27.03.06 – By Jim Amato: I see why Bernard Hopkins is going after Antonio Tarver’s light heavyweight championship. No doubt, Hopkins has nothing to lose at this point in his career. I mean, his legacy has already been written. However, I still just can’t see him winning this fight, no matter how I look at it. In fact, I fear he may be stopped. Tarver is a big, strong light heavyweight, with serious power, just ask Roy Jones Jr. Taylor is also a southpaw and knows how to use all these gifts to his advantage. He is well trained and well schooled.
All I see is a possible replay of Monzon-vs-Jose Napoles. This was a much anticipated fight in mid 1970’s. Welterweight champion moving up to challenge the middleweight king. In this bout though you had a big middleweight against a small welterweight. In reality Napoles’ best weight was 135 to 140. He moved to welterweight to get a title shot because no one else in the lower weight classes would put their title on the line against him. Monzon was big enough to have been a great super middleweight if the division would have existed at the time.
As I said, Tarver is a big light heavyweight. You could easily see him as a cruiserweight and, yes, even a heavyweight, if the money is right. He has already said he would be willing to fight Mike Tyson. Hopkins is a life long middleweight, a natural at 160. I really can not see him being effective at 175. This is no different then the great Bob Foster’s failure against heavyweights. Bob’s natural weight was 175. Over that weight against top notch competition, he was basically ineffective.
I have to go with Tarver in a rather one sided fight. No dis to Bernard, in fact I give him his props for taking the challenge. No one can ever say that Bernard lacked courage.