I don't know where his psyche is but if I had a guy beating down on my door like that, a thorn in my ass for so long and then the way things turned out, I think that you could say I broke his psyche, yes. Because I never looked at him as the great Roy Jones Jr., the immortal champion, the guy that was unbeatable, unstoppable. I never looked at him like that. I always looked at him outta my eyes. And when I looked at him I saw him as a regular person. Just a man. And that's why I was able to go in there and have the confidence - and to know if I got the opportunity - I would be revered as the best fight he's ever faced. He was coming off of winning the heavyweight championship of the world when he faced Antonio Tarver. So I know, excuses aside, he hadn't faced a real fighter until he faced me.
Quotes about tarver (15 Quotes)
The thing that most people don't understand is that I don't believe I lost the last two fights, which is why I am coming in a confident fighter. Tarver says I am fighting him for one more payday, but what Tarver don't realize is that I could have picked anyone to fight and still gone out making millions of dollars. But I chose to fight Antonio Tarver because, like I have said many times, I want to do what my boxing idol, Sugar Ray Robinson, couldn't do, and that's win the light heavyweight championship.
As strange as it sounds, Roy wasn't motivated for those two fights. Roy is either self-motivated or he's not motivated at all. For those fights, he was bored. He was tired of pleasing other people. The second Tarver fight he figured he'd beaten Tarver the first time when he was weak and had trouble making weight so now it would be easy. I didn't get what I should have gotten out of him in camp. And with Glen Johnson, it was the same thing. You can't make a fighter train if he doesn't want to. He might come to the gym but he won't work right while he's there.
We are thrilled about the fact that in the first couple of hours we have sold over 5,000 tickets. The excitement in Tampa is unbelievable. The appeal of Tarver and Jones can be seen right now outside the building where fans are waiting in line to buy tickets. It shows the anticipation among fans to be part of history and this great trilogy.
The big boxing public recognizes Antonio Tarver for his win over Roy Jones, ... They definitely recognize me, too, for my win over Roy Jones. People have an opinion as to who is the best fighter between us two so that is why he and I wanted to get it settled.
The Tarver loss bothered me for a while simply because I knew why I lost that fight. It wasn't because of my skills it was my lack of preparation. I took too much time off. I should have said 'I'm not ready for this fight, let's postpone it.' But the warrior that's inside of me said go out and fight.
Tarver and Jones met in the ring for the first time as 13-year-olds at the 1982 Sunshine State Games. I won the first round, ... Roy won the second. The third round was close and he got the decision. Then, when I was fourteen, my mother moved us to a better section of Orlando that was thirty miles from the Boys Club. There was no way for me to get to the gym, so I gave up boxing and concentrated on other sports. I played quarterback and wide receiver in football and shooting guard on the high school basketball team. In my mind, I was good. But I wasn't as good as I thought.
The reality of it is that he could not live with himself if he didn't attempt to come back and beat this guy. Antonio Tarver has been chasing Roy Jones his entire career. They've had their two fights. It didn't go the way Roy wanted it to the last time, and he wants to turn that around.
John said he was there for me and that he could tell me a lot about Tarver. I said, 'Are you serious' He said he would even get in the ring with me and spar some if I wanted. He said he could still go 15 rounds. He was one of my defenses and he could have had an attitude about it, but he respects my longevity in the game. He understands because we trained so hard in the gym together all those years.
I think Roy now understands that his legacy is on the line. He wants redemption, and the only way he can get that is by beating me. For once in his life, he's taking a real risk, and you have to commend him for that. But it's Tarver time. Roy might be as great as everybody says he is. But I plan to show once again that he's not better than me.
The contract was signed Wednesday and gives each fighter 50 of the revenue. Tarver felt he deserved more, but settled on 50. Their desire to fight each other outweighed the dollar percentages, ... That's really what's enabled this fight to take place. They want each other.
Tampa is not a hillbilly city. They know who Roy Jones and Antonio Tarver are. They know the deep lines of hatred these guys have for each other. That is what sells this fight. Sure, I'd love to have them in the same room because you can feel the tension. You can feel it. I'd love for the fans to see it, but if Roy doesn't show up until the week of the fight, or the night of the fight, what everybody will see is their hatred when they are in the ring.
Roy had gotten bored with boxing. He wasn't motivated for the first fight with Tarver, the second fight with Tarver or the fight with Johnson. He was tired of the whole boxing scene, because nothing he accomplished seemed to be good enough.
The World Boxing Council is deeply concerned about the fight between Roy Jones Jr. and Antonio Tarver, scheduled for October 1 in Tampa, Florida, if Roy refuses to undergo a thorough neurological examination after the knockouts he suffered in his two last bouts.
Antonio Tarver presented a formidable challenge. He was born in Orlando to a single-parent mother who raised him and three daughters on her own. She and my father never lived together, ... He was a Vietnam vet. It's hard to say he was my father because he was never there. Biologically, he donated but that's about all. We never saw much of each other, just a phone call here and there, so I never had that male figure in my life. That was a void I had to live with.