By Mark Vester

The Tampa Tribune reports that Frank Warren, promoter for super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, has begun negotiations for a bout with former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver. Tarver tell The Tribune that he ould rather wait until after the December release of Rocky 6, before putting together another fight.

"I don't dance to nobody's music," Tarver said. "I've been on the grind for five years, and every fight I've been in has been a do-or-die situation. Guys like Calzaghe have gotten by with fighting 'D' level fighters, but Antonio Tarver has always had major expectations on him."

After being beaten earlier this year in a one-sided fight by Bernard Hopkins, Tarver spoke about why he is taking so much time off from the sport.

"After my last fight against Bernard Hopkins [a unanimous-decision loss], I realized I needed to step back and recollect my thoughts. I've always been in killer fights, but my next fight won't be that type of fight. I want a comeback fight. I've never had a tuneup fight in all my life. All of my fights have been legendary type fights. I will brush the cobwebs off in my next fight."

When the subject of super middleweight Jeff Lacy was brought up, Tarver became angered. A few months ago, the two fighters were in negotiations to come together for a big showdown in Florida, but the fight fell apart over the split of the money. Tarver says that his ultimate goal is to lure Bernard Hopkins out of returment for a rematch.

"I want to give the poor guy [Lacy] an opportunity to make money, but he can't dictate anything to me. I have legends on my resume. I have beat quality champions. This guy hasn't proven a thing," Tarver said. "If the fight comes back on the table, he needs to take what is given to him. I don't need Jeff Lacy. I don't need Joe Calzaghe."

"My goal remains to bring Bernard Hopkins out of retirement and redeem myself for that loss. As far as everyone else is concerned, they need to realize that once the movie drops, I will be a marquee fighter, and I will use that to my negotiating advantage."