By Dan Ambrose: IBO cruiserweight champion Antonio Tarver (29-6-1, 20 KO’s) had to settle for a disappointing 12 round draw against unbeaten contender Lateef Kayode (18-0-1, 14 KO’s) last night at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

Tarver, looking heavy around his midsection, waited far too long to finally start letting his punches go in the fight and had to rally in the second half of the bout just to get a draw.

After the bout when Tarver was asked if he wanted to face Kayode again to clear up the fight and prove who the better man was, Tarver said he doesn’t have any interest in facing him again. Instead Tarver said “I want to fight Marco Huck or El Diablo [Krzystof Wlodarczyk], one of the champions. When I get the belt, I can move on to heavyweight.”

Tarver may be kidding himself if he thinks he can capture a world title belt at cruiserweight if he fights the way he did last Saturday night. Huck would build up an insurmountable lead if Tarver failed to do anything in the first five rounds like he did against Kayode. And unlike Kayode, Huck can actually punch, and he’d have a huge advantage in power over Tarver.

That was the one advantage Tarver had against Kayode was his power. Kayode couldn’t crack eggs with his shots, and his form was terrible. He got weaker when he’d throw combinations and each time Tarver would hit him solidly, he’d stagger. But in a fight against Huck, Tarver wouldn’t be the bigger puncher and if all he could do was stalk Huck without throwing shots, he’d lose badly, especially if the fight took place in Germany.

You got to figure that Tarver would have to travel over there if he wanted to face Huck, because he holds the WBO title and all Tarver has is the IBO strap. Realistically, Tarver likely won’t get a fight against Huck. Tarver’s best option is a fight against Wlodarczyk in Poland. That also would be a really tough fight for Tarver if he came into the bout with a fat midsection like he had last night. If Tarver couldn’t take the weight off for a serious challenge like Kayode, then you got to figure he’d also be fat for a fight against Wlodarczyk.