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By Thomas Gerbasi - When you’re magic, how could you possibly disappear? That’s the question Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver is asking just before he steps into the ring with Danny Green in Sydney, Australia on July 20th.
Sure, he’s 42, but being over 40 hasn’t stopped Bernard Hopkins and Glen Johnson from maintaining their relevance in the fight game. And with just 34 fights over 14 years, just a couple wars, and no knockout defeats, you could probably scrape a few years off his clock, right?
“I’ve been trying to tell everybody that but they don’t want to hear me,” he laughs. It is true though, and while a sporadic fight schedule at his age probably isn’t preferable, the former light heavyweight champion isn’t looking at sticking around just to fight anybody. As always, he’s been smart about his career, so if it’s not a big fight, he’s really not interested.
And at least in Australia, the Green fight is a big one.
“I’m excited about the fight, I really am, and at age 42, I know I’m not gonna get these opportunities a lot going forward, and I’ve got to take advantage of this one as if this is my last and this is how we approach it,” said Tarver, who left for the land down under on July 6th to get acclimated and ready for his bout for the IBO cruiserweight title.
It’s his second straight bout above the 175 pound weight limit where he made his name, and while the first – a ten round decision win over Nagy Aguilera at heavyweight last October – didn’t set exactly set hearts racing, it did push him back into the win column after back-to-back losses to Chad Dawson and got the wheels turning again when it comes to the latest stage of his career.
“I think when I first made my debut at heavyweight, I kinda rushed it and I wasn’t in the best physical condition that I should have been in,” admits Tarver, who weighed in at 221 for the bout with the journeyman. “It was trial and error and the fight showed that. I got injured early and I had to fight through pain and everything, but overall I did what I went to do, which was win, against someone who I felt at the time was a credible guy. He had only been stopped by Samuel Peter, who is one of the most devastating punchers in that division, I hurt the guy, and I never thought in a million years that he would end up running in that fight, and that’s what happened. He started running and he really didn’t want to come at me, and that’s because he felt my power early. Who knows what would have happened if he would have stood still and fought. But I can’t question a guy when he’s getting hit – should he stay in there or should he get out of there. He felt my power and he was on his bicycle for the majority of the fight, which was surprising to me, but it just goes to show you, I can punch.”
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Sure, he’s 42, but being over 40 hasn’t stopped Bernard Hopkins and Glen Johnson from maintaining their relevance in the fight game. And with just 34 fights over 14 years, just a couple wars, and no knockout defeats, you could probably scrape a few years off his clock, right?
“I’ve been trying to tell everybody that but they don’t want to hear me,” he laughs. It is true though, and while a sporadic fight schedule at his age probably isn’t preferable, the former light heavyweight champion isn’t looking at sticking around just to fight anybody. As always, he’s been smart about his career, so if it’s not a big fight, he’s really not interested.
And at least in Australia, the Green fight is a big one.
“I’m excited about the fight, I really am, and at age 42, I know I’m not gonna get these opportunities a lot going forward, and I’ve got to take advantage of this one as if this is my last and this is how we approach it,” said Tarver, who left for the land down under on July 6th to get acclimated and ready for his bout for the IBO cruiserweight title.
It’s his second straight bout above the 175 pound weight limit where he made his name, and while the first – a ten round decision win over Nagy Aguilera at heavyweight last October – didn’t set exactly set hearts racing, it did push him back into the win column after back-to-back losses to Chad Dawson and got the wheels turning again when it comes to the latest stage of his career.
“I think when I first made my debut at heavyweight, I kinda rushed it and I wasn’t in the best physical condition that I should have been in,” admits Tarver, who weighed in at 221 for the bout with the journeyman. “It was trial and error and the fight showed that. I got injured early and I had to fight through pain and everything, but overall I did what I went to do, which was win, against someone who I felt at the time was a credible guy. He had only been stopped by Samuel Peter, who is one of the most devastating punchers in that division, I hurt the guy, and I never thought in a million years that he would end up running in that fight, and that’s what happened. He started running and he really didn’t want to come at me, and that’s because he felt my power early. Who knows what would have happened if he would have stood still and fought. But I can’t question a guy when he’s getting hit – should he stay in there or should he get out of there. He felt my power and he was on his bicycle for the majority of the fight, which was surprising to me, but it just goes to show you, I can punch.”
[Click Here To Read More]
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