Antonio Tarver won the IBO light heavyweight title Saturday, unanimously outpointing Glen Johnson to avenge a split decision six months ago.
Tarver had winning scores of 116-112 on two cards and 115-113 on the third.
Tarver came out punching in flurries and continued through the 12 rounds. He threw 851 punches, landing 218, while Jamaican-born Johnson fired 564 times and hit 149.
PHOTO: AP
By the 10th round, the rapid punching drew cheers of "Tarver! Tarver! Tarver!"
Tarver, 23-3 with 18 knockouts, also sought to take advantage of his longer reach, while Johnson, 42-10-2 with 28 knockouts, steadily tried to press inside.
Johnson landed several hard body shots but said Tarver managed to avoid the majority of potentially damaging punches.
"Most of the shots where hitting him in the chest and you know those shots are just not as effective as hitting solid in the body or in the head," Johnson said. "Every time I would go to the head, he would slide under me."
Johnson said he was ready for a rematch.
"If Tarver wants to fight again, I'll come back fighting," Johnson said.
Johnson and Tarver, the only two fighters to knock out former three-time world champion Roy Jones, fought in Las Vegas in December, with Johnson taking a split decision.
Tarver argued he was robbed, even though Johnson was the aggressor through out the 12-round fight. Two judges scored the Las Vegas fight 115-113 for Johnson, while the third gave it to Tarver, 116-112.
Tarver, a former WBC and IBF light heavyweight champ, won an Olympic bronze medal in 1996.
At 1.89m, Tarver, a southpaw, had a 10cm height advantage over Johnson. Both fighters are 36.
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