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He would badmouth ‘Bad’ Chad whenever he gets the chance and the youngster would strike back with his own words of wisdom to the guy he called “old news” by saying “your mouth can’t fight for you once you get in that ring.” The tactic for Antonio 
Tarver (27-4, 19 KOs) is very obvious; he wants to get into Chad Dawson’s (26-0, 17 KOs) head. Tarver was hoping for Dawson to lose his focus, forget about boxing and go all out and reckless on October 11.
The psychological ploy suits 39 year-old leftie Tarver perfectly as that the brightest spot for him to win the fight is to brawl, work the body and test Dawson’s chin. Considered by some as the future of the 175 division, ‘Bad’ Chad for his part, is expected to rely on his speed and busy punching to outwork the crafty veteran and hope for Tarver’s legs to go somewhere on the distance.
The question of age is there for Tarver hanging like a Damocles’ sword right above his head. If we are going to believe Dawson and the number, being 39, is indeed ‘old news’ especially in this combat sport where speed is an imperative skill to earn the ‘W’s’. By the looks of it, 26 year-old Dawson is very lucky he is fighting on Saturday night against an older version of the guy who destroyed the Roy Jones legend. Dawson is fast, can throw a variety of punches from many angles, and has a reliable straight shot. More than this; he’s a mean work machine and he can bang and brawl and box at the same time. He is bad news for a guy who is pushing 40. Or so it seems?
The question of age remains to be seen as Tarver looked like his old self in his last outing against
Clinton Woods (41-4, 24 KOs) while Dawson looked terrible in his last fight against Glen Johnson (47-12, 32 KOs). ‘Magic Man’ Tarver may be old in number but people seemed to forget that he started his pro career at the age of 28. If their last performances against their respective opponents is any indication, Dawson is set to rendezvous with old but bad news come fight night on Palm’s Casino in Las Vegas. Bad Chad is fool to believe he would be facing a shot Tarver. Aged? Yes. But Tarver is still young.
Tarver possesses all the tools to make ‘Bad’ Chad look bad. He’s wily, skillful and experienced enough to weather whatever storm Dawson is planning to unleash in Nevada. His last three fights were a testament not only of his capacity to rebound in big leaps after a big defeat but also of his staying power in the ring. His KO4 win against Danny Santiago (29-4, 19 KOs), though certainly inferior and seemingly trivial compared to his signature KO2 win against Roy Jones, Jr. (52-4, 38 KOs), has an obvious story to tell; one well placed shot and you are in trouble. The way he hammered and sent Woods into submission also tell a similar story.
In his horrible performance on the Johnson fight, Dawson has exposed himself to the world that he is very beatable, even to an old man. The way he was hurt several times by Johnson in his last fight led to many to believe that his chin is weak and that he has the tendency to bow down under pressure. He was lucky enough to get away with a UD victory in a fight where many felt he lost. His mindset, motivation and confidence in this coming fight can also be questioned as he refused to rematch with Johnson and turned down a big payday fight against Romanian Adrian Diaconu (25-0, 15 KOs).
But yeah, Dawson is the better overall fighter between the two. He’s more complete though his capacity to adapt and reformulate his game to the other fighter’s offense is as questionable as his chin. But being the younger and certainly the faster fighter between the two, expect him to put on the pressure and bring the fight to Tarver early on in the fight. He would try to wear Tarver’s body and hope for the legs to go away along with it. He has the footwork and speed to confuse and beat Antonio to the punch. If Dawson can survive the first three quarter of the fight, there is a big chance for him to win by UD. Expect Tarver to welcome the aggression gladly as it would boost his chance to connect to the chin. If Dawson’s chin is really as weak as it seemed to be on the Johnson fight, then it’s over for him inside ten rounds.
It’s going to be an exciting fight between the two southpaws who will be battling for the IBO and IBF light heavyweight title.
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