dawson pushes Tarver back into the ropes and drills him with a right hand. TArver is trying to flurry off the ropes, but Dawson bangs him with a combo and keeps taking the play away from Antonio. 10:42... Tarver landed a nice left uppercut in the 5th that HBO just replayed. 10:43... Tarver occasionally puts a few punches together, but as mentioned earlier, he's just too slow. When Chad sees it coming, he has no trouble blocking them. The reverse however isn't true. Chad's been firing off effective combos, going to the body and then upstairs. Some are blocked, but some get through. 10:44... Lampley comments that Dawson seems to be showing that he's a little more trusting of his own abiilty to take shots. 10:45... There's the bell to end the 6th. Dawson in control of this one. 10:46... Lampley rattles off some compubox numbers. Harold has it 59-55 for Dawson. "Chad's backing him up constantly, he's getting off first and he's throwing 4 or 5 punches at a time." - Harold 10:49... Chad's having his way here in round 7. He continues to easily outwork Tarver. Just as I say that, Tarver landed a nice left hand, and another one. Chad backed off for a second, but comes right back and forces Tarver backwards. 10:50... Tarver had a real nice little flurry after he stung Dawson with a left, and put together by far his best period of the fight in the last minute of the 7th. 10:51... Tarver trying to let his hands go a little more now. He's coming forward behind the jab. Chad looks comfortable moving backwards and responds with a combo, and drills Tarver with a hook to the body. 10:52... Tarver just landed a hard left hand over the top. Dawson took it well though, and responds by throwing back. 10:53... Buddy McGirt is yelling at Tarver to stop looking for the left hand and to make it a dog fight. 10:54... Harold has it 6-2 Dawson. He gave Tarver the 3rd and 7th. 10:54... Dawson comes out throwing and immediately puts Tarver on the defensive. He drills Tarver with a right hand, and pushes Tarver backwards. 10:56... Tarver shows a bit of spark and pushes Dawson back with a flurry. Tarver just misses with a left. He's just a little too slow with it. He whiffs with another one along the ropes. 10:57... Dawson now backs Tarver into the ropes and drills him with a combo. Dawson with a nice combo that included a good uppercut to the close the 9th round. 10:58... 7-2 on Harold's card. 10:59... Dawson has his back to the ropes here, and Tarver isn't taking much advantage. Now Dawson moves off the ropes, after slipping a number of jabs. 11:00... Tarver's letting his hands go a bit here, but not landing. 11:01... "It's been a couple rounds now since Antonio Tarver landed a big left hand, and that's what it would appear now is needed to get him back in the fight." - Lampley 11:02... 8-2 on Harold's card. 11:02... Through 10 rounds, this has gone as expected. Not thrilling stuff. 11:04... Tarver's working the jab here in round 11. Dawson's not doing a whole lot. 11:05... After taking it easy, Dawson came to life in the last 30 seconds of the round. 11:06.... Harold has it 8-3. 11:06... Some decent action here to start the 12th after the 10th and 11th were devoid of entertainment. 11:09... That's it. This one is over. The 12th round had a bit of action, more so than the previous few rounds, as Tarver let his hands go and tried to get something started. Dawson didn't do too much, and seemed content to cruise to the points win. Harold gave the 12th to Tarver, and has it 8-4. 11:11... Michael Buffer with the decision. 116-112, 117-111 and 117-111 for Chad Dawson. 11:13... Dawson tells Kellerman that Tarver took him off his game plan. 11:14... Kellerman asks Dawson who he would like to fight next. Kellerman says, "You've mentioned you don't want to fight Glen Johnson unless you absolutely have to..." Dawson says he believes in his skills and, "Whoever it is, bring it on." 11:16... Steward and Lampley put in a few words for Glen Johnson. 11:18... That's it from The Boxing Bulletin. Hope you enjoyed our live blog coverage of tonight's event.