12,000 tickets sold already for Jones-Tarver III

AMPA, Tuesday, -- Blistering ticket sales have been the norm since the box office windows opened for Tarver vs. Jones 3 just over a week ago. The St. Pete Times Forum box office has seen breathtaking action and the forecast shows no decline, leading the St. Pete Times Forum to expand capacity. What was once labeled as the “Fastest selling boxing event in Tampa history” has turned into a giant event and is sure to become one of the biggest boxing events in FLORIDA history. In an attempt to satisfy the fans that have been lined up at the windows daily and the thousands of ticket orders yet to be filled, the search for space for more seats will continue. Tarver vs. Jones 3 is presented by Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing and Square Ring, Inc. and will broadcast live on pay-per-view. Tarver vs. Jones 3 is quickly surpassing the first two fights, both of which took place at Mandalay Bay and each had approximately 12,000 in attendance. Jones -Tarver I did 302,000 pay-per-view buys and Jones-Tarver II easily exceeded that mark with 380,000 buys. Tarver vs. Jones 3 will take place in Tarver’s backyard. It is a short drive from Orlando, where he was born and where he has been living since he turned professional. Jones’ hometown, Pensacola, is a seven-hour drive away, close enough for his fans to attend. Tarver may feel he has the home field advantage, but Jones feels otherwise and told him so. “You won the last time,” Jones told Tarver. “Your hometown is Tampa. So if I’m as really good as I say I am or really as good as I think I am I should be able to come to your town and get mine back.” "Yes I won the last fight and I won it in grand fashion," responded Tarver. "But in the last fight I predicted I would knock him out and I did. He now says he SHOULD win and that does not sound like a man talking with a lot of confidence. If he wants to impress me, make a prediction. WILL YOU WIN OR WILL YOU LOSE?" “We can’t print tickets fast enough,” said Sean Henry, Executive Vice President of the St. Pete Times Forum and the Tampa Bay Lightning. “Almost 12,000 are sold and backorders are in the thousands. This is the biggest boxing event in Central Florida history.” "The demand for tickets in Tampa is overwhelming and a testament to the fact that this is such a compelling fight,” said Joe DeGuardia, President/CEO of Star Boxing. “The fans recognize that Tarver -Jones is a unique rivalry, and, being able to watch them fight makes the fan a part of boxing history. Expect to see the same urgency in the ring on Oct 1 as there is among fans for tickets." "The pace at which the tickets are selling bodes extremely well for pay-per-view and is attributable to a terrific match-up which the fans are anxious to see,” said Square Ring’s Brad Jacobs. “The legendary Roy Jones vs. World Champion Antonio Tarver in his backyard...there's not too much else you could ask for." Tickets, priced at $25, $50, $100, $200, $350, $600 and $1,000 are available at the St. Pete Times Forum box office, by calling Ticketmaster at 813.287.8844 or 727.898.2100 or by logging onto http://www.ticketmaster.com/. Ticket prices do not include applicable surcharges. Tarver and Jones…their names will forever be linked to one another in boxing lore. They first met in the ring as thirteen-year-olds at the Sunshine State Games in Gainesville, FL., and fought twice in Las Vegas for the World Light Heavyweight Championship. On Saturday, October 1, at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL, the final episode of this great trilogy will take place. The Tarver vs. Jones 3 pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9pm ET/6pm PT on October 1, has a suggested retail price of $49.95, will be distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to over 50 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For your daily Tarver vs. Jones 3 updates, log on to log onto http://www.hboppv.com/