No Excuses Antonio Tarver
by
Buster Paris
12/16 - My mouth dropped open and I couldn’t believe it. It was shock and awe the way it was meant to be. This came out of nowhere, unprecedented, inspired and oh so cool! I’m referring to May 15th 2004 when Jay Nady had Antonio Tarver and Roy Jones Jr. in the center of the ring and asked if there were any questions. Say it with me: “...You got any excuses tonight Roy?”
Brilliant! You know Muhammad Ali was sitting somewhere and wondering why he didn’t think of it.
Saturday night, December 18th, 2004 we’ve got Antonio Tarver vs. “Gentleman” Glen Johnson. I’m at level orange on the stress scale because a fighter I like is fighting, but I’m not too worried about the results.
Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson are both beyond a doubt great fighters and very much deserving of the Light Heavyweight Championship, but I think Tarver is all over this one. I think he is poised for a spectacular showing.
First off – he’s a southpaw. You have to love the southpaw.
Next – let’s look at THE common opponent they’ve both recently fought – Roy Jones Jr. A future hall of famer and before he met up with the Magic Man the first time he was thought of as one of the most skilled and most impressive fighters out there. He was considered by many to be pound for pound the greatest.
I think that Roy lost the first fight, but that’s not how history has it. So we’ll just focus on 2004 where in Vegas in May for their second match Tarver beautifully put him down and out in the 2nd round while in September [4 months later] Johnson shipped him out of the FedEx Forum in the 9th.
Another common opponent is Eric Harding [another southpaw]. In 2002 Antonio won the bout via a TKO in the 5th round. In 2003 Glen won a unanimous decision as it went the full 12.
This brings up a pair of questions. The first is what can we expect on Saturday?
I expect Glen Johnson to come and fight. Hard. I think for Johnson enough is enough and he’s going to hit Tarver with everything he’s got as he has something to prove.
However, Antonio Tarver to be on the top of his game. I think we’ll see an amazing display of speed, power and all the things that Roy Jones Jr. said that Tarver lacked in their November 2003 bout.
The final question is directed at Tarver. Come on - say it with me:
“You got any excuses tonight Antonio?”
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