Tampa, FL (Betting Express) - Antonio Tarver scored a 12-round unanimous decision over Roy Jones Jr. Saturday night at the St. Pete Times Forum in a light heavyweight bout, marking the finale of a heated trilogy between the two boxers.

It's been a long-standing of mutual respect for Jones and Tarver. They've known each other since the age of 13 when they fought at the Sunshine State Games in Florida. Jones, the former undisputed light heavyweight champion and a titlist in four divisions, beat Tarver in a controversial majority decision in November of 2003. However, Tarver came back with a second-round knockout of Jones in May of last year.

On Saturday night, it was Tarver who dominated Jones, winning on two of the scorecards by 116-112 and 117-111 on another to retain the IBO Light Heavyweight belt.

Once defined as the best pound-for-pound fighter, Jones (49-4) couldn't mount a rally Saturday night. The 36-year-old looked like a much different fighter than his younger days when he plowed through the light heavyweight division and even stepped up to beat John Ruiz in a WBA heavyweight title fight in March of 2003.

The 36-year-old Tarver, who essentially fought on his home turf of Tampa, kept Jones at bay most of the fight and limited Jones' ability to throw combinations. In most cases, it was one and done for Jones, while Tarver (24-3) scored effectively with jabs and more control in the face of a sometimes taunting Jones, who has now lost his last three fights.

Tarver was the aggressor in the early part of the fight, backing Jones to the ropes following combinations in both the second and third rounds.

Jones, who hails from Pensacola, was the aggressor in round four and came out strong in the next round before Tarver pounded Jones into a corner of the ring. Jones came right back and landed several uppercuts and jabs to score big later in the round.

Jones wiggled his head, almost taunting Tarver in the middle rounds. However, Tarver was unfazed and landed often, backing Jones into the corner in the eighth.

The 10th round brought a series of pounding punches by Tarver, but Jones retaliated for a brief moment by pinning Tarver against the ropes. However, most of Jones' punches missed, as Tarver leaned his head over the ropes.

The 11th round looked like the end for Jones, who was stunned by a solid right to the face and his eyes looked glazed. However, he was able to avoid a knockout, mainly because Tarver didn't have a lot of firepower left and wanted to avoid a mistake, knowing he was far ahead on the scorecards.

There would be no rally for Jones in the 12th, as Tarver stayed away for the most part.

Even according to the statistics, Tarver was dominant, as he landed 100 more punches (158-58) than Jones throughout the fight

It marked a long layoff for Jones, who hadn't fought since September 25, 2004 when he was knocked out in the ninth round in a defeat to Glen Johnson for the IBF light heavyweight crown.

Following his KO victory over Jones on May 15, 2004, Tarver lost a split decision to Johnson before winning a rematch with a 12-round unanimous decision in June of this year.