ANTONIO Tarver hasn’t fought in nearly a year, but his mouth remains in a rare form. Tarver, who lost his light heavyweight title to Bernard Hopkins last June in Atlantic City, makes his return tomorrow night when he meets Elvir Muriqi for the IBO light heavyweight title at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford (Showtime, 10 p.m.). Clearly, Tarver wasn’t humbled by his lopsided loss to Hopkins.
“People think I have accomplished everything there is to accomplish in boxing,” Tarver said, “but I am here to put the world on notice and let them know that I have not even scratched the surface. My whole thing is, that I plan on, before leaving this game, being recognized as the best fighter pound for pound.”
Tarver (24-4, 18 KOs) said he wasn’t himself against Hopkins and has suggested he might have been drugged before the bout.
“I believe that there was a possibility that they got to me, or someone got to me with ordering room service, a drink of water or whatever,” Tarver said. “But I was not myself. As big as that fight was, I could not get into it mentally, emotionally, spiritually, or nothing. I was zapped for whatever reason.”
Jimmy Williams will be working Tarver’s corner instead of Buddy McGirt, a change Tarver made so he could train in his hometown of Tampa, Fla., instead of McGirt’s gym in Vero Beach.
“I think you will see the difference in just being home, being comfortable, being relaxed, and being focused,” Tarver said. “I need a trainer that is going to give me 110 percent. I do not need to share a gym with four and five different other fighters.
“Buddy is making his money and doing his thing, but right now I need someone who is going to be focused on me every day. I need to be selfish right now.”
In the co-feature, Chad Dawson (23-0, 1 NC, 15 KOs) of New Haven, Conn., makes the first defense of his WBC light heavyweight title against Jesus “Chuy” Ruiz (19-4, 17 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico. Speculation is, should Tarver and Dawson win, they’ll meet in a unification bout.
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Included on the undercard of Miguel Cotto–Zab Judah tomorrow night at the Garden is an interesting matchup between unbeaten welterweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Grover Wiley of Omaha, Neb.
Wiley (30-9-1, 14 KO) was the last man to defeat Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez. Now his son is ready to avenge that defeat.
“I want to let (Wiley) know he’s not fighting an old man,” Chavez Jr. (30-0-1, 23 KOs) said. “If I don’t knock him out, I’m going to feel like I lost the fight.”
Other undercard matchups to be televised on the HBO PPV card ($44.95) include Yuri Foreman (22-0, 8 KOs) vs. Anthony Thompson (23-1, 17 KOs), and Humberto Soto (41-5-2, 25 KOs) vs. Bobby Pacquiao (27-12-3, 12 KOs).
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MSG will televise the IBO cruiserweight championship tomorrow between Tomaz Adamek and Luis Pineda. The fight will be shown live at 3:30 p.m. EDT from Poland. Adamek (31-1, 21 KO) is a native of Poland; Pineda (21-15, 18 KO) is from Panama.
Former heavyweight contender Andrew “Low Blow” Golota is on the card.
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Mixed Martial Arts note: The New York Pitbulls of the International Fight League, the first team-based pro mixed-martial-arts league, will be competing in the final regular-season event of the year in Las Vegas on June 16 with a playoff berth on the line. Coached by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Renzo Gracie, the Pitbulls can secure a spot in the IFL semifinals, set for Aug. 2 at Meadowlands Arena, with a victory over the Toronto Dragons, coached by MMA legend Carlos Newton.
