At this point, I am leaning towards Tarver. Tarver was so defensively sound and was an excellent counter puncher. Beterbiev is offensively impressive but we haven't seen him against a guy like Tarver who is always going to be in the fight looking to counter an aggressive banger like Beterbiev. I just keeping thinking about how badly Johnson had Beterbiev hurt in the 2nd round of their fight and can see Tarver catching him. Remember, Tarver fought until his mid forties and was never stopped as a pro or and amateur. He can handle bangers, it's skillfull guys Ike Hopkins and Dawson that gave him trouble.
Tarver had a very long career and relied on skills and smarts. After his 175 prime he even had success at Crusierweight. He beat bigger men with an accurate jab and timing his spots. He was very careful when and where to trade. I have to go with his longevity and his tested durability too. I do believe Beterbiev is one of the hardest punchers we have ever seen at 175. His punches carry so much power, I see him as a modern day polished Marciano (no insult intended here), short punches that on first glance look like nothing but they fold guys. He's a much tougher fight than the Glen Johnson fight that Tarver did lose at 175 but quickly came back and avenged that by boxing him in the rematch. Callum Johnson has a massive left hook, he doesn't much set it up preferring to crowd guys and throw it often without a jab. I don't see Tarver trading with Arthur much. Tarver has the ability to fight with minimal mistakes looking to jab and tie up Beterbiev in the first half of the fight and look for spots to open up in the second half of the fight. Beterbiev would rough him up in spots though. Tarver SD.
I was looking at a highlight video of Beterbiev this week and thought the exact same thing about his short punches and the Marciano comparison. I watch the knockdowns, rewind the video to watch them again, and scratch my head wondering why they hit the canvas.
Yes, and to me that shows the rawest type of power. Beterbiev Kos guys with a 6 inch left hook which is so rare to see. Vs Callum Johnson, Artur's KO punch was a second straight right which folded Callum's neck onto his shoulder. Both Rocky and Beterbiev strike me as physically strong. Not in a power lifting way or bodybuilding way. Both men look fit, little fat on their frame but not overly muscled but their punches, even if they miss are so strong they move the opponent around the ring, or in a clinch they tend to push opponents in the direction they want, or are able to pull out of a clinch quickly and load up showing no signs of being tired and do this round after round. They don't get tired they just reload like Marciano when he is finishing Archie Moore, relentless, all of them hurt and hurled like boulders. Back to the Tarver match up. I was so impressed by Tarver at Crusierweight (vs Danny Green) and even HW (vs Jonathon Banks). He's old, puffy and yes he chose his matches wisely but he showed his superior ring intelligence. When his physical advantages of height or reach meant little he showed what experience really means. He toyed with Danny Green who was a massive right hand puncher and controlled the whole fight of a precise jab and laser in left hooks to damage him. He knows he can't take many shots at this higher weight class and every exchange is very calculated. Tarver was dropped by Eric Harding late in their first fight. But this was his first World Title Challenge and he looked so tired in the Championship rounds. That version of Tarver gets blasted out by Beterbiev easy.
Antonio Tarver takes it by a late round stoppage, TKO 12, it would have been a bit competitive early, Tarver would have to fend off the brutal body shots of Beterbiev, but Antonio for a big man is fluid. Besides Tarver has already beat a come backing Rocky Balboa by a split decision as Mason Dixon.
