Antonio Tarver

Antonio Tarver
Tarver after a win in July 2011
Statistics
Real name	Antonio Deon Tarver
Nickname(s)	Magic Man One Hit Wonder
Rated at	Light heavyweight Cruiserweight
Height	6 ft 2 188 cm
Nationality	American
Born	November 21, 1968 (1968-11-21) Orlando, Florida, United States
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	35
Wins	29
Wins by KO	20
Losses	6
Draws	0
No contests	0

Medal record
Competitor for United States
Men's Boxing
Olympic Games
Bronze	Atlanta 1996	Light Heavyweight
World Amateur Championships
Gold	Berlin 1995	Light Heavyweight
Pan American Games
Gold	Mar del Plata 1995	Light Heavyweight

Antonio Deon Tarver (born November 21, 1968), nicknamed the "Magic Man", is an American professional boxer and the former WBC, WBA, IBF, & The Ring light heavyweight champion.

Tarver built an impressive amateur career, including winning a bronze medal while representing the United States at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. He captured the world title at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Berlin, just two months after having triumphed at the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata.

In 2006, Tarver starred as Mason "The Line" Dixon, the heavyweight champion in the film Rocky Balboa.

Professional career

Early years

Tarver made his professional debut at the age of 28 on February 18, 1997, with a second-round knockout of Joaquin Garcia at the legendary "Blue Horizon" in Philadelphia.

Tarver won his first 16 fights,14 by knockout, before stepping up his level of competition. After taking most of his first 16 fights in either his native Florida or at the "Blue Horizon", for his 11th fight he met veteran Rocky Gannon in Chester, West Virginia, on August 30, 1998. Tarver knocked out Gannon in the second round.

On February 29, 2000, Tarver scored a knockout against Ernest M-16 Mateen in Las Vegas. Later that year, Tarver suffered his first loss when he was knocked down in the 11th round by Eric Harding, en route to a unanimous decision on June 23 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

In 2002, Tarver defeated former two-weight world champion Reggie Johnson by split decision to win the NABF & USBA light heavyweight titles, then scored a fifth round stoppage over Harding in a rematch

Winning the light heavyweight titles

On April 26, 2003, Tarver received his first world title shot, when he faced former WBC champion Montel Griffin for the WBC & IBF light heavyweight titles that had been vacated by Roy Jones Jr., who had gone on to defeat John Ruiz for the WBA heavyweight title the previous month. After dropping Griffin in the first and last rounds, Tarver was crowned champion after winning a unanimous decision.

Tarver vs Jones I & II

Next, rather than remain at heavyweight, Jones planned to return to light heavyweight and regain his belts. Given little chance of winning, Tarver took a weight-drained Jones the distance and lost the fight and WBC title by a majority decision on November 8, 2003, in Las Vegas (Tarver had relinquished the IBF title a few days earlier in anticipation of being unable to make a mandatory defense.)

In a rematch on May 15, 2004 in Las Vegas, Tarver upset the odds to regain the WBC title and win the "WBA Super" title by knocking Jones out in the second round. In the eyes of most observers, it wasn't as shocking that Tarver had beaten Jones as it was that he had knocked him out; in fifty previous fights, Jones had been sent to the floor only once, and he had never lost a fight by knockout.

Interestingly, eight days before the match, Tarver filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Assuming creditors accepted his proposed debt repayment plan before the fight, all Tarver's previous debts would have been discharged, and the $2 million dollar purse from the win would have been his, free and clear. (ESPN.com news services, May 17, 2004) (The Law of Debtors and Creditors, Warren and Westbrook, p. 421, which quotes the ESPN article.)

Rise in popularity

Tarver became a mainstream celebrity after his rematch win over Jones, making appearances at late-night shows, appearing on the cover of both Ring and KO Magazine, being spotted by television cameras as a spectator at various boxing fights, and co-hosting ESPN's "Friday Night Fights" for one telecast.

Tarver vs Johnson I & II

Later in 2004, the WBC decided to strip Tarver of the world title after he decided against fighting their mandatory challenger, instead choosing to fight IBF title holder Glencoffe Johnson December 18 in Temecula, California; Tarver had already been removed as Super Champion by the WBA in their July rankings. Interestingly, Johnson himself had been stripped of his IBF title before the bout with Tarver for not fighting his mandatory challenger. Both fighters were celebrated for their decision to fight each other rather than bow to the pressure from what has become known as "The Alphabet Soup" sanctioning bodies (WBC, WBA, WBO, and IBF). Instead, Tarver and Johnson, who most believed to be the top two fighters in the division, fought each other. Ring Magazine announced that the winner would be declared its recognized champion.

Tarver, considered a favorite to win the fight, suffered an upset loss to Johnson by way of a split decision in a fight that he did not appear to be in top shape for. Tarver avenged the loss six months later with a unanimous decision, out-boxing and out-working the aggressive Johnson at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee to regain The Ring championship.

Rubber match against Jones

In their third fight, Tarver won a unanimous decision over Roy Jones Jr. on October 1, 2005 in Tampa, Florida, almost knocking Jones out in the 11th round but also finding himself in trouble at times during the fight.

Tarver vs Hopkins

On June 10, 2006, Tarver faced former undisputed world middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins for Tarver's The Ring title at The Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. Hopkins, a 3-to-1 underdog, dominated the fight, outboxing Tarver to win a unanimous decision. The fight was scored 118-109 by all three judges. Tarver was knocked down in the 5th round. As a result of a clause in the fight contract, Tarver was forced to pay $250,000 to a charity of Hopkins' choice since he did not knock Hopkins out before the fifth round. Tarver's record would now stand at 24 wins and 4 losses, with 18 wins coming by way of knockout.

Return to the ring

Tarver returned to the ring nearly one year after his loss to Hopkins, defeating Albanian-fighter Elvir Muriqi on June 9, 2007 by way of a majority decision. In his next fight, held at Foxwoods Resort Casino on December 1, 2007, Tarver registered a win over Danny Santiago by way of a 4th round TKO.

Tarver then regained the IBF title by outpointing Clinton Woods.

Tarver vs Dawson I & II

On October 11, 2008, Tarver faced rising star Chad Dawson for Tarver's IBF title. The fight took place at Palms Casino in Las Vegas. Tarver lost the fight via unanimous decision, with wide margins of 118-109 and 117-110 (twice). The outcome was not disputed.

With the loss to Dawson, it was speculated that Tarver may choose to retire; however, he later announced that he and Dawson would meet in a rematch in March 2009.

A rematch with Dawson, originally announced for March 14, 2009, had to be postponed due to an injury suffered by Dawson. Finally, on May 9, the two fighters met at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas. Tarver, who came to the fight as a 5:1 underdog, again lost by unanimous decision.

Move up to heavyweight

Following the rematch loss to Dawson, Tarver took over a year off from the ring, before returning on 15 October 2010 to defeat Nagy Aguilera by 10 round unanimous decision in a bout that took place at the heavyweight limit. For this fight Tarver officially weighed 221 lbs, some 46 lbs more than he had weighed for the Dawson rematch.

Cruiserweight

On 20 July 2011, Tarver took on Australian IBO cruiserweight champion Danny Green at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in Tarver's debut in the 200 lb cruiserweight division.

Tarver dominated the fight, knocking Green down in the second round and controlling the majority of the action from there on in. After taking heavy punishment and being saved by the bell at the end of round 9, Green failed to come out for the start of round 10, allowing Tarver to take the victory and the title by TKO.

Media

Rocky Balboa

Tarver starred as heavyweight champion Mason "The Line" Dixon in the 2006 film Rocky Balboa. In the film the current, unpopular, champion Dixon fights former champion Rocky Balboa, who decides to come out of retirement. Dixon wins the match by split decision, and after breaking his hand in the second round of the bout but still managing to stand toe to toe with Rocky for the full 10 rounds, proves to doubters that he has the heart of a champion. The DVD of the movie offers an alternate ending, in which Rocky wins the split decision. Dixon's record before the fight is 33-0-0. Also on the DVD, the film's writer and director Sylvester Stallone wanted to cast a real boxer in the role of Dixon, as he thought it would be easier to teach a boxer how to act than to teach an actor how to box convincingly. In an August 18, 2010 interview with Stallone on The Howard Stern Show, the director indicated that Tarver refused to film his scene after the MGM had been rented out and filled with people already incurring high costs. In order to get the filming done, Stallone gave Tarver a cut of his own salary and points on the back end which resulted in Stallone making no money on the film.

Commentating with Showtime

Since his loss to Dawson, Tarver has been serving as a boxing analyst for Showtime Championship Boxing.

Amateur career

• 1993 and 1995 United States amateur Light Heavyweight champion.
• 1994 National Golden Gloves Light Heavyweight champion
• Won the Light Heavyweight bronze medal for the United States at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. His results were:
• Defeated Dmitry Vybornov (Russia) 5-2
• Defeated David Kowah (Sierra Leone) RSC 1 (2:43)
• Defeated Enrique Flores (Mexico) RSC 3 (1:54)
• Lost to Vassiliy Jirov (Kazakhstan) 9-15

Professional boxing record

29 Wins (19 knockouts, 9 decisions), 6 Losses, 0 Draws
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Win	29–6	Danny Green	RTD	9 (12)	2011-07-20	Sydney, NSW	Debut at cruiserweight. Won IBO cruiserweight title
Win	28–6	Nagy Aguilera	UD	12	2010-10-15	Miami, OK	Debut at heavyweight.
Loss	27–6	Chad Dawson	UD	12	2009-05-09	Las Vegas, NV	For IBF light heavyweight title.
Loss	27–5	Chad Dawson	UD	12	2008-10-11	Las Vegas, NV	Lost IBF light heavyweight title.
Win	27–4	Clinton Woods	UD	12	2008-04-12	Tampa, FL	Won IBF light heavyweight title.
Win	26–4	Danny Santiago	TKO	4 (12)	2007-12-01	Mashantucket, CT
Win	25–4	Elvir Muriqi	MD	12	2007-06-09	Hartford, CT
Loss	24–4	Bernard Hopkins	UD	12	2006-06-10	Atlantic City, NJ	Lost The Ring light heavyweight title.
Win	24–3	Roy Jones Jr.	UD	12	2005-10-01	Tampa, FL	Retained The Ring light heavyweight title.
Win	23–3	Glen Johnson	UD	12	2005-06-18	Memphis, TN	Won The Ring light heavyweight title.
Loss	22–3	Glen Johnson	SD	12	2004-12-18	Los Angeles, CA	Lost The Ring light heavyweight title.
Win	22–2	Roy Jones Jr.	KO	2 (12)	2004-05-15	Las Vegas, NV	Won WBC/WBA (Super)/The Ring light heavyweight titles
Loss	21–2	Roy Jones Jr.	MD	12	2003-11-08	Las Vegas, NV	Lost WBC light heavyweight title. For WBA (Super)/The Ring light heavyweight titles.
Win	21–1	Montell Griffin	UD	12	2003-04-26	Mashantucket, CT	Won vacant WBC/IBF light heavyweight titles.
Win	20–1	Eric Harding	TKO	5 (12)	2002-07-20	Indianapolis, IN
Win	19–1	Reggie Johnson	SD	12	2002-01-25	Rosemont, IL	Won NABF/USBA light heavyweight titles. IBF light heavyweight title Eliminator.
Win	18–1	Chris Johnson	KO	10 (10)	2001-08-03	Toppenish, WA
Win	17–1	Lincoln Carter	TKO	5 (10)	2001-02-24	Tampa, FL
Loss	16–1	Eric Harding	UD	12	2000-06-23	Biloxi, MS	IBF light heavyweight title Eliminator
Win	16–0	Ernest Mateen	KO	1 (10)	2000-02-29	Las Vegas, NV
Win	15–0	Mohamed Benguesmia	TKO	9 (10)	1999-10-02	Las Vegas, NV
Win	14–0	Jerry Williams	TKO	5 (?)	1999-06-12	Wilmington, MA
Win	13–0	Roy Francis	TKO	3 (?)	1999-03-27	Miami, FL
Win	12–0	John Williams	KO	4 (12)	1999-02-05	Miami, FL
Win	11–0	Rocky Gannon	TKO	2 (12)	1998-08-30	Chester, WV
Win	10–0	Jose Luis Rivera	RTD	4 (10)	1998-06-23	Philadelphia, PA
Win	9–0	Charles Oliver	UD	8	1998-03-24	Tunica, MS
Win	8–0	Boyer Chew	TKO	7 (8)	1998-01-17	Atlantic City, NJ
Win	7–0	Roy Francis	TKO	2 (6)	1997-12-02	Philadelphia, PA
Win	6–0	Benito Fernandez	TKO	3 (?)	1997-10-28	Philadelphia, PA
Win	5–0	Berry Butler	UD	6	1997-10-04	Atlantic City, NJ
Win	4–0	Shelby Gross	TKO	1 (4)	1997-08-12	Philadelphia, PA
Win	3–0	Tracy Barrios	TKO	3 (6)	1997-06-21	Tampa, FL
Win	2–0	Jason Burrell	TKO	3 (4)	1997-04-29	Philadelphia, PA
Win	1–0	Joaquin Garcia	TKO	2 (4)	1997-02-18	Philadelphia, PA	Professional debut.

See also

• List of WBC world champions
• Rocky Balboa

External links

• Official Antonio Tarver website
• Professional boxing record for Antonio Tarver from BoxRec

Sporting positions
Vacant Title last held by Roy Jones, Jr.	WBC Light Heavyweight Champion April 26, 2003 – November 8, 2003	Succeeded by Roy Jones, Jr.
	IBF Light Heavyweight Champion April 26, 2003 – November 5, 2003 Vacated	Vacant Title next held by Glen Johnson
Preceded by Roy Jones, Jr.	WBA Super Light Heavyweight Champion May 15, 2004 – July 1, 2004 Stripped	Succeeded by Fabrice Tiozzo as Champion
	WBC Light Heavyweight Champion May 15, 2004 – November 6, 2004 Stripped	Vacant Title next held by Tomas Adamek
	The Ring Light Heavyweight Champion May 15, 2004 – December 18, 2004	Succeeded by Glen Johnson
Preceded by Glen Johnson	The Ring Light Heavyweight Champion June 18, 2005 – June 10, 2006	Succeeded by Bernard Hopkins
Preceded by Clinton Woods	IBF Light Heavyweight Champion April 12, 2008 – October 11, 2008	Succeeded by Chad Dawson
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Bernard Hopkins Vacated	World Light Heavyweight Champion IBO Recognition June 9, 2007 – October 11, 2008	Succeeded by Chad Dawson