By Keith Idec

NEWARK, N.J. – Steve Cunningham has endured his fair share of suspect decision defeats during his career, but Antonio Tarver is the one who thinks he has to win their heavyweight fight by knockout Friday night.

“I feel I’ve got to win by knockout,” Tarver said. “I’ve got to win all my fights by knockout because I’m always expected to do more. I’ve never won a close fight. I’ve never won a close fight – ever. Lateef Kayode [originally a split draw; changed to a no-contest]. Glen Johnson [a split-decision loss]. I’ve never won a close fight. Even Elvir Muriqi [a majority decision win]. Come on, man. It’s like they’re always trying to take it from me. So I’m expected to do more.

“All I’m saying is, that’s the only way I can guarantee victory, is to knock him out and get him out of there within the distance. That’s what I trained to do. I’m looking to get him out of there as soon as possible. As soon as I can get him out of there, I’m going to look to get him out of there. But of course, if the fight goes the distance I want to be comfortably ahead. That’s everybody.”

The 46-year-old Tarver (31-6, 22 KOs, 1 NC), a southpaw from Tampa, Fla., doesn’t think judges give him enough credit for his defense. Philadelphia’s Cunningham (28-7, 13 KOs), a 39-year-old former cruiserweight champion, is a volume puncher, which could lead to another close fight for him if this scheduled 12-round main event goes to the scorecards at Prudential Center (Spike; 9 p.m. ET/PT).

“You never know what the judges are seeing,” Tarver said. “Just because you’re throwing hands doesn’t mean you’re landing punches. That’s what these judges need to be educated on – defense matters in boxing. Defense matters. If you’re not getting hit with clean, solid punches, you can’t score the punch. You’ve got to give the man credit for making him miss, making him pay.

“And yeah, he’s going to be throwing his punches. He’s a very active guy. And so I’m like, ‘OK, I’ve never had a problem with guys throwing punches.’ I’ve had problems with guys running. So I’m going to have opportunities in the fight. That’s what I’m looking forward to. It’s a tough fight, man. It’s going to be tough, but I really believe that I’m still cagey enough, I’m still slick enough to lure him to make a fatal mistake and I can close the show. That’s what we’re looking to do.”

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.