Jones's Conquerers Fighting for Supremacy

Little more than a year ago Roy Jones Jr was widely considered to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. According to some he deserved to be ranked alongside the greatest names in the history of the sport. But two shattering knockout defeats against Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson ended his era and tonight, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tarver and Johnson meet to determine who should be ranked as the world's No1 light-heavyweight.

Jones had seemed invincible for a decade but the erosion of his once cat-like reflexes was ruthlessly exposed by Tarver in May this year in Las Vegas. He had no answer to the rangy Tarver's southpaw style and lost in only two rounds. Four months later it was Johnson who knocked Jones unconscious in nine rounds when they fought in Memphis.

Tonight's fight provides a fascinating clash of styles between two men who are at an age when boxers are normally coming towards the end of their careers. Tarver, 36, fights out of Tampa, Florida, and says his win over Jones proves he deserves to be ranked among the best fighters in the world. The Jamaican-born Johnson, 35, who is based in Miami, modestly says: "I'm not saying I'm the best but I'm willing to fight the best. Whether I'm the best is for others to decide."

Tarver is 6ft 2in, four inches taller than his opponent, and a stylish boxer who overcame drug addiction before fully realising his talents. He briefly flirted with the idea of emulating Jones by moving into the heavyweight division (Jones beat John Ruiz in March 2003 to become the World Boxing Association heavyweight champion) before agreeing to meet Johnson.

"My dream doesn't begin and end with Jones," he said. "I see way past that. This is history in the making. I'm fighting the second best light-heavyweight and we're going to see who the ultimate champion is. When my hand's raised they can bring on the next guy and I'll continue to accept challenges - big challenges.

"I'm telling you I'm on a mission. I haven't even scratched the surface of my potential and talent. I'm going to make sure my time lasts a lot longer than some people would even think about. I want to do this for three or four more years and continue to have sensational bouts."

Tarver may be from the top drawer of motor-mouth champions but he is unlikely to underestimate Johnson, who is superbly conditioned and an underrated technician with a genuinely heavy punch, especially his clubbing overhand right, as Jones found to his cost.

For many years Johnson was a journeyman fighting for relatively small purses and being on the receiving end of several dubious scoring decisions. He has nine defeats on his record but argues that only one, against the outstanding middleweight Bernard Hopkins, was merited.

Johnson finally became a title holder this year when he outpointed Sheffield's Clinton Woods to take the International Boxing Federation belt, while Tarver's win made him the World Boxing Council champion. It does neither governing body any credit that both men have been forced to relinquish their belts in order to make this potentially outstanding bout happen.

"I have a family to feed," said Johnson. "The winner will be the man everyone talks about. I'm just focused on taking care of business and before thinking about anything else I have to get past Tarver. I've fought against the top guys in my division and none of them beat me up. The ones I lost were pure robberies."

Tarver is quoted as 4-1 on favourite and he should have the speed and accuracy to outbox the game Johnson and win on points. His assessment of Johnson might not be the most tasteful quote of the year but may have been right: "Glen Johnson fought a dead man the night he fought Roy Jones. Antonio Tarver killed the legend of Roy Jones; Glen just shovelled dirt on the grave."

Fights of the year

1 Marco Antonio Barrera v Erik Morales (Nov 27, Las Vegas): The third fight between the great Mexican rivals earned Barrera the WBC super-featherweight title on points and put him 2-1 ahead in their bitter rivalry.

2 Danny Williams v Mike Tyson (July 30, Louisville): Supposedly an easy comeback fight for Tyson, Williams survived an early onslaught before flooring Tyson with 25 unanswered blows in the fourth round.

3 Manny Pacquiao v Juan Manuel Márquez (May 8, Las Vegas): The Filipino Pacquiao was the favourite after beating Barrera and had the Mexican down three times in the first round. But Márquez went on to dominate and was unlucky to come out of the fight with a draw.

4 Bernard Hopkins v Oscar de la Hoya (Sept 18, Las Vegas): At 39 Hopkins looked as good as ever, ending the fight with a fierce body shot in the ninth round.

5 Carl Thompson v David Haye (Sept 10, Wembley Arena): The former amateur star Haye, highly touted, was stopped in the fifth round of his first meaningful contest by the 40-year-old Thompson.