by David P. Greisman
Former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver owes the mother of his daughter a significant amount of money that went unpaid over a significant amount of time.
The amount is staggering — $669,000 in total accumulated at $6,000 a month, and the last time he’d paid any money was in 2012 when a judge told him he could go to jail otherwise, according to Florida television station WFLA.
Now he’ll likely be losing some property, including his home, to help pay back that debt.
“A family court magistrate in Tampa [on Wednesday] held Tarver in contempt for not supporting his teenage daughter. The magistrate ordered Tarver to hand over a $10,000 cashiers check, his Land Rover, his home and even a luxury watch that Tarver insisted was a ‘knock off,’ ” the article said.
Tarver said he hasn’t been able to afford the child support and labeled his ex-girlfriend “a money-hungry woman who just feels like I owe her the world when I'm only obligated to take care of my daughter, and that’s all I want to do.”
Tarver’s girlfriend works as a night nurse.
Tarver is now 46 and still fighting as a heavyweight. It was just announced that hewill face Steve Cunningham in August on a Spike TV broadcast of “Premier Boxing Champions.”
He last fought in December 2014, knocking out Johnathon Banks and, according to the article, getting paid $40,000.
WFLA also reported that Tarver got about $500,000 for his bout with Lateef Kayode in 2012, though articles from that time say Tarver got $1.1 million, a number that of course is before tax and payments to his team members. Tarver tested positive for a banned steroid in that cruiserweight bout but was only fined $2,500.
Tarver had racked up enough gambling debt in four days in July 2012 — three gambling markers at the Wynn Las Vegas worth a combined $200,000 — that he was arrested last year in Florida on an open warrant out of Nevada, TMZ reported at the time.
He went free after apparently having his debt covered by boxing adviser Al Haymon.
That wasn’t his first time running out on gambling debts. Tarver had been loaned $100,000 by the MGM Grand and $50,000 by the Bellagio in 2009, only paying them back 10 percent of each of those debts, TMZ reported last year.
He is 31-6 with 22 KOs and the one no contest resulting from the Kayode draw being overturned due to Tarver’s use of a banned substance.
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com