by David P. Greisman
Steve Cunningham didn’t lose to Antonio Tarver earlier this month, but he didn’t beat him either — not officially, at least, though Cunningham believes he deserved otherwise.
But no matter what Cunningham believes, the judges rendered the bout a draw. And that had the former cruiserweight titleholder concerned about his future at heavyweight and in the sport, at least until he and his wife heard from his adviser and de facto promoter, Al Haymon.
“We’re so used to being in the position where if you lose the fight or if it’s anything else but a win, then your money goes down, everything goes down and you start from the bottom. That’s how it’s been with us with all the other people that we’ve dealt with in boxing,” Cunningham said in an interview with BoxingScene.com.
“We were very distraught about the draw. I was distraught about the draw just because I don’t want to do anything but win, period. Al called my wife and said, ‘Listen, this isn’t a step backwards. At worst, it’s a step to the side. We’re going to keep pressing forward. The fans still want to see Steve. Steve’s still an exciting fighter. We’re going to move forward. We’re going to get you another big fight.’ ”
Cunningham expects to be back in November or December, though he’ll have more details in the coming weeks.
“I’m ecstatic about that,” he said. “This is the way boxing should be. I’ve already put in work to solidify my position in boxing. People know my fighting style. They know I bring it. The fans still want to see Steve Cunningham fight.”
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