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 Tarver Talks, But Not as Much as Usual
By Steve Kim (May 13, 2004)
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Antonio Tarver, who once again faces Roy Jones Jr. this Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, has heard the comparisons to him and Montell Griffin.
It was the crafty Griffin who gave Jones all he could handle in March of 1997 before the light heavyweight champion got disqualified for hitting Griffin after a knockdown in round nine. That dubious loss would be the only blemish on Jones' record. Five months later, in their rematch, Jones would blow out Griffin in less than one round.
When it comes to his rematch with Tarver, some think it will be that old Yogi Berra line, "Deja-vu all over again." Tarver bristles at the thought and he's sick of hearing it.
"People should know I'm no Montell Griffin," he says, sharply. "I mean, they should know that by now."
In many ways that's true, as Tarver and Griffin are about as different as two fighters can be and it's a long ways from 1997. Back in November when they first met, Tarver did well enough in some people's eyes to have given Jones his first legitimate professional loss. But he also had long stretches in the fight where he didn't do a whole lot in the center of the ring and let Jones dictate the pace of the fight. But Tarver says he wouldn't do anything differently.
"No, I mean I fought my fight, I fought a perfect strategic fight, when you consider that Roy Jones is supposed to be the best fighter in the world pound-for-pound," Tarver told MaxBoxing last week. "I went out there, I outboxed him, I outfoxed him, I outpunched him, I demonstrated ring generalship, I was poised, I stuck my jab out on him all night long. I fought a perfect fight but it just seems as if the deck was stacked. So who can argue with it? But fortunately with God's will, I'm given a second chance.
"We all know what we have do to in order to leave no doubt. So that's what my plan is and that's our goal May 15th."
While Tarver came into the last fight with the light heavyweight belts, really, it was Jones who was the recognized champion. After all, Jones never lost his
titles in the ring, but was stripped for facing WBA heavyweight titlist John Ruiz. Also, Jones was the promoter of the first bout, and he was the 'house' fighter to Mandalay Bay and HBO Pay-Per-View. So the deck was indeed stacked, which makes the question, if he buzzes Jones again this time around like he did in the tenth round of their bout in November, does Tarver push the gas pedal this time instead of putting it on cruise control?
"No," he insisted. "I wasn't in a desperate situation; it didn't call for that. I'm here fighting a f**kin' legend, the mystique. Hey, the guy's got two hands just like me, he put his underwear on just like me and when we step in that ring it should be a level playing field, bottom line."
Tarver believes no matter how he fought the rest of the tenth round, he had already built up a sizable advantage on the scorecards.
"I did more than enough to win the fight," he continued. "I bust the guy up and my point to HBO, to everybody that feels that Roy Jones did enough to win the fight - show me the clip. SHOW ME THE HIGHLIGHTS, SHOW ME WHERE THIS MAN IS BEATING ME AND WHERE THIS MAN IS LANDING HARD SHOTS - it doesn't exist.
"If it existed HBO would be broadcasting it right now. It didn't happen, so whatever. I mean the commentators had their biased opinions about the fight they saw," said Tarver, who last weekend told Jim Lampley to, "put down his pom-poms" in calling the rematch. "I felt in my heart as long as I've been in boxing, there's one thing I know - it's where I'm at in a fight and I was ahead cruising into the last round."
Larry Merchant, of HBO Sports, who called the fight and will be there ringside in a few days, disputes Tarver's claim that their broadcast crew was somehow biased for Jones.
"As far as I know, our broadcast does not go into the ear of the judges and all of them had roughly the same scores as we did," said Merchant, with a chuckle. "I know that fighters always need to feel that the forces were against them and it's certainly not without precedent that a famous, long-time champion will get benefits of the doubt in a close fight.
"But there was unanimity from the judges and we didn't affect them. How does he explain that? We saw the fight the way we saw it. We saw a guy who didn't seize the opportunity that was there, particularly late in the fight. Maybe because he had calculated that he was ahead and didn't calculate that he was fighting Roy Jones and that you just don't have to win the decision, you really have to BEAT the champion."
Merchant would admit later though, that while watching the first encounter, with the volume turned down, that perhaps the worst Tarver should have walked away with the first time was a draw.
In any case, Tarver is absolutely convinced he won the first bout and he went on one of his classic riffs in stating his case.
"And hey, who said I didn't win the last round? I thought I won the last round. I hit him with consecutive punches, I hit him with two clean hard punches right before the bell ended. I finished strong. I don't know what else is expected of me. I beat the guy and I guess they want me to knock the guy out, bottom line. But I'm only human, you understand me? Roy's a great athlete, he's a great fighter, why should I go in there and be expected to dominate such a great fighter?
"It's virtually impossible but that don't mean I can't kick his ass, but by how far of a margin? How far of a margin? I'm gonna win the fight, there's no doubt about it. I'm more hungrier, more determined, I feel that a major injustice has been done to me and somebody's ass is gonna pay and that ass is Roy Jones Jr. It's ironic that we revisit the crime scene, the Mandalay Bay. It must be done and like I said, I'm tired of answering questions, I'm gonna let my f**kin' fists do the talking and it ain't gong to be no more questions after May 15th who the best fighter in the world is."
OK, now believe it or not, Tarver wasn't really in a mood talk during this interview - yes, I know it's a relative term - but he most definitely got edgier as this interview went on.
When he was asked if he expected a better prepared Jones this time around, he responded by barking, "IT DON'T MATTER, IT DON'T MATTER WHAT ROY JONES SHOWS UP, AS LONG AS I SHOW UP!!! And you know what? Has anybody ever thought for once, that maybe it might be the man in the ring that's causing all those fuckin' problems, all those excuses, all these, 'Why I didn't perform the way I normally should perform', because he normally has tomato cans involved in his fights, but he don't have that type of fighter in his face now.
"He has a world class, solid, champion in his face, ready to take everything he's fuckin' got. SO WON'T SOMEBODY GIVE ME MY JUST DUE!?!?"
A lot of pundits are saying that his hubris will work against him in the rematch, that he has lit the fire of Jones, who overlooked him the first time. This reporter isn't sure about that thesis, as Tarver's confidence and downright cockiness in many respects could be his greatest weapon. Unlike most of his opponents, Tarver wasn't overwhelmed by Jones persona or reputation and he definitely isn't just happy to be there collecting his career high payday of over $2 million. His antics, which started with him crashing Jones' press conference after his win over Ruiz, have gotten under his skin a bit.
And this time it looks like he's coming with an even bigger chip on his shoulder. When you ask him if he's expecting a better Jones this time out, Tarver goes on a somewhat bizarre rant.
" LOOK IT DON'T MATTER, I BEAT THE GUY, OK!?!?" he says, loudly. "THEY HAD THE F**KIN' IBF JUDGE, GLEN HAMADA, SITTING AROUND THAT F**KIN' RING, HE HAD NO BUSINESS EVEN JUDGING THAT FIGHT AFTER I VACATED THE IBF BELT THREE WEEKS PRIOR!!! HEY, THIS S**T IS DIRTY, THE BUSINESS IS HARD-CORE DIRTY!!! BUT Y'KNOW WHAT? I'M GOING TO STRAIGHTEN THIS S**T OUT. I'M GOING TO HAVE THE JUSTICE AND THE FINAL SAY, WITH MY LEFT HAND AND MY RIGHT HAND. AND I'M DONE, I AIN'T GOT NO MORE QUESTIONS!!!"
And that's basically all he had to say, because he really wasn't in a mood to talk.
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