Tale of the Tape: Tarver v Johnson
by
Carl Rice
12/18 - This Saturday, the battle for light heavyweight supremacy will take place as Antonio Tarver will take on Glen Johnson for the championship of the world. The only thing missing from this title fight are actual belts (unless you count the Ring Magazine belt), but in this case, the belts will not really be missed. Following the trend started by Marco Antonio Barrera, these two men decided to dispose of their rather meaningless titles, skip fighting mandatories, and take on the best of the division.
Obviously, the thing that both of these men have most in common is that they both dispatched the great Roy Jones Jr. in brutal fashion. But Tarver is getting the most props because he not only fought him twice with numerous people believing he won the first fight, but he KOed Jones quicker than Johnson. But Glen cannot be thrown to the side like Kirk Johnson’s eating habits; he is a game fighter and will always give everything he has in the ring.
Ring Walk
Antonio Tarver, 22-2, 18 KO, is a tall light heavy, standing at 6’2” with a 75” reach. He was highly touted as one of the best in the 1996 Olympics, but some have said that because of an attitude problem, he did not reach the pinnacle of a gold medal. However, his efforts did earn him a bronze medal; less than 1 year later he turned pro and by 2000 he had placed himself in the position to fight for the world title. All the Tampa, Florida native had to do was beat Eric Harding and in his next fight he takes on fellow Floridian Roy Jones. But he was stopped in his tracks as a tough Harding broke Tarver’s jaw en route to a 12 round unanimous decision.
He took a few months off and picked himself up and won his next two fights and it was around this time that he made the best move pf his career by hiring the hot trainer at the time Buddy McGirt. From there he defeated Jones victim Reggie Johnson before once again taking on Harding. This time the southpaw destroyed Harding (and since that fight Harding has not been the same) via a 5th round TKO and he was screaming Jones’ name after the fight. But before he’d get a shot at Roy, he’d have to beat another Roy foe in Montell Griffin, the first man to place an L on Jones dossier, albeit by disqualification. Tarver pummeled Griffin and cruised his way to 12 round unanimous decision.
Finally, he was given the opportunity to take on Jones, and he did not disappoint as he gave Jones everything he had and in the process, gave Roy the toughest fight of his career. Nonetheless, Jones showed the heart of a lion to come through in the last few round to earn the majority decision. Jones didn’t have to fight Tarver again, but with all the hoopla surrounding the fight, he decided to give Tarver a rematch and in retrospect, Jones let his ego get the best of him. Tarver KOed Jones in the 2nd round with a shocking left hook that caught Jones right on the button. This will be Tarver’s first fight since that upset.
Glen Johnson, 41-9-2, 28 KOs, has been truly a road warrior throughout his career. Although the 5’10 1/2” Johnson is from Jamaica, he has fought a majority of his fights in Florida. Johnson started his career in 1993 as a super middleweight (but throughout his career he’s fluctuated between middle and super middle) and won all of his fights (mostly by points) until he came up against middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. Although Johnson was KOed in the 11th Round, according to the judges, it wasn’t even a close fight as Hopkins won every round on all the judges’ cards. This began the bad times for Johnson as he would lose his next two fights.
But rather than whine and cry for himself, Johnson dusted off his shoulders and got back to work. Unfortunately, he lost his next title fight against Sven Ottke; if there was anything he could take from this experience is that it was MUCH closer than the Hopkins debacle. That loss was the beginning of three more losses in a row, but it has to be mentioned that he took one on short notice, probably won one of them, and was overseas for another loss in Italy. After winning two more, he would lose to Derrick Harmon and his victory against Julio Gonzales in the next fight was jacked by the judges.
In the next fight, he was given a draw against Daniel Judah in a fight that Judah himself was quoted as saying “I thought I lost”, but this is where the tide started to turn for him. He defeated Eric Harding and then was given a chance to fight for a title at light heavy against Clinton Woods. Like most of his other fights, it was on the other guys turf, but he was still about to get a draw. In the rematch, Johnson came out even more determined and got the victory and his fist major title. In his next fight, Johnson was seen as giving his title away to Roy Jones in his comeback fight after getting KOed. But it was Johnson who was busier and after getting Roy into the later rounds, he stopped him cold with a left hook to the temple.
Pre Fight Introductions
Tarver has some power, as he has won 82% of his fights by KO. Furthermore, with Tarver being a southpaw, he will give most fighters problems. The thing that many people are concerned with is after making Roy Jones disappear, will “The Magic Man” be able to get up for someone other than Jones. I do not suspect that this will be a problem; Tarver has fought hard to get to this point and it doesn’t seem likely that he would simply rest on his laurels, especially since he’s 36 years old. He is looking on to bigger things and a loss in this fight won’t be devastating to his career, but it would put all the plans he has for the future on hold.
Johnson my not have the KO power of Tarver, but he has as much if not more heart than anyone not named Gatti, Ward, Vargas, or Trinidad. And his determination cannot be questioned by anyone; if most boxers had gone through what Johnson has, they would have either retired or just relegated themselves to journeymen status. And let’s remember, he’s actually younger than Tarver and also has more experience. But something that could play a part in this fight is the fact that Johnson has never really taken on a big puncher at light heavy. Roy Jones has never been known as a power puncher at 175 and he might be the hardest hitter Johnson has faced at this weight.
Referee’s Instructions
Tarver finds himself in a difficult position. This is his first fight after Jones and although he defeated the best fighter on the planet at the time, many feel that he may just have Jones’ number. How will he do with someone that is not Jones? Johnson is a good fighter, but he does have some flaws. Johnson can be hit and Tarver’s left hook will find a home with no problem. Also, McGirt will make sure that Tarver, the bigger man, will use his jab to keep Johnson off and will go to the body to slow Johnson down and take some steam out of his attack. Then after Johnson wears down a little, that left hand will be a major factor.
For Johnson, this is the biggest fight of his career. Although he KOed Jones, many are still skeptical because he beat an already deflated Jones, and Jones’ constantly stating that he wasn’t able to get up for Johnson takes away from the victory somewhat. But everyone knows that he will not quit and will give his best. Johnson needs to keep the pressure on Tarver and let him know that he will not relent. But while he must put on the pressure, he also has to beware of Tarver’s power; he cannot just come in always looking to attack. He’ll have to use angles, keep his hands up, and know when to attack and when to back off. Going to the body will be tough from the outside, so he’ll also need get in and out quickly, or use some Ruiz tactics (I can’t believe I’m saying this) by throwing some punches to get inside, then grab after landing something.
The Fight and the Decision
I didn’t like Tarver a few years ago. When I heard him talking about how he would beat Jones before he has even fought Harding was quite annoying. And not to take away from his defeat of Roy, but I have stated many times that the coming down in weight was more detrimental to Roy than anything Tarver did. In any case, Tarver has shown himself to be a respectable, articulate champion who is looking to make the best fights, something which cannot be said for Jones. Conversely, I always liked Johnson because he has worked so hard to get to this point, but I like him a little less because after he hit Jones in the temple and Jones’ head slammed into the canvas, I thought I was going to witness something horrific.
But I’m going to put feelings and emotions aside for this…Johnson does not come out like a madman as he did against Jones. Instead, he employs a more defensive posture but this does not mean that he isn’t still coming forward. Tarver just keeps cool and sticks his jab out and goes to the body when Johnson comes in. As rounds 2, 3, and 4 come and go, Johnson gets more aggressive but is also getting caught more by Tarver. Round 5 is where it turns into a slugfest with Tarver knocking Johnson down. Although Johnson gets up, Tarver attacks him like Big George attacks endorsements and the ref stops the fight near the end of the 5th round.
On a personal note, as some of you may have noticed, I have not been writing many articles lately. This is because I have not been feeling well recently and, coupled with the fact that I do not have a computer at home, I have not been able to get out, do research, and put together a piece. But I’m feeling better and in the next few weeks I’ll finally move into the 21st century and get a laptop. I love boxing, I love writing about boxing, and I love that fans choose to read my stuff. I’d like to take this time to tell all the boxing fans thank you very much for reading not only my articles, but this fantastic website...everyone on this staff works very hard to give boxing fans their fix of boxing knowledge. From everyone here at talkingboxing.com, have a great weekend and if I do not get the chance to write another article before Christmas, have a great holiday!
Please send all comments/opinions to crice@catsmpo.com
Discuss this at our Boxing Forum
Top boxing scribe Carl Rice along with his immense understanding of the sport and talent for writing enjoyable articles, is back to the pages of TalkingBoxing.com. Rice keeps fans up-to-date with boxing news along with providing the net's best pre-fight 'Tale of the Tape' analysis. Make sure to check out his weekly articles!
