Here's ESPN's play by play scoring of the fight so far.
Round 1
The "Fight to the Finish" is on. Both fighters come up cautious. Tarver looks to set the tempo with his left jab. Hopkins retaliates with his straight right. Hopkins circles Tarver for much of the round, as the combatants continue to measure each other. Hopkins gets off a brief combination. Hopkins is careful to keep his disance. Hopkins throws a cople rights during a clinch.
David Cooper scores it: 10-9 Hopkins
Dan Rafael scores it: 10-9 Hopkins
Round 2
The bell sounds and Tarver's right hand and Hopkins' left appear to be engaged in high-fiving. Hopkins continues to fight from the outside, circling Tarver. Tarver waits for his opening, then unleashes a hard left. Hopkins comes back with a right several secons later, followed by another right. Hopkins follows up his attack with a series of rights that score. Tarveris not hur significantly, though. Tarver lets fly a combination, but Hopkins parries.
Cooper: 10-9 Hopkins
Rafael: 10-9 Hopkins
Round 3
It's more of the same. More measuring, more sizing up for much of the round. Hopkins gets inside and throws short rights that don't do much damage to Tarver, but they do score. Tarver continues to be patient, but it may cost him the round.
Cooper: 10-9 Hopkins
Rafael: 10-9 Hopkins
Round 4
Both fighters sep up the aggression. Hopking throws a roundhous left that is partially blocked. Tarver is stepping up his attack with his left, but Hopkins maintains the pressure. Tarver lands a left, but still is watching and waiting. Hopkins is selective in his attack, and has been acurate to this point. Hopkins bounces off the ropes and gets clear of Tarver, and continues to circle. Hopkins scores with a right, then clinches briefly. Hopkins moves tauntingly at the end of the round. Tarver gets in a left just before the bell sounds.
Cooper: 10-9 Tarver
Rafael: 10-9 Tarver
Round 5
The pace steadily increases, but caution remains the better part of valor for both fighters. A Hopkins right forces Tarver's glove to touch the canvas, a knockdown. Hopkins looks to press the attack, unleashing a flurry. Tarver retaliates with two lefts. Hopkins comes away with a decisive round.
Cooper: 10-8 Hopkins
Rafael: 10-8 Hopkins
Round 6
It's a fight now at the halfway mark. Hopkins scores with a right, then clinches. Tarver still flares his jab to measure Hopkins. Hopkins is more selective about when to be aggressive, lunging at Tarver and scoring. Hopkins is willing to take the risk of testing Tarver's longer reach. A Hopkins combination seals another round for him.
Cooper: 10-9 Hopkins
Rafael: 10-9 Hopkins
Round 7
At this point, it's Hopkins' fight to lose. Tarver lands a sporadic right jab, only to receive Hopkins coming at him. Hopkins maintains his distance, but Tarver catches him with a left. Tarver lunges at Hopkins but misses. Hopkins lands a right, again. The crowd chants "B-Hop! B-Hop!" in support.
Cooper: 10-9 Hopkins
Rafael: 10-9 Hopkins
Round 8
Tarver opens the round aggressively, but Hopkins comes back with a right. Hopkins does not wait for Tarver to reload, pressing the attack and tying him up inside. Hopkins stays outside of Tarver's reach, then unleashes his right, then a left. The pace slows somewhat until Tarver decides to throw a combination that's hit-n-miss. Hopkins is in control, fighting his fight.
Cooper: 10-9 Hopkins
Rafael: 10-9 Hopkins
Round 9
Tarver needs to come out and fight. Hopkins ties him up briefly in the first 20 seconds of the round. Tarver looks to get off his left, but finds Hopkins to be tantalizingly elusive. Tarver appears to be waiting for the home-run punch, but is running out of time and rounds. Hopkins sticks to his game plan, landing his right seemingly at will. Hopkins finishes with a flurry as the bell sounds.
Cooper: 10-9 Hopkins
Rafael: 10-9 Tarver
Round 10
Tarver has to make his move sometime. Hopkins is beginning to dance a little around the ring, then firing off shots. The action lulls, then Hopkins scores with a flurry. Hopkins throws another 1-2, and then stalks confidently. Hopkins dodges Tarver and plays to the crowd, then attacks Tarver as the round ends.
Cooper: 10-9 Hopkins
Rafael: 10-9 Hopkins
Round 11
The round starts slowly, playing to Hopkins' advantage. Hopkins has Tafrver where he wants him, firing combinations. Tarver's eyes are swollen. It's a masterful performance by Hopkins, attacking and then backing off. Hopkins switches to southpaw style and back as the bell sounds.
Cooper: 10-9 Hopkins
Rafael: 10-9 Hopkins
Round 12
The round starts in a clinch. Then, Hopkins goes to work, working the body. Tarver counters, but Hopkins continues to work inside. Then Hopkins walks and stalks. Several seconds later, Hopkins lunges and scores. A left-left-right by Hopkins draws oohs and ahhs from the crowd. Hopkins scores with a right, then ties Tarver up briefly, then gets outside of Tarver's range. Hopkins is dancing. It's over.
Cooper: 10-9 Hopkins
Rafael: 10-9 Hopkins
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Hopkins upsets Tarver!
Former longtime middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins (47-4-1, 32 KOs) outpointed world light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver (34-4, 18 KOs) handily Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After a slow first round, the 41-year-old Hopkins seemed to get the upper hand by connecting with lead rights in round two. Things picked up in round five when Tarver's glove touched the canvas resulting in Hopkins being credited with a knockdown. "The Executioner," who looked solid as a light heavyweight, took Tarver completely out of his game and consistantly beat his foe to the punch. The last several rounds it appeared that Hopkins could have knocked out Tarver if he had chosen to step on the gas. Scores were 118-109 on all cards. The 37-year-old Tarver was surprisingly listless. Word is he lost as much as forty excess pounds after appearing in Rocky 7 and in addition to losing the fight lost a $250,000 bet with Hopkins that he would end the fight within six rounds.
