Antonio "Magic Man" Tarver lost a split decision to Glencofee Johnson last night, in a close, hard fought battle at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Tarver, who used to enter the ring wearing a top hat and carrying a magic stick, was stripped of his title by the WBC governing body for choosing to fight Johnson, the number-one contender, instead of his mandatory. He entered the ring wearing a crown, having stated earlier that he wanted the fight to be for something, and should Johnson win, he would put the crown on his head himself.

Notably, HBO's Larry Merchant stated that the fight was for the Ring magazine belt, the unofficial but more credible title than any of those of the 'alphabet oraganizations'.

In the opening round, Johnson came out on the offensive as he did in his fight with Jones, who ironically (but to his credit) was sitting ringside and calling the fight with Merchant and Jim Lampley. Johnson used good head movements and feints, applying pressure to the backpedalling Tarver and winning the round easily. In the second round, Tarver began putting his punches together as in the third, where although Johnson walked Tarver down, he continued to take punishment.

The crowd was obviously pro-Johnson and cheered when Tarver slipped to the canvas, thinking he had been knocked down. Although not as aggressive or busy as he was in the Jones fight, Johnson appeared to outwork Tarver, who spent a lot of time against the ropes playing possum, but who landed the harder, more accurate (if sometime shoe-shining) blows.

In the 12th and final round, Johnson came out with all guns blazing, much to the delight of the crowd. When the final decision was announced, it was Johnson whose arm was raised in victory. I scored the fight 115-113 in favour of Tarver. With the win, Johnson improves to 42-9-2 (28) while Tarver slips to 22-3 (18).

A rematch between the two is inevitable, but for now, the 'Road Warrior' can take solace in the fact that he is the number one light heavyweight in the world, belt or no belt. And no one could be more deserving.