Woeful Woods Talks Retirement After Humiliation

A beaten fighter can often cut a lonely and disconsolate figure, but Clinton Woods looked nothing short of distraught after a mystifyingly sluggish performance saw him surrender his IBF world light-heavyweight title to Antonio Tarver on a one-sided points decision at the St Pete Times Forum in Florida.

Woods was battered and bruised, his nose twisted and oozing blood, but the pain was nothing compared with the knowledge that he had crossed the Atlantic for a second time in his career for a high-profile world-title fight and, as on the first occasion, had been humiliated.

Six years ago, the Sheffield champion faced Roy Jones Jr in Portland, Oregon, and was given a boxing lesson. This time was supposed to be different: Tarver, 39, badly beaten by Bernard Hopkins two years ago, was viewed as being well past his best, and many experienced judges agreed with the assessment of the Woods camp that the strength and fighting spirit of the younger man would surely prevail.

However, it was quickly apparent that the 35-year-old Woods seemed to harbor more self-doubt than he had been admitting. He fought like a man with his legs knee-high in treacle, plodding forward and throwing ineffectual single shots instead of the promised sustained attacks. His diffidence allowed Tarver to fight in the comfort zone, at his own pace, and he won pretty much as he pleased.

The British judge Howard Foster was closest to an accurate reflection of the action, such as it was, giving Woods only one round as he returned a score of 119-109 in Tarver's favor. The other tallies of 117-111 and 116-112 were generous to Woods, presumably rewarding his willingness to trudge forward, even though he was continually picked off by classy and accurate shots.

Perhaps it was Tarver's style that proved well-nigh unfathomable, or maybe Woods was quickly discouraged when it became clear that Tarver was not the jaded and apparently shocked fighter who labored against Hopkins. There was also the possibility that Tarver, a former world amateur champion and an Olympic bronze medalist with two wins on his record against Roy Jones, was simply too good.

Whatever the reason, Woods locked himself away in his dressing room after hinting at retirement. He said he had surpassed his expectations in fights of this magnitude, and winning a world title had been the fulfillment of dreams: the words of a man who knew it was all over.

"Sometimes we have bad days and this was one. He just didn't get out of first gear, and perhaps he froze," said Woods' manager and promoter, Dennis Hobson. "It is heartbreaking, because a win would have made the American fans sit up and take notice. It could have been his key to really big money. He is hurting now, but it is his pride more than anything else."

Tarver, meantime, is now on a mission to prove himself the best, and seems destined for a title unification match against the WBC champion Chad Dawson, 25, who outpointed the former champion Glen Johnson in an under card fight.

"Look at me, I'm still pretty," Tarver said afterwards, adapting the rhetoric of his Mason "The Line" Dixon character in the Rocky Balboa movie. "Anyone who wants to be light-heavyweight champion has to get past me. I'm here for another two or three years, and I'll retire as undisputed champion."