Antonio Tarver: record, next fight and profile →
Antonio Tarver has just been released from a Florida jail ... and tells TMZ Sports he plans to hit the gym tomorrow to restart his boxing career so he can pay back his $200,000 debt. Tarver was locked up in FL on a warrant from Nevada -- stemming from allegations he never repaid the Wynn Las Vegas on a $200,000 gambling marker from a 2012 gambling binge.
Former champion Antonio Tarver never paid back $200,000 in gambling markers to the Wynn Las Vegas from a gambling binge in 2012 ... so says a lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports. Tarver was arrested in Florida over the weekend on a warrant out of Nevada -- the arrest documents were vague about the nature of the alleged offense. Now, we know ... Tarver is the target of a criminal investigation for allegedly not settling several gambling markers he took at the Wynn during a 4-day gambling binge in July 2012.
Antonio Tarver was taken into police custody in Florida on Saturday night after a Highway Patrol trooper discovered that Nevada had an open warrant out for the former light heavyweight champion’s arrest, according to reports from The Tampa Tribune and WFLA. The Tribune said Tarver “was arrested on a warrant for jumping bail and failure to appear” in court in Clark County, Nev.
BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida - Former world champion Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver (30-6, 21 KOs), 45-years-old, returned to the ring after a long layoff, now as a heavyweight, dropped Mike Sheppard (21-16-1, 9 KOs) three times in the fourth round to score a TKO victory. Bantamweight prospect Randy Caballero (20-0, 12 KOs) dropped Jessy Cruz (10-5-1, 4 KOs) twice for a seventh round technical knockout. Light heavyweight prospect Thomas Williams Jr. (15-0, 10 KOs) secured a ten round unanimous decision over very experienced veteran Yusaf Mack (31-7-2, 17 KOs). The scores were 99-91, 98-92 and 98-92.
The weights are in for Golden Boy Promotion's Fox Sports 1 televised card from the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. In the main event, former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion Antonio Tarver (221-pounds) will return to the ring after a long layoff, as he takes on Mike Sheppard (227.6-pounds) in a heavyweight fight.
SUNRISE, FLORIDA - Boxing's popular new fight series Golden Boy Live! is back at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla. on Tuesday, November 26 with a stacked card featuring the return of former World Champion Antonio "Magic Man" Tarver facing West Virginia veteran Mike Sheppard in the 10 round main event which will be televised on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Also, featured on the card will be the Golden Boy Promotions debut of undefeated Cuban heavyweight star Luis "El Mercedez" Ortiz against a fighter to be announced in the co-featured fight that will get Florida fight fans up and cheering from bell to bell. "I'm looking forward to getting back into the ring and showing the world that the 'Magic Man' is better than ever and ready for the big fights," said Tarver. "This is the perfect opportunity to make a statement at home and I can't wait."
Once-beaten cruiserweight contender BJ Flores (28-1-1, 18KOs) is looking for a major title shot in the near future. Because of ongoing promotional issues, the 34-year-old fighter has been inactive since last October. He recently broke away from promoter Don King and now plans to be very active. Flores is interested in answering the call of former champion Antonio Tarver, who is having a hard time securing a ranked opponent.
Throughout his years as a prizefighter, five-time world champion and Orlando, Fl. native Antonio Tarver has left a mark in the boxing world as not only a high-level talent but one of the more vocal and outspoken figures in recent years. Last year in Carson, Calif., Tarver suffered a setback of another kind following his no-decision with Lateef Kayode inside of the Home Depot Center, known now as the StubHub Center. After the fight, it was reported that Tarver had tested positive for the anabolic steroid drostanolone, with a subsequent one-year suspension by the California State Athletic Commission being issued. It was later revealed that Tarver, who had been moonlighting as a ringside commentator for Showtime, had been temporarily suspended from the network.
by David P. Greisman - Manny Pacquiao had not yet even been resuscitated from unconsciousness before boxing fans and observers began to speculate about what put him there. And in their minds, it wasn’t just Juan Manuel Marquez. To them, it was a Marquez who looked better at 143 pounds than his body had ever appeared in three other fights at or slightly above the junior welterweight limit. It was also a Marquez who not only knocked Pacquiao out with a perfect punch, but also had knocked him down earlier in the fight with a single shot. It was the fact that Marquez’s strength and conditioning coach had admittedly been involved with distributing steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. It was the fact that this had been a year in which several notable fighters had tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. People questioned Marquez even though he passed the tests he took — not just because of the Pacquiao knockout and not just because of his strength and conditioning coach — but also because the testing done in boxing still lags behind where it should be in order to ensure that others aren’t also using banned substances. This was the year that speculation became suspicion.
Following the California State Athletic Commission’s decision to uphold Antonio Tarver’s one-year suspension for failing a drug test, rival cruiserweight Lateef Kayode’s manager Steven Feder expressed his opinion. “The commission’s decision to uphold and the year suspension is of no surprise to me. I think they did the right things, but I never questioned whether they would or wouldn't,” Feder told BoxingScene.com Monday afternoon.