By William Mackay: Former IBF/WBA/WBC light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver (27-6, 19 KO’s) announced last Saturday night that he plans on moving up from the light heavyweight division and skipping the cruiserweight division entirely in going after WBA heavyweight champion David Haye, WBC champion Vitali Klitschko and IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in the heavyweight division. For Tarver, now 41, this is a risky move that has little chance of success.

At 6’2”, Tarver, with a thin, wiry frame, doesn’t appear have the build to compete with powerful heavyweights like Haye and the Klitschko brothers nor does Tarver have the huge power. Tarver has good – but not great – power at the 175 pound light heavyweight level, but he’s going to need a lot more power to make him competitive with fighters like the Klitschkos.

Tarver doesn’t have a lot of time, unlike the 33-year-old Tomasz Adamek, a former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, who moved up to heavyweight division recently and has found success. Tarver will be turning 42 in November and that is pretty old to be fighting at heavyweight without a lot of power to fall back on.

Tarver, to have any real chance at fighting for a title, will have to move quickly by fighting often against two or three top contenders in the next six months to have much of a chance at getting title shot. Last Saturday night, Tarver looked fat, like he’s carrying around a lot of extra pounds on his frame and it’s going to be tough for him to trim that blubber off and get in condition anytime soon to fight at heavyweight.

There is a chance that Tarver could get a title shot just by having a recognizable name, but you have to assume that Tarver would at least have to beat a couple of B level heavyweights before he’s given a title shot on a silver platter like Haye was given when WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev elected to fight Haye last year after Haye had only beaten Monte Barrett at heavyweight.

This is what Tarver had to say last Saturday night: “I definitely wanted to move up to cruiserweight. There was one guy [Danny Green] in particular that I wanted to fight. But unfortunately, he’s interested in unburying dead men. So I feel that if I’m going to stay in the game of boxing and give it my all, I’ve got to set big goals for myself. And as you can see, I’m looking a little full right now. So I’m going to put on some muscle and the champ is going heavyweight. So, the Klitschkos and David Haye, be on the lookout, because I’m coming.”

I could give Tarver a slight chance of getting a shot at Haye and knocking him out if he were five or six years younger, but it’s difficult to imagine that a 42-year-old Tarver will be able to beat Haye. As for the Klitschko brothers, I don’t think they’ll even bother fighting Tarver unless he actually faces and beats a top contender, and I don’t think that will even happen. As such, Tarver’s best and perhaps only chance of getting a title shot will be against Haye, if the British heavyweight can hold onto his title for much longer.