LAS VEGAS, Nevada, Oct 11, 2008 (AFP) - Unbeaten Chad Dawson did his talking in the ring Saturday, seizing Antonio Tarver's International Boxing Federation light heavyweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision.

Dawson, 26, improved to 27-0 with 17 knockouts, knocking down the 39-year-old champion in the 12th round en route to a dominant victory.

Two of the ringside judges scored the bout 117-110 while a third saw it 118-109 for Dawson, who displayed more speed and power than Tarver.

Tarver, who had captured a share of the light heavyweight crown for the third time on April 12 with a unanimous decision over Clinton Woods, had loudly proclaimed his superiority in the run-up to the fight.

'I'm not going to amend anything I said, 'That's how I felt coming in,' said Tarver, who fell to 27-5. 'The man won the fight tonight, what can I say.'

In the end, however, Tarver had no answer for the speed and power of Dawson.

'It's a happy moment for me right now,' Dawson said. 'Tarver came out and fought a great fight. He had a little more than I thought he would have.

'My work rate was higher. I was the faster guy, the younger guy. I had the better legs. I'm the champ now.'

In fact, Dawson claimed his second world title, having given up the World Boxing Council light heavyweight belt in July after three successful defences in order to fight Tarver.

After close early rounds, Dawson began to build his lead, setting a punishing pace and scoring with right jabs and solid lefts.

'I tip my hat to Chad,' Tarver said. 'He came with a busy game plan. Whether he was landing or not, he threw more.'

Dawson sent Tarver to the canvas with an uppercut less than one minute into the final round, although Tarver said the blow didn't hurt him.

'It was a slip or a push on the knockdown - it wasn't a 10-8 round,' Tarver said, but admitted he knew he was trailing by then.

'He threw a lot of punches. His work rate was a lot today. At end I had to gut it out, I felt like I was behind. We tried to score the big knockout, and it didn't come.'

Dawson said that during the fight he set aside the pre-fight hype in which Tarver questioned his credentials and the quality of his opponents.

'That wasn't on my mind during the fight,' Dawson said, adding the only thing he was thinking about was 'winning the fight.'