15.11.05 – By Coach Tim Walker – tpwalker@hotmail.com – Okay he we go. I am sure that most of you are aware of the friction between Mike Tyson and Antonio Tarver. I have been paying some attention to this since Roy Jones Jr. and Mike Tyson appeared on that awards show together to present an award to um…I forget who the award went to…but the appearance was more to announce the possibility of their fight rather than give the award. Tyson in the days leading up to the fight he felt Jones Tarver fight openly stated that Jones would make easy work of Tarver and then the two of them could (ding, ding) get it on! Wrong! In my opinion that is where the tension began between Tyson and Tarver.
To recap the history: Jones Tarver 1 (Decision to Jones but most thought Tarver won), Jones Tarver 2 (Tarver delivers the left hand from hell and knocks out the speed demon), Jones Tarver 3 (Dance, dance, dance, punch, punch, dance then Tarver wins by decision). During that same time Tyson lost to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride.
In my quest to test if the possibility of a Tyson Tarver match was real I placed a couple of calls to people who know people and it seems that the tension between these guys is as real as the possibility of them meeting. And get this it will more than likely be a pay per view move. Wow! Let that sink in for a second…Tyson-Tarver-Pay Per View. Okay let’s move on.
In reality Tarver has actually accomplished everything that he said he would do. He beat several contenders in the light heavyweight division, toppled the light heavyweight king and now stands alone atop the mountain. As he ponders the light heavyweight landscape beneath him he sees what Jones saw for years, the Erdies, Ademeks, Briggs and Tiozzos of the division. Alas not a significant name to be found. So what is a 36-year-old champ without a challenger to do? Like the kings of old when there exists no country with whom you can war you simply create the battle of your choice. That is what Tarver seems to be doing and why not. Has he NOT done anything that he said he would do? Has he run from any challenge that has befallen him? No. Who is to say that he won’t live up to everything that he says. After all isn’t that the stuff of which a legend is made? Forging from the fire of furnace. Creation from the flames of test. Forming by the passion needed to overcome the tribulation and ultimately conquer.
Most will think that Iron Mike is a metal much too tough for any variety of skill that Tarver might possess. Still Tarver seems to have an abundance of magic tricks in his bag. Maybe, just maybe, he has a potion strong enough to keep the magic alive. Maybe we will soon see.