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By Patrick Kehoe - “I just need Clinton Woods to show up and the rest will fall into place.”
Based on recent, past performances, as well as non-performances, boxing fans might add of long time light-heavyweight leading man Antonio Tarver: “We just need Antonio Tarver to show up and the rest will fall into place.”
Then again, we may be indulging in the evocations of memory and all good things past. Just what kind of illusions and slights of hand remain at the command of The Magic Man? Or does it really matter, if he’s ready, willing and still able to at least attempt to fight near to the level of his bravado?
“I am at my peek... Once again being undisputed light-heavyweight champion of the world, that’s what I am hell bent on achieving.”
Having the reputation as a guy who tends to fight and win only to reign and flounder, and then fight and regain his status only to stall, in an almost endless cycle of championship fights, Tarver has once again advanced into position for a shot at personal and professional redemption. The mentoring of his current promotional partner Gary Shaw enables and justifies Tarver’s still mainstream name recognition status near the top of the fight game’s food chain. And all he had to do, to go title questing, was make weight twice in 2007 and squeeze past Elvir Muriqi, before capping Danny Santiago. Yet his methods and results were analysed at ringside and in cyberspace as more about advancing his problematic options – just notching those wins as a reversal of fate, post-Hopkins – than establishing the case of his being a divisional force at 175. Does Tarver, c. 2008, really have the big weaponry and constitution under fire to rule at light-heavy? [details]
Based on recent, past performances, as well as non-performances, boxing fans might add of long time light-heavyweight leading man Antonio Tarver: “We just need Antonio Tarver to show up and the rest will fall into place.”
Then again, we may be indulging in the evocations of memory and all good things past. Just what kind of illusions and slights of hand remain at the command of The Magic Man? Or does it really matter, if he’s ready, willing and still able to at least attempt to fight near to the level of his bravado?
“I am at my peek... Once again being undisputed light-heavyweight champion of the world, that’s what I am hell bent on achieving.”
Having the reputation as a guy who tends to fight and win only to reign and flounder, and then fight and regain his status only to stall, in an almost endless cycle of championship fights, Tarver has once again advanced into position for a shot at personal and professional redemption. The mentoring of his current promotional partner Gary Shaw enables and justifies Tarver’s still mainstream name recognition status near the top of the fight game’s food chain. And all he had to do, to go title questing, was make weight twice in 2007 and squeeze past Elvir Muriqi, before capping Danny Santiago. Yet his methods and results were analysed at ringside and in cyberspace as more about advancing his problematic options – just notching those wins as a reversal of fate, post-Hopkins – than establishing the case of his being a divisional force at 175. Does Tarver, c. 2008, really have the big weaponry and constitution under fire to rule at light-heavy? [details]
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