Dariusz Michalczewski vs Antonio Tarver

I wouldn’t say Toney was prime for Nunn.

 

There has been a big effort of particular poster to put down Toney. But the truth is Toney is a greater fighter than both Tarver and DM.

 

We’re arguing what then? That Tarver was the third best opponent Roy had faced instead of the second? Obv more counterpunching power than BHop and yes also James.

 

And yet BHOP beat up Tarver.
Harding beat the stuffing out of Tarver.
And you leave out he was winning the second fight as well until Tarver landed that big counter.

 

Big counters must be lucky punches these days.

There's also a zero percent chance that you actually watched the first Harding--Tarver fight with that comment.

 

Pretty sure I saw it on ESPN.
Harding did what against Jones? Nothing.
And against Tarver?

 

I would even go as far and say Reggie Johnson was a better pro then Tarver.
Being that after about 18 years as a pro Tarver managed a split decision.
But wait. Maybe Johnson was in his prime.

 

"He lost by technical knockout (the fight was stopped after the 10th round by the ringside doctor due to Harding suffering from a torn biceps muscle), but after the fight Jones Jr. said it was his most difficult fight to date"

Tarver beat Harding so badly he was yelling at the ref to stop it. Unfortunately, Harding was never the same after that and it's now forgotten that the man looked set to take Jones down to wire until his arm injury.

 

It's true that Reggie Johnson is a full three years older than Tarver. That kind of age gap is huge in little kids.

 

My gut tells me Michalczewski is a tad too strong for Tarver and that gives him the edge in a competitive distance fight.

 

Being a pro for about 18 years would tend to take a toll genius.
Johnson was a pro for 13 years before Tarver even stepped into a pro ring.

And here's the kicker. Even after all that mileage Johnson still DROPPED Tarver.

 

And here I was thinking that Tarver's 200 or so am fights, wars with guys like Jirov and Gomez, and back to back to back medals in Pan Am, World Ams, and The Olympics (two golds) could've taken something out of him. Little did I know that ams don't count, and Reggie's ten or so fights between Tarver winning Pan Am and effectively ending Reggie's career is where 100% of the wear and tear occured between the two. Nevermind that Tarver had to rebound from broken ribs and a broken jaw in the first Harding fight.