Chad Dawson Meets Fellow Titleholder Antonio Tarver on Showtime Boxing

The light heavyweight division is currently in a transition period. Many of the old names and past champions are still lingering around. Fighters like Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Glen Johnson and yes, Antonio Tarver. Meanwhile, young and hungry fighters are trying to send them packing once and for all. That is what makes the upcoming fight between titleholders Chad Dawson and Antonio Tarver so intriguing. Can the young, budding star finally rid the division of yesteryear's champions? Or can "The Magic Man" pull off one more stunt before making his final exit?

Antonio "The Magic Man" Tarver has pulled off show stopping tricks before. He famously asked Roy Jones Jr. before their rematch, "Got any excuses tonight, Roy?" before knocking him out cold in the second round. He's the man responsible for making Jones' status and invincibility... just disappear, right into thin air.

But since that time Tarver has failed to live up to expectations. In pulling off his greatest trick with way too much time left in his act, he's had nothing but second string material to try to entertain with. A loss against fellow Jones-conqueror Glen Johnson, followed by a win in the rematch against Johnson (and a refusal to fight a third time). A blowout loss to underdog and career middleweight Bernard Hopkins, and a year off spent in Hollywood making a Rocky movie. A few wins against subpar opposition and a title winning effort against Clinton "lost somewhere in the" Woods.

"Bad" Chad Dawson has made his great entrance to boxing scene, now he's hoping to pull off his biggest spectacle. He burst onto the scene by trouncing respected titleholder Tomasz Adamek and he a won a toughly contested match against former Tarver foe Glen Johnson. The book on Dawson reads something like this, he's a fighter with unlimited offensive potential and firepower, he has great hand speed and movement, but he's also in possession of that most fatal of boxing flaws, a very breakable chin. That, as we know, is a weakness Antonio Tarver can exploit.

Tale of the Tape

Antonio "The Magic Man" Tarver

Height: 6'2" Reach: 75"

27 (19) - 4

"Bad" Chad Dawson