TARVER LACKED PASSION IN LOSS.

Byline: ROBERT MORALES Boxing

Nearly all of the veteran boxing writers on press row Saturday had Antonio Tarver winning his light heavyweight fight against Glen Johnson. The bottom line: Johnson won a split decision, according to the three judges.

Good for Johnson. He is a solid fighter and one of the gentlemen of the game. But there was something wrong with Tarver, and it had nothing to do with his left-hand injury in the first half of the 12-round fight at Staples Center.

Before the fight began, Tarver's emotional state was strange in that he seemed almost apathetic about what was about to take place. His eyes told the story. Once the fight commenced, from the first round, he appeared out of focus.

In his rematch against Roy Jones Jr. last May, in which he knocked out Jones in the second round, Tarver was about to burst out of his trunks with anticipation as the fight neared.

Saturday, the passion Tarver had for Jones was absent for Johnson. After the second round, one reporter turned to another and wondered if perhaps Tarver was playing possum and was about to unleash a violent storm of punches that would put Johnson to sleep.

``I had the same thought in my head, the same hope,'' Tarver's promoter, Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing, told the Daily News on Sunday.

It never happened. Any time Tarver asserted himself, he easily won the exchanges. Regardless of what Johnson said afterward, he was hurt more than once. Tarver never followed up on anything, like he just wasn't that interested.

``I did not see the same sort of fire,'' DeGuardia said. ``I did see the determination because he kept fighting on, but I did not see the same kind of spark I saw in the Jones fight.

``As a camp, you have to find out what made that spark ignite.''

That's easy. Jones brought out the vigor in Tarver, who was hungry to be a star. His knockout of Jones got him there, but perhaps he failed to do everything he could to stay there.

It wouldn't be the first time.

``From the third or fourth round on, you could see something was wrong with his hand,'' said DeGuardia, who Sunday afternoon said he was awaiting word from Tarver on results of X-rays. ``But even before that, he didn't seem to have the same kind of fire. I think for so many fighters, I think after they come off a major win - Vernon Forrest, Shane Mosley; they've all gone through it - it is important to maintain that focus after a big fight.

``For some fighters, it's like they've had a coming-out party, and they get caught up in the party. Sometimes it takes a real disciplined person to not get caught up in it. It's unfortunate, but maybe that's one of the things here.''

All that said, DeGuardia still believes Tarver won the fight. As did most of the experts. But Johnson earned plenty of respect from everyone by fighting hard and hungry all 12 rounds.

``The workmanlike effort he has shown his entire career paid off last night,'' DeGuardia said of Johnson. ``He is a real dedicated and disciplined fighter.''

This was not a fight-of-the-year candidate, but it was a very good fight, and the public would no doubt embrace a rematch. There was, as it turns out, a rematch clause in the contract for Saturday's fight.

``We want an immediate rematch,'' said DeGuardia, who was lead promoter Saturday. ``Antonio is certainly willing to redeem himself. Although he thought he won the fight, he wanted to be much, much more dramatic and convincing. He wants to do it again.''

DeGuardia said he hoped a rematch could be announced very soon, as early as this week. Not so fast, said Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor Promotions, which promotes Johnson.

If the rematch is going to take place, some things will have to change.

``No matter where we go with it,'' Goossen said of a rematch, ``Glen Johnson will be the A side, and our promotional company will be the A side. We will not take a secondary position after Glen's victory.

``We will flip positions. Tarver held that position based upon being the first one to beat Roy Jones Jr. And we are going to hold that position now based on beating the guy who beat Roy Jones.''

In other words, Goossen will want Johnson to receive more money than Tarver the second time around.

Both fighters received a guaranteed $1.05 million Saturday, but Tarver is to receive upside money from DeGuardia that will make his purse grow to at least $2.5 million and as much as $3 million.

--What's next for Toney? Heavyweight contender James ``Lights Out'' Toney was on hand Saturday. He said he is back in the gym and training for his next fight. Toney has fought just twice in the past 20 months because of serious injuries to his left Achilles' tendon and his left biceps.

He remains ranked No. 1 by the World Boxing Council and the World Boxing Organization, No. 2 by the World Boxing Association and No. 3 by the International Boxing Federation.

Goossen, who promotes Toney, said he would like Toney to get a shot at WBC champion Vitali Klitschko, because he is considered by most to be the one legitimate champion. Goossen said talks toward that are not progressing.

Klitschko and his brother, Wladimir, are promoted by their K2 Promotions company.

``The problem with dealing with fighters like Klitschko,'' Goossen said, ``they not only move very slowly in the ring, but they move slowly outside the ring.''

Goossen said Plan B for Toney is a fight with IBF champion Chris Byrd. Byrd, along with WBA champ John Ruiz and WBO champ Lamon Brewster, are promoted by Don King. Goossen said he and King can work a deal.

``Don knows I'm not looking to give up any options on James,'' Goossen said. ``It is the biggest fight out there for Chris Byrd.''

--Final thoughts: The last card of the year will be Dec. 28 at Sycuan Casino in El Cajon. Israel Vazquez (36-3, 29 KOs) of Mexico City will make the first defense of his IBF super bantamweight title against Art Simonyan (14-0-1, 7 KOs) of Glendale. ... The first fight of note for 2005 will be Juan Diaz (26-0, 12 KOs) of Houston against Billy Irwin (42-5, 30 KOs) of Canada in the second defense of Diaz's WBA lightweight title Jan. 21 at Reliant Center in Houston. ... Julio Gonzalez (37-2, 23 KOs), the former WBO light heavyweight champion from Huntington Beach, stopped David Telesco (29-5-1) in the eighth round on Saturday's undercard of Tarver-Johnson.

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Photo:

Antonio Tarver, left, may get a rematch with light heavyweight Glen Johnson, who won a split decision Saturday.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

Box:

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