AS I expected, Antonio Tarver beat Glen Johnson in their big light-heavyweight rematch to leave a possible meeting with either of them further away than ever.

And with IBF world light-heavyweight champion Clinton Woods this week signing to defend his title against Julio Gonzalez in Sheffield in September, all doors appear to be closing on me except the one leading to a unification fight with IBF super-middleweight champion Jeff Lacy.

That fight seems certain to come off either later in the year or early next year but I am not going to wait around and hope to know about a warm-up fight within the next fortnight with a number of avenues being explored.

But longer term, I realise now more than ever that my future lies in the light-heavyweight division and it is 150% certain I will be moving up to that weight next year.

It's becoming increasingly frustrating seeing guys I know I can beat getting the big fights and with my ambition to become a two-weight world champion as strong as ever, I can't wait any longer to make the switch. It's now or never.

I'm 33 and have been in the fight game for 23 years and unlike a number of boxers who don't know when to quit, I have no aspirations to be fighting when I'm touching forty.

Regarding the Tarver/Johnson clash, the performance by both boxers was such that a person I respect, who was at ringside, is adamant I would beat them both and that's what I believe.

The fight was a big bore with Tarver just jabbing and holding and pinching the majority of the rounds by not allowing Johnson any leverage.

For his part, Johnson was slower than slow and failed to show the all-out aggression that won him a split verdict in their first meeting.

I told you last week I thought Tarver would win the rematch and there is no doubt he deserved the unanimous verdict, but, as I also said, time has obviously caught up with the pair and they are there for the taking.

Regarding Woods, I'm disappointed with him. The guy called me out but he's chicken because now he doesn't want to fight me and I suspect it's because he knows I would knock him out and retire him.

He had four cracks at the world title and finally beat a nobody who had been in prison and had only been boxing a few years and fought like a rank novice.

I felt it would be good to fight Woods. It wouldn't have been good financially for me and I would even have been prepared to give up half my purse, but it would have been good for British boxing.

So, if I don't get the big fight I want, it's 150% I'm going to move up. As far as I'm concerned, I can give all those guys weight and still beat them.

Meanwhile the next big fight takes place in Atlantic City tomorrow when WBC light-welterweight champion Arturo Gatti puts his title on the line against unbeaten former double world champion Floyd Mayweather junior.

Mayweather is a nasty guy who lived up to his brash, arrogant repuation at a pre-fight Press conference this week when he yelled at and taunted Gatti, who was rattled and stormed out.

Personally, I like Gatti and his three fights with Irishman Micky Ward were among the best and most sporting I have seen, with both boxers showing the utmost respect for each other despite three 'wars'.

Mayweather has no respect for anyone and believes he can go on to be spoken of in the same way as Sugar Ray Leonard.

Now Leonard was one of my idols and one of the greatest boxers of all time and there's no way Maywether is in his class, but he is very good, very clever and very strong.

I would love Gatti to win and he should not be underestimated as he has been written off before in some tough fights, only to defy the pundits with his big heart.

But he has struggled to make the weight this time and I'm afraid Mayweather will carry too much power and will probably win inside the distance.

Mayweather has already called on Ricky Hatton to put his new IBF world title on the line after his expected win on Saturday but if I were Hatton, this is the one man I would stay clear of, at least for the time being.

Finally, I see that Scotland's Andrew Murray, the up an coming British tennis star, plays the Black Eyed Peas' Let's Get It Started to pump himself up for matches and says he pinched the idea from me.

Well, he must have been in Edinburgh the night I fought Kabary Salem because that's the time I used that record.

I like to use a different record to enter the ring and have only used that one the once, but if it helps make Murray a Wimbledon champion at some stage in the future, that's great. I'll just take my 10%.

Unfortunately, the night I fought Salem, although I won, I didn't really get started so I hope it does better for Murray.