It was the fight for the crown rather than the fight for the Light Heavyweight Belt. In a bold move that was probably best for the sport, Antonio Tarver relinquished his Light Heavyweight belt to fight Glen Johnson who entered boxing’s elite fraternity by knocking out Roy Jones Jr., a feat that Tarver accomplished in just 2 rounds.
Personally, I scored the fight a draw. I believe that Johnson did more damage when he punched, but he took too many rounds off, allowing Tarver’s pitter patter punches to win rounds, although they obviously did little damage. Johnson won the split decision based on his heart and his will to come forward, initiate action and punch hard. Tarver broke his hand somewhere near the fifth round which effected his already weak punching power. This allowed Johnson to continue to move forward right through Tarver’s punches and probably won Johnson the fight.
An interesting part of this fight was that Roy Jones Jr. was commentating the HBO broadcast. He handled the assignment professionally, but it had to be tough watching two guys that embarrassed him. Had he never met Johnson or Tarver, we would have been watching yet another Roy Jones Jr. thrashing of an unworthy opponent, but on this night the man who had dominated the division was comfortable behind the mic, allowing the light heavyweight spotlight to finally shine on someone else.
There doesn’t seem to be much doubt about the future for these 2 fighters. They both agreed on camera to a rematch, and why not. Roy Jones wants no part of Johnson who hurt Jones so bad in their last fight that I’m suprsied he’s still eating solid foods. Besides Tarver and Johnson, I can’t even name another Light Heavyweight. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tarver wins the next fight in crooked boxing fashion so that we can have Tarver Johnson III, so if I was Johnson, I’d go for the KO in the second fight because if it’s up to the cards, he’s got no shot.
Watching a Saturday night boxing match is never a quiet thing. Booze and testosterone flow like the Delaware River as a bunch of dudes with no chicks talk smack while they watch two well trained athletes beat the bejesus out of each other. Below is a list of things that my friends and I shouted during the fight:
“He’s killin’ him” about Johnson dominating Tarver in round 2.
“Oh shit” about Tarver landing a stiff left hand to Johnson’s face.
“I think Johnson’s out of energy.” Round 9
“Tarver’s killin him” about Tarver’s unsuccessful bid for a knockout in round 12.
