Antonio "Magic Man" Tarver foiled what Roy Jones Jr. hoped would be a dramatic comeback fight in the 3rd bout of the trilogy between the two rivals. Following a yearlong layoff, Roy Jones Jr. returned to the ring on Saturday night, showing the reflexes, speed, and stamina of yesteryear. The problem was that he did not really come to fight - and Anotnio Tarver did. Tarver's straight jab and no-nonsense approach proved to be more effective than anything Jones had in his bag of tricks. While retaining the IBO light heavyweight title, Tarver also showed once and for all, that he has Roy Jones' number.

   After a tremendous amount of pre-fight hype and excitement, the opening round of the fight proved anticlimactic. Tarver and Jones spent the entire first round sizing each other up and daring the other to make the first move. Eventually, Jones did, and a slightly higher amount of activity may have given Jones the first round. But in round two, Tarver returned to one the tactics that he patented on while undermining the legend of Roy Jones. Tarver cornered Jones and battered away at the former legend, landing upstairs and downstairs. Jones fought his way out the first time, but during the second go-round in the corner, Tarver clearly rocked Jones.

   Three rounds into the fight, some things were becoming clear. Jones was not throwing any combinations. Jones was far less willing to mix it up than Tarver was. And Jones' corner lacked the intensity that Tarver's did. Jones teased the audience in rounds four and five with outbursts of aggression that proved somewhat effective. This prompted the largely pro-Jones St. Pete Times Forum crowd to cheer, thinking that perhaps the old Roy Jones was back. However, midway through round six, Jones ceased the attacks and returned to his defensive tactics and posturing. Jones would not return to the offensive attack until the final three rounds. Having lost on two of the judges' scorecards by scores of 116-112, Jones' second half retreat probably cost him the fight. The irony was that Jones seemed most effective when he decided to stand in there and trade. He clearly rattled Tarver in the fourth round. But instead of delivering a thrashing like the old Roy Jones would have done, Jones stepped back to admire his work, letting Tarver off the hook.

   Jones' ability to elude punches and lead Tarver around the ring demonstrated that he showed up in shape. He decorated his defense with the standard clowning tricks that fighters have used for years when they don't really want to fight: taunting, sticking out the tongue and gesturing to show the crowd they're not hurt. But Jones' antics grew tiring. By round eight, the crowd that was originally pro-Jones began booing Jones.

   It was clear that Jones made a conscious decision to try to win the championship rounds. Jones outfoxed and outscored the tiring Tarver in round ten. The following round started off well for Jones - until Tarver decided that he had seen enough of Jones' resurgence. Being the man who created the blueprint on how to dismantle Jones, Tarver put Jones' attack to a halt and turned the tide dramatically with a combination that featured a booming right to Jones' head. Jones did all he could to stay afoot - and successfully did so for the rest of the round. Tarver appeared spent after unloading the barrage. Though Tarver was a sitting duck for about thirty seconds, Jones was too dazed from the recent assault to seize the moment. As Jones pursued Tarver while the champion was spent, Jones kept shaking his head to clear his cobwebs from Tarver's recent attack.

   Tarver coasted through round twelve, effectively conceding the final round to Roy Jones. This was not a concern since Tarver and everyone else in the arena, knew the champion had a comfortable lead. And unlike the decision in first fight of the trilogy, the scoring benefit customarily given to the defender of the title was not stolen away and handed over to the more popular fighter (Jones). Roy Jones' skill and athleticism made for a competitive fight. But his unwillingness to trade punches and win back the title by force turned the evening into something of a letdown for the large pro-Roy Jones contingent.