Even the most casual of boxing fans should recognize the name Antonio Tarver. The Olympic bronze medalist and multiple-time light heavyweight champion is probably best known for stopping the great Roy Jones Jr. for the first time in his storied career back in 2004. He continued to fight all the way until he was 46, retiring with a solid 31-6-1 (1 NC) record.
Why am I telling you all this? Well, Mr. Tarver has made the move over to MMA. He will be the new striking coach of the Blackzilians in Florida. And as a guest on The MMA Hour, he sure made his opinion known about the biggest thing in MMA and boxing news at the moment – the possible boxing match between UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and undefeated legend Floyd Mayweather.
Tarver doesn’t give McGregor much of a chance against Floyd in a boxing right. Actually, he doesn’t give him a chance at all (via MMA Fighting):
“Not a chance in hell. Because Conor McGregor can’t beat the top 20 in the division, how the f—k is he going to beat Floyd Mayweather? Not a f—king chance in hell (of even a puncher’s chance), because he’s not punching with those four-ounce gloves on. He’s punching with 10-ounce gloves on. Big difference.
“It’s a money fight. I don’t know if it’s a mockery, but it’s a money fight. That’s what it’s all about. Conor McGregor can’t beat Nate Diaz in a boxing match. In a boxing match, [Diaz] will beat his ass, and there’s a whole lot of other fighters out there who will beat his ass in a boxing match.”
Tarver also thinks Floyd will finish Conor:
“I think Floyd can knock him out, because Floyd is a boxer,” Tarver said. “[McGregor] is not going to know what to do. He hasn’t had the repetitions. He hasn’t had the experiences. He don’t know what it’s going to take. S—t, he gets tired in a five-round fight, even though they’re going five rounds and they’re wrestling. What the hell you think is going to happen in round six, seven, if he gets that far? When he’s mentally fatigued and tired? Because I’ve seen him in the Octagon getting mentally fatigued and tired.”
He also re-iterated the glove issue, saying that later in the fight, 10-ounce gloves “start feeling like a pound in each hand”, and McGregor won’t be able to adjust to it because he doesn’t understand it.
McGregor vs. Mayweather hasn’t been made official yet, but is tentatively expected to take place in September.
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