05.02.07 – Michael Marley, BoxingConfidential.com: KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA –Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver was not in the house at the Silver Spurs Arena Saturday night as a new star was born in the light heavyweight division. But the former champ, preparing to rebound from a desultory decision loss to ancient Bernard Hopkins, had a not so secret spy at ringside as challenger Bad Chad Dawson got up off the deck to take a 12-round unanimous decision and the WBC title away from plucky Pole Tomasz Adamek..
It was my pleasure to stand at the back of the ringside area and watch Gary Shaw’s hard-working, 24-year-old fighter box and move and, on occasion, brawl a bit to capture his first but probably not last title belt. Standing beside me was 79 going on 49 trainer Jimmy Williams.
Williams, who has also handled such ring forces as John “The Beast” Mugabi, is strictly Old School. And he was the boxing tutor who molded the very young Tarver.
“I built that house (Tarver) from when he was seven years old,” Williams said. “I built the house and then I put the shingles on it.”
Before getting down to assessing young Dawson, Williams told me that the “Magic Man” is back in the gym and has the old competitive fires burning in his boxing belly once more.
“Oh, yes, definitely so,” Williams said. “Antonio has the fire back. The flame is not weak. The flame is not flickering. It is burning brightly again, we had a talk and I asked Antonio if he was satisfied and if he felt that beating Roy Jones was the peak of his career. Antonio asked me to break it down so I told him is your best behind you or is your boxing best yet to come? He did not hesitate. He told me the best is yet to come and I am seeing that in his workouts, in how he is sparring.”
Tarver has no certain ring date or opponent but it’s no secret that industrious promoter Joe DeGuardia is trying to make a time deal buy on ABC.
“That’s not my department,” the sagacious Williams said. “But I can tell you that Antonio is coming back strong and soon!”
Williams was at first skeptical about Dawson but, with each passing round, said he liked what he saw in the New Haven resident’s performance. The gracious Williams was quick to throw a bouquet at new Dawson trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr.
“You can see some thing he is doing that come from Mayweather,” Williams said. “This kid is a very good boxer but he is still a bit green. But he can be a real diamond as they keep polishing him.”
When Dawson, who was coasting to an easy points victory, got dumped on the seat of his trunks by an Adamek right hand, he got right back up. So, in the midst of a runaway romp, the challenger had to deal with some minor adversity.
“You don’t like to see him get clipped like that,” Williams said. “But he handled the situation in a calm and cool manner. That you do like to see. He did not panic. And then he finished the final two rounds okay.”
Williams, who labels Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore and Bob Foster as the greatest 175-pounders he has seen, said Dawson would be a good opponent for Tarver.
But the trainer said he has no doubts as to who would win such an all southpaw title bout. Williams said the 14-year age difference would not matter.
“Antonio would be too much in all departments. Dawson needs more seasoning all the way around. Nobody can beat the Antonio I am seeing in the gym now on a daily basis, nobody” Williams said.
“Make no mistake. Antonio is coming back with a vengeance!”