By Eric Thomas: 42-year-old Antonio Tarver (29-6, 20 KO’s) looked half his age on Wednesday night in stopping IBO cruiserweight champion Danny Green (31-4, 27 KO’s) in the 9th round to claim his 5th world title. It was a great win for Tarver, but what made it even more special was the fact that Green hurt Tarver two times in the fight but Tarver kept it a secret to not give Green any confidence.

It looked like Tarver was hurt with a right hand to the head in the 4th, and then he seemed to get hurt again from a hard body shot from Green in the 7th. However, Tarver, who was visibly taking deep breaths after getting nailed by the body shot, was able to make it out of the round in one piece and come back in the 8th and 9th to punish Green.

“He hurt me twice, but I didn’t let him know it and I want to think Danny for giving me the opportunity,” Tarver said as quoted by the AFP

Tarver hurt Green in the 9th with a perfectly placed chopping left hand that connected to the jaw of Green and causing him to back up. Tarver then opened up with a salvo of shots, dodging a couple of wild home run shots from Green along the way until the round ended. Green stayed on his feet through it all, but once the round was over, he suddenly staggered and turned around, as if he were disoriented. He then grabbed Tarver to congratulate him on a great round. The fight was then halted after Green got back to his corner. Green could have continued fighting but with Tarver smelling blood, he would have made things very difficult for Green in the 10th to survive.