Q&A: Antonio Tarver!

January 30, 2006

By Matt Richardson

In Atlantic City on Friday night, former light heavyweight champion Virgil Hill showed he still has a little more left in the tank when he won a 190 lb. title against Valery Brudov. Spotted ringside, calling some of the undercard fights was one of Hill's successors - current light heavyweight champ Antonio Tarver. Tarver was in attendance to apply for a commentating position for HBO Sports. The HBO crew had set up shop ringside for an unofficial try-out as Tarver called some of the undercard action. After the audition Fightnews sat down with Tarver (24-3, 18 KO's) to discuss a variety of topics. From the upcoming "Rocky Balboa" (in which Tarver stars as the "Italian Stallion"s new opponent) to a possible fight with the Jeff Lacy - Joe Calzaghe winner to a rubber match with Glen Johnson, Tarver had a lot to say. Read on for all this and more as well as what Tarver had to say about his old rival, Roy Jones Jr.

What you can tell us about your HBO commentator audition?
"Well, you know it was just an audition. They put my name in the pot. We would love to have the opportunity. I think it's a great opportunity for us to not only call fights from a different perspective, from a boxers standpoint of view. It's a great opportunity. I've always saw myself doing things of that nature once I retire from boxing. It'll be a blessing if they give me that opportunity."

Do you feel this could set you up once you retire from boxing?
"Definitely. I did ESPN for (Bernard) Hopkins - (Oscar) De La Hoya. I was the expert analyst for that. It was the whole weekend we were there in Vegas. That give me a little bit of experience. I would love the opportunity but it's up to them. I showed my stuff today - we called the Stevie Johnston - (Steve) Quinonez fight and hopefully I did enough to impress and they'll give me a call."

You're going to be a big movie star soon. How does it feel to be on the cusp of movie stardom?
"If I have the success that Carl Weathers and Mr. T has had with the Rocky movies, it would be a blessing from the sky. It's a great script, the movie is great. It's a difference from any other Rocky that they've seen. He's never had a real current champion that he's faced. And that brings about some mystery and some trivia. The fight action will be some of the realest that you've ever seen in movies as well as in real life. I mean, you won't know the difference between a live boxing match and this movie. And that's just how close and hot and heated the action really got."

When will the movie be coming out?
"We'll have a tentative release - Thanksgiving holiday weekend of this year."

When can we expect to see you fight again?
"I'll be back in the ring no later than May. April or May. Right now, like I said I told the fans that I was serious about the heavyweight division. But right now there's not any callers. We wanted Mike Tyson, it doesn't seem like we're going to get our wish. So you'll probably see me fighting mid-way thru, maybe have a pit stop at 190 on my way back down to the light heavyweight division."

Which is the fight that you want most?
"The Lacy - Calzaghe fight would be a very interesting fight for the winner of that fight. They're in the drivers seat for a big showdown with Antonio Tarver. You've got this cruiserweight undisputed champion in O'Neil Bell, that fight makes sense. I hope James Toney is successful against Hasim Rahman. I'm sure we can get it on and really bring some real heat to the heavyweight division."

So I take it you're done fighting Roy Jones.
"You know what? That's all up to Roy Jones, man. If this guy re-dedicated himself, re-committed himself to boxing and revitalized his career with a couple good solid wins and maybe beat Clint Woods for the title he's back right there at the top echelon of the game. Roy Jones' name will continue to reign with us when we get together. It's always money. I'm not going to knock Roy Jones, but he has a lot of work to do."

What about a third fight with Glen Johnson?
"Glen Johnson don't bring no money to the table, man. I beat the guy the first time, I dominated him the second time. I mean if Glen Johnson couldn't beat me on my worst day he doesn't have a chance when I'm in shape. So let Glen Johnson clean out the light heavyweight division, if he does that then I'll be there waiting for him."

Are you worried about losing weight to get back down to light heavyweight?
"No, I mean cruiserweight I'm right there. I'm only about ten pounds away from cruiser. So that makes sense. The light heavyweight division? I'm going to have to take my time to get back down. That's why I'm looking more at a pit stop between 190 and 185 before coming all the way back down to 175."