Tweet
Tarver Wonders, Is It Live Or Memorex? -Boxing news
Monday October 6, 2008
Do you remember that commercial back in the day for a certain cassette tape where the famed Ella Fitzgerald would hit a note so high that a glass would break? Then, a recording of that same note would be replayed on a tape deck, and once again, another glass would shatter. The question posed was, 'Is it Live, or is it Memorex?' And that's the question being asked by Antonio Tarver, who defends his IBF light heavyweight title this Saturday night at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas against Chad Dawson.
With Dawson coming off a grueling bout this past April versus Glen Johnson - where the young champion was buzzed more than once and hurt often - Tarver believes his opponent’s chin is ready to be shattered into pieces.
"You tell me, I mean, I don't know if it's soft (his chin) or not but we're going to see," he would say last month during a press conference in Los Angeles to promote this light heavyweight grudge match. "I was thinking about getting Whitney Houston in here to sing the national anthem but I'm afraid that if she hit a high note, his ass might be stuck in the locker room."
Tarver has made it clear that he believes the Dawson that came into the bout with Johnson is not the one that came out of it. He believes he got put through a meat grinder and suffered irreparable damage.
“He was challenged and a lot of people felt Glen won that fight. But I'm not hanging my hat on that. I'm not Glen Johnson, that's number one. You’re looking at a sophisticated fighter, man. I've mastered all the skills of boxing, y'know what I mean? He's in uncharted waters and I'm going to take him out to deep waters and drown him. That's the bottom line. I'm motivated by this fight. They done made me an underdog to a fighter that's unproven as far as I'm concerned. It's ridiculous."
Tarver is insulted by the fact that he was made a 2-1 underdog. To him, Dawson is an unproven and untested neophyte, while he has faced - and toppled - legendary figures in the sport. But he is 39, and Dawson does seem to have advantages in speed and quickness.
"I think he's going to make a terrible mistake by disrespecting me," says Tarver, who easily outpointed Clinton Woods in his last performance to capture the IBF strap. "It looks easy when you're watching film in your living room. But when the man is in front of you, it's a different picture. Fast? They said Roy Jones was fast. You couldn't see his punches. You can't hit him. That's what they told me before the fight took place. But when you’re in that ring and you’re in front of the man, a whole lotta things change. His manager can't fight for him, (Eddie) Mustafa Muhammad can't fight for him. They’re throwing him to the wolves. They’re pushing his ass on bad brakes. You feel me?"
For a wily veteran like Tarver, timing can trump speed.
"Timing's going to be very important," he admits. "Every time he misses a punch, I'm gonna make him pay. I'm going to be inside close, I'm not going to have to look for the guy. He's going to be there. There ain't going to be no more dancing, I'm too old to dance, I ain't bouncing around, running around the ring, I'm coming to fight. And that's going to be the difference. I'm digging to the body, I'm coming up to the chin. He's going to have to take my power all night long. And however long it lasts, it's up to him."
If it sounds and feels like Tarver is back to being his old self (love him or hate him), well, that's because he is.
"Most definitely; I made one mistake, I took that Hopkins fight right off the cuff of my Hollywood experience and everybody knows, fighters that go to Hollywood and fight usually lose," he says, pointing back to his starring role opposite Sylvester Stallone in 'Rocky Balboa'. Having to drastically cut weight soon afterwards to face Hopkins in June of 2006, he would get thoroughly beaten over 12 rounds while putting up a listless effort. "It happened to Lennox Lewis, happened to a couple more fighters. I'm not above that, I'm human. I didn't show up for the fight, for whatever reason. I got poisoned, I got sick, lost weight too fast, whatever. I didn't show up and people knew that as soon as I walked to the ring. They knew something was wrong. So for them to continue to hang their hat on that that fight is beyond me. But it gives them an excuse not to recognize what's the real.
"And the real is - I'm the best light heavyweight in the world."
Since his loss to Hopkins, he has put up victories against Elvir Muriqi, Danny Santiago and Woods. But even at his age, he doesn't feel as though he's in the twilight of his career. In fact, he thinks he's just getting started.
"I'm on God's time," he says. "I'm obviously drinking from the fountain of youth. I don't look my age. I don't feel my age and I'm beating the s**t out of the young guys in the gym. So until I see a fighter that can match me, speed, timing, thinking, knowledge-wise and work ethic, I'm just cut from a different cloth. I can't explain it, but he's preserving me for the big picture."
And the big picture could come into focus after November the 8th at Madison Square Garden in New York.
"I feel if Calzaghe beats Roy, you can't ride out on a white horse beating Roy Jones Jr. You might ride out on a donkey, but you ain't gonna be on a white horse, you understand me? When I beat Chad, he (Calzaghe) beats Jones, we gotta have that showdown. If the boxing purists don't clamor for that fight, something’s wrong."
But first, Tarver engages in a fight that has the attention of those same boxing purists, in a battle of old versus young, exuberance versus experience and quiet determination versus loud indignation.
When asked what to expect on the night of October 11th, Tarver, as only he can, filibusters. "Electrifying fight, as long as it lasts. I'm telling you, it's going to end in a flash because I know I'm going to be there. I'm going to be counterpunching, I'm letting my hands go whenever he comes out of his shell and throws punches. I'm throwing with him. I don't feel the guy can hurt me. I've been hit by the best. I can take a punch, I got a granite chin, I ain't never been hurt in a boxing match in my life. Been fighting 20 years, I got to be doing something right, you know what I'm saying? I've got to have the secret!!! You understand me? And I'm going to rely on my experience, my ability, everything that I have and when it comes down to it, my will, if it gets to that, because I know how to dig deep. I've been there before.
"Has he?"
Monday October 6, 2008
Do you remember that commercial back in the day for a certain cassette tape where the famed Ella Fitzgerald would hit a note so high that a glass would break? Then, a recording of that same note would be replayed on a tape deck, and once again, another glass would shatter. The question posed was, 'Is it Live, or is it Memorex?' And that's the question being asked by Antonio Tarver, who defends his IBF light heavyweight title this Saturday night at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas against Chad Dawson.
With Dawson coming off a grueling bout this past April versus Glen Johnson - where the young champion was buzzed more than once and hurt often - Tarver believes his opponent’s chin is ready to be shattered into pieces.
"You tell me, I mean, I don't know if it's soft (his chin) or not but we're going to see," he would say last month during a press conference in Los Angeles to promote this light heavyweight grudge match. "I was thinking about getting Whitney Houston in here to sing the national anthem but I'm afraid that if she hit a high note, his ass might be stuck in the locker room."
Tarver has made it clear that he believes the Dawson that came into the bout with Johnson is not the one that came out of it. He believes he got put through a meat grinder and suffered irreparable damage.
“He was challenged and a lot of people felt Glen won that fight. But I'm not hanging my hat on that. I'm not Glen Johnson, that's number one. You’re looking at a sophisticated fighter, man. I've mastered all the skills of boxing, y'know what I mean? He's in uncharted waters and I'm going to take him out to deep waters and drown him. That's the bottom line. I'm motivated by this fight. They done made me an underdog to a fighter that's unproven as far as I'm concerned. It's ridiculous."
Tarver is insulted by the fact that he was made a 2-1 underdog. To him, Dawson is an unproven and untested neophyte, while he has faced - and toppled - legendary figures in the sport. But he is 39, and Dawson does seem to have advantages in speed and quickness.
"I think he's going to make a terrible mistake by disrespecting me," says Tarver, who easily outpointed Clinton Woods in his last performance to capture the IBF strap. "It looks easy when you're watching film in your living room. But when the man is in front of you, it's a different picture. Fast? They said Roy Jones was fast. You couldn't see his punches. You can't hit him. That's what they told me before the fight took place. But when you’re in that ring and you’re in front of the man, a whole lotta things change. His manager can't fight for him, (Eddie) Mustafa Muhammad can't fight for him. They’re throwing him to the wolves. They’re pushing his ass on bad brakes. You feel me?"
For a wily veteran like Tarver, timing can trump speed.
"Timing's going to be very important," he admits. "Every time he misses a punch, I'm gonna make him pay. I'm going to be inside close, I'm not going to have to look for the guy. He's going to be there. There ain't going to be no more dancing, I'm too old to dance, I ain't bouncing around, running around the ring, I'm coming to fight. And that's going to be the difference. I'm digging to the body, I'm coming up to the chin. He's going to have to take my power all night long. And however long it lasts, it's up to him."
If it sounds and feels like Tarver is back to being his old self (love him or hate him), well, that's because he is.
"Most definitely; I made one mistake, I took that Hopkins fight right off the cuff of my Hollywood experience and everybody knows, fighters that go to Hollywood and fight usually lose," he says, pointing back to his starring role opposite Sylvester Stallone in 'Rocky Balboa'. Having to drastically cut weight soon afterwards to face Hopkins in June of 2006, he would get thoroughly beaten over 12 rounds while putting up a listless effort. "It happened to Lennox Lewis, happened to a couple more fighters. I'm not above that, I'm human. I didn't show up for the fight, for whatever reason. I got poisoned, I got sick, lost weight too fast, whatever. I didn't show up and people knew that as soon as I walked to the ring. They knew something was wrong. So for them to continue to hang their hat on that that fight is beyond me. But it gives them an excuse not to recognize what's the real.
"And the real is - I'm the best light heavyweight in the world."
Since his loss to Hopkins, he has put up victories against Elvir Muriqi, Danny Santiago and Woods. But even at his age, he doesn't feel as though he's in the twilight of his career. In fact, he thinks he's just getting started.
"I'm on God's time," he says. "I'm obviously drinking from the fountain of youth. I don't look my age. I don't feel my age and I'm beating the s**t out of the young guys in the gym. So until I see a fighter that can match me, speed, timing, thinking, knowledge-wise and work ethic, I'm just cut from a different cloth. I can't explain it, but he's preserving me for the big picture."
And the big picture could come into focus after November the 8th at Madison Square Garden in New York.
"I feel if Calzaghe beats Roy, you can't ride out on a white horse beating Roy Jones Jr. You might ride out on a donkey, but you ain't gonna be on a white horse, you understand me? When I beat Chad, he (Calzaghe) beats Jones, we gotta have that showdown. If the boxing purists don't clamor for that fight, something’s wrong."
But first, Tarver engages in a fight that has the attention of those same boxing purists, in a battle of old versus young, exuberance versus experience and quiet determination versus loud indignation.
When asked what to expect on the night of October 11th, Tarver, as only he can, filibusters. "Electrifying fight, as long as it lasts. I'm telling you, it's going to end in a flash because I know I'm going to be there. I'm going to be counterpunching, I'm letting my hands go whenever he comes out of his shell and throws punches. I'm throwing with him. I don't feel the guy can hurt me. I've been hit by the best. I can take a punch, I got a granite chin, I ain't never been hurt in a boxing match in my life. Been fighting 20 years, I got to be doing something right, you know what I'm saying? I've got to have the secret!!! You understand me? And I'm going to rely on my experience, my ability, everything that I have and when it comes down to it, my will, if it gets to that, because I know how to dig deep. I've been there before.
"Has he?"
Comment