By Rick Reeno

Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson are set to meet in order to prove who is the best light heavyweight in the world. Both fighters are coming off the biggest wins of their careers against the same man. Antonio Tarver knocked Roy Jones Jr. ourt in two rounds earlier in the year. Glen Johnson not only dominated Roy Jones a few months later, he knocked him out for what seemed like an eternity as Jones was out cold for quite some time.

Tarver has been given the edge over Johnson in this bout but, is Tarver really the better fighter? The only thing most fans know about Antonio Tarver is that he is the first man to knock out Roy Jones.

Lets take a real deep look into Antonio Tarver. Tarver went on a whirlwind tour of knocking out most his opponents early in his career. He stepped up in class back in 2000 when he took on undefeated Eric Harding, the winner was set to meet Roy Jones on pay per view. Harding busted up Tarver, broke Tarver's jaw and knocked Tarver down. Harding went on to meet and lose to Roy Jones. Tarver took on veteran and former champion Reggie Johnson in 2002, Tarver had to settle for a split decision victory which dropped his stock.

Tarver gained back some respect when he knocked out Eric Harding within 5 rounds when the two staged a rematch in 2002. Early in the fight Tarver was getting beat easily by Harding until Harding left himself open and got caught by a Tarver bomb that changed the whole fight. Next up, Tarver took on former champion Montell Griffin, knocked him down twice but could not put him away.

Tarver eventually got his dream when stepped into the ring with Roy Jones Jr. in November of 2003. Tarver had the fight won but, he did not let his hands go enough in the late quarter of the fight. Tarver's inability to follow his corner's instructions and let his hands go allowed Jones to steal several key rounds in order to snatch a majority decision. The fight was close enough that a rematch was demanded, we all know what happened there.

Let's take a look at Glen Johnson, you can see right away that the man has lost 9 times in his career. You have to take a real deep look into the 9 losses to see that the record is a bit deceiving. He has only been stopped once by Bernard Hopkins when he fought as a middleweight in 1997, he has not been stopped since then. Johnson's draw with  undefeated Daniel Judah has been called a robbery, even Judah thought he lost the fight. The same can be said for Johnson's losses to Julio Gonzalez, Omar Sheika and Joseph Kiwanuka, close decisions that most felt should have went to Johnson. A very disputed draw against Clinton Woods would be later avenged when Johnson defeated Woods in a 2004 rematch. If you take away the Gonzalez loss that should have went to Johnson, Glen has not lost a fight since April of 2002.

Johnson met Roy Jones in September of 2004 for what appeared to be a very easy fight for Jones, Johnson shocked the world. At least when Tarver met Jones for the second time, there were many that gave Tarver a shot to win the fight. There was almost noone that felt Glen Johnson would beat Roy Jones, forget even the fact that Johnson dominating Jones and knocked him out cold. Fans, writers and even fighters looked past Johnson. People were all talking about Jones-Tarver 3, Jones-Hopkins 2, Jones-Toney 2, nobody expected Glen Johnson to be the biggest spoiler of 2004.

This is a pick-em fight in my opinion, both men can be hurt and the biggest win for both men was over an old Roy Jones. Tarver has the size and power edge, Johnson has the heavy edge in experience. If Tarver can keep Johnson away with his jab and fire powershots, it could end up being an easy night for Antonio. If Johnson can get inside and bumrush Tarver like he did to Jones, Johnson could end up with another upset win. The winner of this fight is the guy who can execute their gameplan better. Both guys are very confident of victory and it should make for a very exciting fight.

***Round By Round Coverage Has Officially Started***

The first bout of the evening is the pro debut of Andre Ward in a 4 round bout in the super middlweight division.

Andre Ward vs. Chris Molina (2-0, 1KO)

Round 1 - Ward and Molina come out tenative, they get tied up. They start wrestling, Molina trying to rough him up, warning by the ref. Good left by Ward. Left and a right by Ward. Pretty rough fight so far, a ton of wrestling. Good left by Ward, Molina's knee touches the canvas and it is ruled a knockdown, looked more like a push by Ward. 10-8 round for Ward.

Round 2 - Good left by Ward. Another big left by Ward. Molina is down again, he gets up and the ref has stopped the fight. I'm not sure why the ref stopped the fight, crowd is not that happy with the stoppage. Molina did not look very hurt.

The next bout is a replay of last Saturday's Vitali Klitschko vs. Danny Williams bout, we will be back with the round by round coverage once that fight replay is over.

Glen Johnson is making his way down to the ring for the bout against Tarver. Tarver is coming down to the ring wearing a crown on his head. Tarver said that if he loses, he will give the crown to Johnson.

Neither man getting any big reaction from the crowd when announced by Michael Buffer.

Round 1 - Johnson seems to be going after Tarver early and lands some good shots to the body and the head. Big left by Johnson, beating on Tarver like he beat on Roy Jones a few months back. Tarver not doing much. Tarver jabbing, Johnson keeping him against the ropes. Tarver is not letting hus hand go in this round. Johnson goes to the body. Tarver jabbing, crowd is booing. Easy round for Johnson.

Round 2 - Tarver jabbing, Johnson comes in to the body and lands a right hand. Good bodyshot by Johnson. Tarver misses a big left. Tarver to the body. Johnson with some uppercuts. Tarver with a left uppercut and a combo. Tarver with another combo. Tarver to the body. They trade bodyshots. Tarver jabbing to Johnson's body, left by Tarver and a left by Johnson. Combo by Johnson. Left by Tarver.  Good right to the body by Johnson. Tarver gets the round.

Round 3 - Tarver with a combo,  and another combo. Johnson with agood left. Right by Tarver. Another right by Johnson, bodyshot by Johnson. Tarver jabbing and lands a combo. Tarver with a big left. Tarver goes to the body with a combo. They trade lefts, Tarver jabbing. Johnson with a bodyshot. Big right by Johnson. Tarver with a combo at the bell. Another round for Tarver.

Round 4 - Tarver jabbing and moving away before Johnson can come in. Johnson now landing some good right hands. Johnson with some bodyshots and an uppercut. Tarver jabbing and Johnson jumping on him. Taver with a left. Tarver with a bodyshot. Bodyshot by Johnson. Combo by Tarver, big left by Tarver. Tarver may have stolen the round at the end.

Round 5 - Tarver jabbing and moving away. Johnson now jabbing and goes to the body. Big right by Johnson. Uppercut by Johnson. Good uppercut by Johnson, Tarver may be stunned. Johnson jumping on him and landing some big shots to the body and head. Tarver backs away and starts the jab, Johnson going back to the body. Double left hook by Johnson and a jab.  Good round for Glen Johnson.

Round 6 - They trade jabs and Tarver lands a left. Johnson backs Tarver into the ropes. Tarver going back to the jab. They clash heads, cut one the outside of the left eye of Glen Johnson. Good left by Tarver. Tarver with another big left, uppercut by Tarver, left hand by Tarver. Johnson with an uppercut, left by Tarver. Bodyshot by Johnson. Left by Tarver. Tarver gets the round.

Round 7 - Tarver jabbing, Johnson backs Tarver with a jab. Johnson going to the body. Right by Johnson. Combo by Tarver, combo by Johnson. Combo to the body by Johnson. One-two by Johnson. Tarver jabbing, Johnson with a right. Good combo by Johnson. Johnson with about ten punches to the head and body. Huge left by Tarver, Johnson keeps coming. Johnson gets the round.

Round 8 - They start throwing powershots at the start, Johnson getting the better of the powerpunch exchange. Tarver with a good left. Tarver with a combo to the body. Johnson with a right, Tarver with a combo. Double left hook to the body by Johnson. Tarver jabbing and lands a big left. Johnson keeps on coming. Combo by Tarver. Glancing right by Johnson. Tarver with a combo, Johnson to the body. Good right by Johnson and another. Tarver gets the round.

Round 9 - Both guys are jabbing. Right by Johnson. Good left by Johnson, left by Tarver. Uppercut by Johnson. Right by Johnson. Left by Tarver. They trade bodyshots. Left by Tarver. Bodyshot by Johnson. Combo by Tarver. Combo by Johnson. Pretty even round, Tarver gets it by a hair.

Round 10 - Both corners telling their fighters that they need the last three rounds. Tarver jabbing, almost slips. Johnson with a good combo. Tarver basically running and Johnson following him and landing shots. Tarver seems to be taking a rest. Tarver with a combo. Left by Tarver. Combo by Tarver. Hard right by Johnson. Johnson misses two big rights. Johnson to the body. Johnson gets the round.

Round 11 - Both guys look tired in their corners. Tarver breathing very hard. Tarver jabbinh, Johnson trying to counter. Good left by Tarver, Johnson semed a bit stunned but keeps on coming. Combo by Tarver and now Johnson going to the body. Both guys are now exchanging some big shots and Tarver getting the better of the exchanges. Hard right by Johnson. Tarver went down from a push, huge right by Johnson and another right by Johnson as Tarver appeared hurt. Johnson gets the round.

Tarver's corner told him he needs a KO to win.

Round 12 - Tarver comes out jabbing, now Johnson jabbing. They exchange bodyshots. Good left by Tarver, Johnson buckles and Tarver jumps on him and starts unloading the kitchen. Tarver lands another hard left. Tarver looks punched out, Johnson with a big right. Bodyshot by Johnson, Good right by Johnson. Let by Tarver. Tarver stumbles from a right, combo by Johnson at the end. Tarver gets the final round and the decision in the fight on my card.

Official scores are coming up.

Huge Johnson chant breaks out.

Marty Denkin - 116-112 for Tarver

Melvina Lathan - 115-113 for Johnson

Chuck Giampa - 115-113 for the winner and the new IBO CHAMPION GLEN JOHNSON!!! JOHNSON IS THE UPSET KID OF 2004!