By Dr. Peter Edwards
Earlier this week, several media outlets revealed that Antonio Tarver had actually held talks with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson with respect to a heavyweight showdown sometime next year.
After HBO analyst Larry Merchant did the right thing by refusing to give Tarver respect for a decision over a faded Roy Jones Jr. in their trilogy meeting last month, Tarver became noticeably agitated and upset. Jones, for all of his great accomplishments in the past, was still a faded fighter who making a return after a year of inactivity and suffered back to back knockout losses in his two previous outings.
Tarver was unable to beat Jones better than the first time and was unable to beat him better than Glen Johnson did in 2004. When Jones was interviewed after the fight, he made it very clear that he was more than satisfied with the fact that he was able to last twelve full rounds without being knocked out. Should Tarver get respect for facing a fighter who's only goal in a fight was to make it to the end? Jones never went for broke, he never put it all on the line and he barely threw more than handful of punches per round.
The only reason Tarver took the fight with Jones was for money, not respect and certainly not to make a legacy. Following the trilogy win over Jones, Tarver was faced with cold reality of not becoming a superstar even though he beat a superstar, twice. Some fighters have it and some fighters don't. Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield had it. Unfortunately for Tarver, he doesn't have it. The 'it' factor is an indescribable combination of superstar qualities and characteristics that make a fighter larger than life, even after defeat.
Fighters like Sugar Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather, Winky Wright and Zab Judah are prime examples of fighters with high levels of talent and yet, all four men have trouble selling out arenas unless there is a bigger star on the opposite end of the ring. Tarver is a prime candidate for inclusion with the above referenced bunch.
This brings us to the matter at hand, Tarver’s ridiculous challenge to retired heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Another fighter who was great in his day, but has not won a fight in almost 3 years and was stopped in three of his last four fights. There is a pattern here of calling out retired fighters who were knocked out in back to back losses. This does not sound like a fighter who is really seeking any respect in boxing, just a few extra dollars.
If Tarver really wanted our respect, he would have answered the call of Jeff Lacy, rather than having the attitude of being so far above such a meeting. He would have answered the call of Joe Calzaghe, rather than pricing himself out of the bout. He talked plenty of smack towards heavyweight James Toney, but instead took a fight with the much safer Roy Jones. I don’t see how any fan of the sport show a fighter respect when he is calling out retired fighters for quick paydays.
If Tyson knocks Tarver out, Tarver’s career or at least as a top player, will likely be over. At 36 years of age, he is too old to rebuild himself from such a career blow and in reality there are not enough fighters around to help him rebuild. Should Tarver beat Tyson, so what! He beats a fighter who is shell of his former self and has not won a fight in almost 3 years. Two of Tyson’s last three losses were to fighters that most fans still regard as journeymen at best. What does Tarver get out of this? Money. Not the respect he made us think he desires and certainly not to be known for something other than being the first man to legitimately beat Roy Jones.
This is not a prime Mike Tyson, a hungry Mike Tyson or a dedicated Mike Tyson. What we have here is a broke Mike Tyson, a desperate Mike Tyson and a Mike Tyson who is almost 40 years old. A man who’s only reason to possibly take this fight is to help shrink his outstanding debts worth millions of dollars.
Since Evander Holyfield was suspended from boxing based on what the New York Athletic Commission viewed as diminished skills, shouldn’t someone come off their high horse and suspend Mike Tyson?
Based on their last four fights, Holyfield fought the better level of opposition, was only stopped once by James Toney and even beat current WBC champion Hasim Rahman. Tyson on the other hand was stopped three times. He was demolished by Lennox Lewis, and stopped by journeymen Danny Williams and Kevin McBride. His sole win in his last four bouts was against the fighter turned criminal, Clifford Ettiene. In his last outing,
If a proposed Tarver-Tyson bout is allowed to move forward, Evander Holyfield should sue the New York State Athletic Commission and every other commission that bans him from making a living.
I think based on the overkill of pay-per-views in the last couple of months, the boxing public is not ignorant enough to fork over 50 bucks to watch this meaningless fight on pay-per-view. Neither man benefits from a win, and both men hurt their careers. Although Tarver stands to lose much more than Tyson at this point.
This fight is perfect example of everything that is wrong with the sport today. The man regarded as the true light heavyweight champion is calling out a 39-year-old retired heavyweight. An old fighter is being exploited due to his financial circumstances, and the worst part is the people who run this sport are more than happy to let it all happen.
