Tarver Wins Rematch with Johnson

Antonio Tarver told anyone who would listen that he was in better shape for his rematch with Glen Johnson than he was for their first meeting -- a fight Tarver lost by controversial split decision. Tarver likes to talk but it appears he may have been telling the truth as he utilized his superior skills to outbox and outwork Glen Johnson for most of their rematch. Tarver landed 218 of 851 punches, while Johnson landed only 149 of 564. Tarver appeared to run out of gas in the final two rounds, but he had already done enough to earn a unanimous decision: 116-112, 116-112, 115-113. Tarver has now successfully reversed all three of his career losses in rematches. A third Tarver-Johnson bout appears likely. On the undercard, former champ Ike Quartey survived a ninth round knockdown to narrowly defeat Verno Phillips: 95-94, 95-94, 96-93. This marked only Quartey's second bout back after a nearly five-year layoff and there appears to still be considerable rust that needs to be knocked off before he can again be considered a serious contender -- especially at 154 after spending the majority of his career at 147.