Frank Mir believes he has many advantages going into his boxing match with Antonio Tarver.
It was revealed earlier this week that the former UFC heavyweight champion would face the former two-division boxing champion in Tarver on the undercard of the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren event on April 17.
Many observers were quick to mock the matchup.
For one, Mir wasn’t known for his striking even in mixed martial arts. Then there’s the fact that he is 41 and despite winning his last outing against Roy Nelson in 2019, was on a four-fight losing streak prior to that.
And while Tarver is 52, boxing is still his domain so he will naturally be the favorite going into the fight.
Mir Has Advantages Over Tarver
Mir, however, believes he will have more than a couple of advantages that will help him get the win in his professional boxing debut.
“I think I have a lot of factors in my favor also. Obviously, experience in the boxing world has to go to Tarver and the fact that he’s been purely been boxing,” Mir said on Unlocking the Cage. “But I have a 10-year advantage on him as far as age — there’s a big difference between 50 and 40. On top of that, I’ve been constantly in the gym and in shape.
“He’s going to be losing about 50 pounds of muscle and athleticism to me when we walk in the ring together. That’s probably the biggest disparity of anyone he’s ever fought before. And honestly, he’s going to be the smallest guy I’ve ever had to punch.”
🔊"He's going to be losing about 50 pounds of muscle and athleticism to me when we walk in the ring together." – @thefrankmir discusses the advantages he'll have over Antonio Tarver in their HW boxing match and how the fight came about with @jimmysmithmma on Unlocking The Cage🥊 pic.twitter.com/qqd2Ykykdt
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) February 26, 2021
It’s just under two months to go before we see if Mir can use those advantages to get himself the victory.