BoxRec

Tarver of course is no legend, but he is well was a good fighter. I was just wanting opinions on how he matches up vs the following. At 175 and 12 round fights. (Primes of course)

Vs Chris Eubank

Vs Joe Calzaghe

Vs Dariusz Michalczewski

Vs Eddie Mustapha Muhammad

Vs Virgil Hill

Vs Yaqui Lopez

great fighters to compare tarver with.

vs. eubank - toss up but i'll give it to tarver
vs. calzaghe - joe outboxes him to a decision victory
vs. michalczewski - tarver takes this one maybe by TKO
vs. muhammad - i like muhammad in this one. one of the better light heavies in last 30 years
vs. hill - toss up. no clue who would win
vs. lopez - love lopez but tarver is much faster and slicker. tarver by decision.

Interesting fights. I think he beats Eubank (a notable natural size advantage), Hill, and Lopez and loses Muhammad and Calzaghe. I'll have to think about Darius . . .that would've been a great fight.

I think Tarver beats Eubank, Hill and Lopez but looses to Muhammad, Calzaghe and Darius. All decisions and with the exception of Lopez and possibly Eubank they would all be pretty close I think.

He & Eubank fight to a stand-still, & subsequent draw.

Tarver drops a lead through six rounds to be overcome by Calzaghe's work-rate down the stretch, losing a competitive UD.

Michalczewski is so under-appreciated by Americans. I like him to decision Tarver, 7-5, 8-4, 8-4.

Muhammad's just too good across the board for Tarver.

Hill is also too strong for Tarver.

Tarver wins a close points victory over Lopez.

Grimm wrote:Tarver of course is no legend, but he is well was a good fighter. I was just wanting opinions on how he matches up vs the following. At 175 and 12 round fights. (Primes of course)

Vs Chris Eubank

Vs Joe Calzaghe

Vs Dariusz Michalczewski

Vs Eddie Mustapha Muhammad

Vs Virgil Hill

Vs Yaqui Lopez

For me I don't know I think any of these could go either way but I would more times than not pick Tarver over Lopez and Calzaghe.

Eubank is just a tough one for me to visualize, I'll just echo Irene's draw

Calzaghe outspeeds Tarver to a decision.

Michalczewski by close Dec

Muhammad was the better fighter when he was at his best, but that was a rare site. So unpredictable which version would show up. More often than not, I'll take Tarver by dullish decision.

Tarver by close nod over Hill.

I think Yacqui beats him, wicked right hand and I think he could hurt Tarver, back him up and outwork him for a decision.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:
Muhammad was the better fighter when he was at his best, but that was a rare site. So unpredictable which version would show up. More often than not, I'll take Tarver by dullish decision.

Yeah Muhammad looked very lazy at times.

Vs Chris Eubank - No way Tarver gets even close to a KO, despite the weight advantage. Very, very close fight either way.

Vs Joe Calzaghe - Joe would probably lose the first few rounds, but then take over, pounding out a UD.

Vs Dariusz Michalczewski - Very, very underrated. That raking jab was like a straight right. Dariusz by UD.

Vs Eddie Mustapha Muhammad - Fair point about Eddie's lacksidasical attitude, but has too much strength and power. Muhammed by possible TKO.

Vs Virgil Hill - Another underrated guy, imo. Virgil clear UD. Too busy and skillful.

Vs Yaqui Lopez - Both a little un-orthadox but I'd probably go with Tarver, on this one.

Grimm wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:
Muhammad was the better fighter when he was at his best, but that was a rare site. So unpredictable which version would show up. More often than not, I'll take Tarver by dullish decision.

Yeah Muhammad looked very lazy at times.

The way he broke down Marvin's body was one of my favorite performances from anybody. He was like a lazy James Toney though and Tarver has been pretty consistent. Hard to imagine Eddie taking a series.

Except for Mustapha Muhammad, these would be competitive fights. If they fought three times:

At 175, Tarver wins 2-1 against Eubank. If Tarver had to get down to 168, Eubank wins at least 2 out of 3.
At 175, Calzaghe beats him 2 out of 3. At 168, Calzaghe wins 3-0.
Michalczweski wins 2-1.
Eddie Mustapha Muhammad beats 3-0. Way too good for Tarver.
Virgil Hill wins 2-1.
Tarver beats Lopez 2-1

I don't rate Tarver at all. I think he just got lucky. Well, that's just me.

milmascaras1 wrote:vs. michalczewski - tarver takes this one maybe by TKO

Michalczewski is really underestimated here if someone thinks Tarver stops him. Prime DM wasn't the guy who lost SD to Gonzalez, or got his face busted by Hall in rematch. He had good chin, great stamina and (once he woke up) decent workrate as well.

I do not know much about Yaqui Lopez, but I think Tarver falls short against all other opponents here. The exception could be Calzaghe, as he was suppermiddle without much power - and I am not sure how cofortable it would be for him to fight another southpaw.