Tarver planning to box his way

Many boxers spend hours studying every aspect of their opponent, before working out a detailed battle plan. Antonio Tarver is not one of those boxers. In fact, ahead of Saturday night's IBF light-heavyweight title bout against Clinton Woods in Tampa, Florida, which will be shown live in the UK on Setanta Sports on Saturday, Tarver revealed he has not watched any tapes of Woods at all.

"My coaches watch the tapes," Tarver, the IBO champion, said. "They then draw up the gameplan for me.

"I don't watch tapes of fighters because I like to react to whatever is in front of me. I'm not going to get hell-bent on what he did fighting this guy, because that guy wasn't me. Some people watch tapes, I think it puts you in a position to expect something. I don't want to go in there expecting anything. I'm coming to fight my fight, an do all the things that made me a great champion today."

Tarver says he is not expecting it to be an easy night's work against the Yorkshireman. "He's going to come to fight," Tarver said.  "I'm not fighting a pushover, he's fought the best and I've fought the best.

"I haven't missed a meal, I'm feeling great. I'm anticipating a tough fight, but I'm at my best and I like my record when I'm at my best. The tougher it gets the more I'm going to raise my bar. A diamond shines under pressure and I'm ready to shine."

Woods v Tarver, Setanta Sports 1, live from 2am Sunday