Tarver, Jones to fight rubber match in October By Dan Rafael ESPN.com Antonio Tarver and Roy Jones Jr., rivals since their days as standout amateurs in Florida and 1-1 in memorable fights against each other as pros, are going to settle their personal score with a rubber match. Tarver and Jones signed Wednesday to meet Oct. 1 on HBO PPV. Tarver, although without a major sanctioning organization belt, will defend his Ring magazine light heavyweight title, which recognizes him as the world's No. 1 fighter at 175 pounds. "We have a fight. It's huge," Tarver promoter Joe DeGuardia said. "I think it's a tremendous fight, one of those rivalries that we don't get to see that often in boxing. They are few and far between: Ali-Frazier, Leonard-Hearns. Gatti-Ward. Some trilogies stand out for the ages and Roy will forever be linked with Tarver and vice versa. "These are the biggest fights of both of their careers. They just have that link. They've had a rivalry since they were teenagers and it was simmering for all those years and when it finally came to head it produced a trilogy in the span of three years." The fight will probably be at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, which hosted their first two meetings. Other possible sites are Atlantic City, Portland, Ore., and Connecticut casinos Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods. "There's always an excitement in a trilogy and a rubber match," said Brad Jacobs, Jones' adviser. "There's no question that since Roy left the ring on May 15, 2004 [after the second fight] he's been targeting Tarver for a rubber match. Roy has had sufficient time off to recuperate and relax. His goals are now squarely on Tarver's chin." Considering the magnitude of the fight, it came together quickly and relatively easily. Tarver and Jones each were in the running to fight Bernard Hopkins this fall but that was before Hopkins unexpectedly lost the undisputed middleweight title to Jermain Taylor on July 16. With Hopkins headed for a Dec. 3 rematch against Taylor, Tarver and Jones had nowhere else to turn but each other for a big payday. Another reason for the fast negotiation -- they only started talking after the Hopkins loss -- is because critical pay-per-view industry advertising deadlines for October events are this week. The sides negotiated through the weekend on issues big and small, but reached an accord on the central issue of money: They will split all revenue 50-50. Tarver had hoped for a higher percentage, figuring that as the recognized champion who won their rematch by knockout, he deserved more. Ultimately, he took parity. "Antonio feels he should be getting the lion's share but he was willing to capitulate to certain terms," DeGuardia said. "Like Roy, Antonio has a lion's heart and sometimes things go beyond money. Although the fight will generate huge money, the reality is they still have this drive and desire to shut the other one up. I think that is fueling it." Following Jones' heavyweight title victory against John Ruiz in March 2003, he was negotiating a fight with Evander Holyfield. But when those talks fell apart, Jones agreed to return to light heavyweight to face Tarver, who had been calling him out for years. It was the toughest fight of Jones' career but he eked out a majority decision in November 2003 in a fight that many felt that Tarver won. Jones (49-3, 38 KOs) blamed his dramatic weight loss for the lethargic performance. So they met again in May 2004 and Tarver (23-3, 18 KOs) scored a shocking one-punch knockout in the second round. Jones went on to lose his next fight last September, this time another brutal knockout at the hands of Glen Johnson. Jones hasn't fought since but has quietly pined for another crack at Tarver. Tarver, meanwhile, lost to a split decision to Johnson last December before gaining revenge in their rematch last month. "The reality is I have to compliment Roy for getting the fight done," DeGuardia said. "It shows a lot of his courage and desire and the true fight in him, which people have questioned over the years. Roy has found the guy who can test him in Tarver and he is still willing to go after him." Although Jones' skills have deteriorated over the past couple of years, his attempt to come back against a premier opponent in Tarver figures to make for a compelling promotion. "Tarver-Jones III is not just for the light heavyweight championship," said HBO PPV boss Mark Taffet. "It's for the championship of Jones and Tarver, something that will resonate with boxing fans." Their first fight generated 302,000 pay-per-view buys while their rematch generated 380,000, which is 20,000 more than HBO initially reported. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2117828
I hope Roy wins - why i'm not quite sure. The man has taken two poundings in a row so it's going to be tough for him to pull out a win. Tarver has lots of confidence right now so this could be ugly... Whatever happens will be dramatic so i'll be watching - that's for sure.
I'd rather see Prince Naseem Hamed come out of retirement. I always wanted him to get his hea knocked off. But man he was fun to watch!
I've never seen Jones, or anyone for that matter box (not a fan), but Jones has a great rap CD, so I hope if he wins or doesn't get beaten too bad so he can continue to produce music.
I hope Tarver doesn't make Roy lean back again Prince Naseem was the man. I remember when he came to the ring on a flying carpet. That may be the greatest entrance ever.
Agreed. Not only did he make the greatest entrance ever, he might have been the flashiest boxer ever. Prince Naseem (PBUH)
I wasn't a boxing fan until I actually attended a fight. I highly suggest if you are given the opportunity you should attend a boxing match. This fight is down to Mandalay Bay (Vegas) or FedExForum (Memphis). Would be awesome if we could get this in Memphis. Both boxers have fought in Memphis over the past couple years. Tarver and Johnson are both mouthy and the tension leading up to this fight will be great.
I have, at Reliant Arena here in Houston. Promoters have put on good fights here in the past 4-5 years.
the man??? he was show. it ended there. sugar ray leonard was "the man" if you like that style....style...and substance. ray got back in the ring after losing to great fighters...and won. naseem should have tried to comeback after barrera whooped him. had he done that and fought with courage, i would have been fine with that...it would have changed my opinion of him. he didn't. he got his ass handed to him and he left the game. thus...he is barred from entrance into the MadMax Hall of Fame.
Does the preliminary rounds of the Tough Man Contest count? That was some of the funniest stuff I have ever seen. I saw a guy, HUGE guy, muscular, tan, strutting around the place as they were introducing him, with two beautiful girls on his arms. He enters the ring, and he's fighting some overweight guy, with a pony tail but bald on top, hairy, beer gut, the whole nine yards. The beer gut fighter knocked him OUT. Not just down, but out. He was so out of it, they had to use smelling salts to get him up, and he had to sit on a stool while they officially announced the winner. He wobbled out fo the ring, and needed help to get down. Priceless.
I saw Manny Pacquiao fight Marco Antonio Barrera in November of 2003 in the Alamodome in San Antonio. After that I was hooked into boxing. There is nothing like seeing a prizefight live. No sporting event can match it.
