Top fights are coming thick and fast at the moment and after Hatton versus Tszyu it's the rematch between Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver at the FedEx Forum, Memphis, this weekend.

This fight between the world's best light-heavyweights has a great deal of interest for me because Johnson is the man I want to meet in what I would regard as a career-defining fight.

But the closer the fight has come the less convinced I have become in Johnson's ability to overcome Tarver again and in fact I now believe Tarver will win and end my hopes of a Johnson date.

Last time they met it was very close and though I thought Johnson did enough to win, many pundits thought Tarver the winner, claiming he had landed with a lot more punches, and heavier ones at that.

But Johnson is a superb counter puncher and keeps coming forward and I have a lot of respect for what he has done in accepting a number of dubious defeats and bouncing back to become the best light-heavyweight in the world.

Both boxers are 36 years old now and, as with Tszyu, time might now be about to catch up with either or both of them and though it will again be close, I think Tarver will take his revenge.

He will need to fight a cagier fight, perhaps not throwing so many punches but making sure those he does throw land with telling force on the target.

He is the heavier puncher and he showed when he avenged his November 2003 defeat by Roy Jones by knocking him out for the only time in his career in the second round of their rematch the following May, that he can absorb the lessons learned in defeat.

He was the 4-1 underdog that day whereas he is the 8-5 favourite this time and though I often like backing the outsider (as with Hatton) I do now feel Tarver will win.

If that happens, I believe Tarver will move up to heavyweight where the opposition is weak but the money is massive, leaving me out in the cold.

World middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins has said he wants to meet the winner of the Johnson/Tarver clash, but I think it would be out of order if he were to jump the queue and move up two weights for such a clash.

It was Hopkins who ended Johnson's 32-fight winning run as a middleweight as far back as 1997 when Johnson was stopped for the only time, and that's probably the reason he fancies the fight.

But Hopkins avoided meeting me when a deal was on and as great a champion as he has been, he would have no chance now against either Tarver or Johnson at the heavier weight. I think he would be knocked out.

One big boxing story this week has been Mike Tyson's announcement of his retirement - not before time.

He had become an embarrassment to the sport and I didn't even watch his fight against Irish-American Kevin McBride because I wasn't prepared to pay for that dubious privilege.

To lose to such a no hoper only emphasised how far the once great world heavyweight champion had fallen and I genuinely feel sorry for the man.

He has reputedly earned over a billion dollars and yet is somehow millions of dollars in debt and I can't believe anyone could get through so much money so quickly.

But in boxing more than in most sports champions often get surrounded by hangers on who sponge on their generosity and that seems to have been the case with Tyson, though he has also led an extremely extravagant lifestyle.

As for me, I haven't heard anything more about a proposed double world championship bill featuring myself and new IBF light-welterweight champion Ricky Hatton at the Millennium Stadium.

As I said in last week's column, it would be a fantastic occasion, one of the biggest ever in British boxing, but there remain obstacles to overcome.

A November date has been mentioned, but the Autumn rugby internationals featuring Wales take place at the stadium then so that seems out of the question.

December is possible, but that depends on US TV station Showtime if the fight is to be against American Jeff Lacy for the undisputed world super-middleweight crown, and Lacy first has to beat Robin Reid in August.

So with so much up in the air I am not going to wait and I have decided after all to go ahead and try to arrange a voluntary defence around August time and I hope to speak to promoter Frank Warren next week.

Meanwhile Hatton, I see, is current bookies' favourite to win the BBC sports personality of the year trophy in December and I hope he gets it.

It has only been won by three previous boxers (Henry Cooper twice, Lennox Lewis and Barry McGuigan) and would be another great boost for the sport.

But I wouldn't bank on Hatton getting his hands on the trophy, no matter how deserving.

Professional boxing is hardly seen on the BBC nowadays and the award is often won not because of someone's achievements but because of their popularity, hence many undeserving recipients in the past.