Tag Archives: Antonio Tarver
USA Boxing declares June “Alumni Association Membership Drive Month”
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 11, 2018) – USA Boxing’s “Alumni Association Membership Drive Month” got off to a knockout start this past weekend in Canastota, New York, at the annual International Boxing Hall of Fame Class induction ceremonies, as nine high-profile boxers, featuring an incredible accumulate pro record of 365-51-7 (239 KOs) and 24 major world titles, joined the growing USABAA ranks as proud, new members.
Chris Cugliari and John Scully represented USA Boxing Alumni Association, manning tables at the IBHOF golf tournament and Memorabilia Show, to increase USABAA awareness and recruit new members.
“The spirit of amateur boxing was alive and well throughout the International Boxing Hall of Fame weekend,” explained Cugliari, USA Boxing Alumni Association Executive Director. “Information about the new USA Boxing Alumni Association was well received by the weekend’s guests, and esteemed alumni such as Jesse Vargas and Reggie Johnson mentioned that they are excited to become more involved. The Alumni Association thanks the support provided by many this weekend, particularly Micky Ward and Antonio Tarver, who continue to spread our mission.”
“The fact is that the vast majority of professional boxers who attend the Hall of Fame weekend at Canastota each year were at one time amateur boxers and knew each other well before they ever even turned professional,” added invaluable USABAA advisor Scully, who recruits boxers for group-sponsored events like this. “At some point in the conversations between boxers across the grounds, the topics frequently will eventually turn to their amateur days together.”
“The amateurs, for me, was about fighting for respect,” two-division world champion Junior Jones (50-6, 28 KOs); noted. “To go to different places and make it very far (as an amateur), you have to learn how to conduct yourself and transact with others.”
Other new USABAA members are six-time, two division world champion Miguel Cotto(41-6, 33 KOs); four-time, two division world champion, as well as 1976 Olympic gold medalist and Hall of Famer, Michael Spinks (31-1, 21 KOs); Irish heavyweight who retired Mike Tyson, Kevin McBride (35-10-1, 29 KOs); two-time, two division world championJesse Vargas (28-2-1, 10 KOs); five time world champion and 1996 Olympic bronze medalist Antonio Tarver (31-6-1, 22 KOs); two-time, two division world champion Reggie Johnson (44-7-1, 25 KOs), three-time, three division world champion James Toney (77-10-3, 47 KOs); and world heavyweight contender Gerry Cooney (38-3, 24 KOs).
USA Boxing Alumni Association
Created to champion a lifelong, mutually beneficial relations between USA Boxing and its alumni, –boxers, officials, coaches and boxing fans — The Alumni Association connects generations of champions, inspiring and giving back to USA Boxing’s future boxing champions, in and out of the ring.
The USA Boxing Alumni Association is open to anyone who has a love for boxing and would like to stay connected with amateur boxing. Members are granted access to a wide variety of special events hosted by the Alumni Association, including its annual USA Boxing Alumni Association Hall of Fame reception.
To join the Alumni Association, simply register at alumni@usaboxing,.org for a $40.00 per year membership fee. New members will receive a T-shirt, keychain and e-wallet.
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“I think this is great,” Jones talked about the formation of the USA Boxing Alumni Association. “Fighters who turned pro were great amateurs, but there are also a lot of amateurs who didn’t turn pro. Everybody doesn’t become champion, but they tried and gave their best, and that’s why this organization is good because all boxers are appreciated.”
“Although Hall of Fame weekend tends to focus on the professional careers of many fighters,” Cugliari concluded, “it was hard not to notice the effect that amateur boxing has had on the lives of many of these great champions. The USA Boxing Alumni Association wants to thank Ed Brophy for his generosity and support for boxing, and we look forward to a long partnership with the International Boxing Hall of Fame.”
INFORMATION:
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Facebook: /USABoxing
Antonio “The Magic Man” Tarver Credits USA Boxing for giving him Structure that carried him to top
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 21, 2018) – Future Hall of Famer Antonio “The Magic Man” Tarver (31-6-1, 1 NC, 22 KOs) has just about done it all as a boxer having been an Olympic medal winner and world champion as an amateur, along with capturing five major light heavyweight world titles as a professional, as well as a pair of The Ring magazine’s top honors, and four other world championships in two different divisions.
“I credit USA Boxing for giving me structure for the first time in my life,” Tarver explained. “Everything was scheduled; curfew, eating, training, sleep….everything! I then understood that I had to be accountable for everything I did. I had talent, but I wasn’t structured, and that was bigger than me. I had to adjust to authority. My determination took off, giving me support I never had before. I went on to make speaking engagements and get sponsors. I broke barriers. I’ve been the best at every level that I fought at in the world.”
Tarver was a highly decorated amateur who had an amazing 158-12 record. He is the only boxer to capture gold medals at World Amateur Championships, U.S. National Championships and Pan-American Games in the same year (1995). The Orlando, Florida-born southpaw won a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, losing in the quarterfinals to future world champion Vassiliy Jirov, who Tarver had defeated in the semifinals of the 1995 World Amateur Championships. Tarver also won top honors at the 1994 National Golden Gloves Tournament and 1995 World Championships Challenge.
“I went on a winning roll in 1995 and went into the Olympics in rare form,” Tarver said. “And that’s why I was favored to win a gold medal. I was hitting him (Jirov), the same guy I’d beaten in the World Championships, but no points were registering for me. I had a good second round, but I was down three points, so I threw my game plan away in the third round. I felt I had to do more and got away from my style: counter punching, not getting hit, and being patient. I thought I had won and so did a lot of people. I made up for that, though, with a gold-medal professional career.
“I had been faced with a decision about going pro after I was beaten in the ’92 Olympic Trials. I decided to stay in the amateurs, despite not having any guarantees about making the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team. I sacrificed four years of my pro career, which is why I turned pro at a relatively late age (27). I was determined when I found out the 1996 Olympics were in Atlanta. I think I made the right decision and I have no regrets.
“I had always dreamed of going to the Olympics. I saw Roy Jones, Jr – we first fought each other at 13 – get robbed of gold. I was watching that on television, jumped up, and knew where I was heading: The Olympics! We both suffered horrible decisions in the Olympics and I knew then that our careers would be parallel.
Tarver made his pro debut February 18, 1997 in Philadelphia, stopping Joaquin Garcia (4-0) in the second round.
“I was an Olympic bronze medal winner but when I first turned pro,” Tarver added, “I didn’t have a promoter or manager. Nobody was willing to take a chance on me until I was 4-0, when I signed by first contract with Russell Peltz. I felt nobody could beat me.”
Nobody was able to beat Tarver, at least until his 17th pro fight, when Eric Hardingdefeated Tarver by way of a 12-round unanimous decision.
Two years later, Tarver embarked on a 12-fight murderer’s row stretch during the next seven years, arguably establishing him as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. It all started with a successful rematch with Harding (21-1-1) in Indianapolis, when Tarver dropped Harding in the fourth round, plus twice more in the fifth, on his way to a fifth-round technical knockout to avenge his lone pro loss to that date.
Next up for Tarver was a showdown with 44-3 Montell Griffin for the WBC and IBF 175-pound division titles, which were vacated by Roy Jones Jr., April 26, 2003 at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. In his first world title shot as a pro, Tarver pitched a complete shutout, decking Griffin in the first and last rounds to shut out his opponent by scores of 120-103 from all three judges.
Seven months later, however, Tarver lost a controversial 12-round majority decision and his WBC crown (he was stripped of his IBF belt) to WBA Super and IBO champion Jones in Las Vegas. The following May at the venue, Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, though, Tarver became the first to knockout Jones, putting him to sleep in the second round.
Tarver then became a mainstream celebrity, appearing on late-night shows and covers ofThe Ring magazine and KO Magazine, and co-hosting an ESPN Friday Night Fights telecast.
“I was robbed in my first fight with Roy,” Tarver insisted. “They called my knockout of Roy the greatest upset in light heavyweight history. Why didn’t they see me coming? I had beaten everybody ranked ahead of me. Roy was the pound-4-pound king, but he knew. I may not be the fastest, the quickest, or the strongest, but I doubt that there’s ever been a pro fighter to enter the ring with a higher IQ than me. Even at my age, I still feel that way today.”
The WBC stripped Tarver of his title in 2004 for fighting IBF champion Glen Johnson (41-9-2) instead of the WBC mandatory challenger. Johnson, ironically, was stripped of his IBF title for the same reason right before his fight in Los Angeles with Tarver. Tarver and Johnson fought for The Ring and IBO titles and Johnson won a 12-round split decision.
In their rematch six months later in Memphis, Tarver won a unanimous 12-round decision over Johnson to capture the IBO strap. Tarver completed his trilogy with Jones, retaining his IBO title with a unanimous 12-round decision (117-111, 116-112, 116-112).
Tarver lost a 12-round decision June 10, 2006 in Atlantic City to Bernard Hopkins for the IBO championship, which was soon vacated and recaptured by Tarver with a 12-round majority decision over Elvir Muriqi (34-3).
Tarver traveled to Australia in 2011 to challenge IBO cruiserweight champion and local hero Danny Green, who retired after nine rounds, as Tarver added another title belt to his display case.
In December of 2013 in Temecula, California, Tarver knocked out Jonathon Banks (29-2-1) in the seventh round, and Tarver’s last fight was a 12-round split decision draw with former world champion Steve Cunningham (28-7) in Newark, New Jersey.
In 2006, Tarver starred as Mason “The Line” Dixon, the heavyweight champion in the film,Rocky Balboa.
Tarver, as he marches towards his planned history-making performance by becoming the oldest heavyweight world champion of all-time, also has served as a color commentator in boxing for Spike TV and Showtime.
Today, at the age of 49, Tarver is still technically active, and he also trains his son and undefeated middleweight prospect, Antonio Tarver, Jr. (5-0 (4 KOs), where they live in Tampa, Florida.
“I was older than the rest of the boxers on the U.S. Olympic Team and the U.S. National Team,” Tarver remarked. “What a team! Guys like Diego Corrales and Zab Judah didn’t make that Olympic Team. I gave Floyd Mayweather, Jr. his first moniker, ‘Pretty Boy Floyd’, until he changed it years later to ‘Money’. We had a bond on that Olympic team with Floyd, Fernando Vargas, David Reid, Zarim Raheem and the others.”
Although at the age of 49 he is still an active fighter, Tarver occassionally does some color commentating and he trains pro and amateur boxers at a gym in Tampa, Florida. “I’m not retired as a fighter,” Tarver commented. “I started a program, ‘Train with The Champ’, and it includes room rent and training. I like to say it’s an AirB&B for boxing. I train my son (5-0 middleweight Antonio Tarver, Jr. there. I learned a lot from my early days, training in Orlando with my coach, Lou Harris, and I reunited with Jimmy Williams, who is 90 now, training my son together in Tampa.
Tarver also is an advocate of the relatively new “USA Boxing Alumni Association,” which was created to champion a lifelong, mutually beneficial relations between USA Boxing and its alumni, –boxers, officials, coaches and boxing fans — the Alumni Association connects generations of champions, inspiring and giving back to USA Boxing’s future boxing champions, in and out of the ring.
“I’m going online to join,” Tarver said. “I’m looking forward to attending an Alumni Association meeting, June 24-30 during the Junior Olympics in Charleston, West Virginia.
Everything that goes around, comes around, in USA Boxing. Just ask future Hall of Fame candidate Antonio Tarver.
INFORMATION:
Twitter: @USABoxing
Instagram: @USABoxing
Facebook: /USABoxing
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Boxing trainer Orlando Cuellar goes Back to the Future at 5th St. Gym
MIAMI (October 26, 2016) — Internationally renowned boxing trainer Orlando Cuellar has come full circle, right back to the famed 5th St. Gym in South Beach, where he once visited as a teenager to learn and now trains fighters out of six days a week.
Born in Havana, Cuba, Cuellar’s family resettled in Miami when he was three with Orlando living there through high school. As an amateur boxer, Cuellar vividly remembers watching boxers at 5th St. Gym such as Cassius Clay, Willie Pastrano, Vinnie Curto and Florentino Fernandez, as well as legendary trainers, brothers Angelo and Chris Dundee.
“I watched and learned, picking up as much as much as I could,” Cuellar said. “Now, I find myself working out of the 5th St. Gym for the past six weeks. It’s been an incredible experience. Every day, you never know who is going to walk through the doors there. It’s been one of the best boxing gyms in the world for more than 50 years. From the days dating back to Muhammad Ali, fighters have been attracted to this gym because of its rich history and great sparring, as well as to the area with South Beach’s restaurants, clubs and beach. The warm, humid weather also makes it easier for fighters to lose weight running and training.
“(Owner) Dino Spencer is carrying on the 5th St. Gym’s tradition. Everyday I’m there is exciting for me. Mixed ethnic groups train there and it’s a magnet for talent. There’s sparring three days a week – I call it Spar-a-rama – and everybody’s welcome to challenge themselves. The sparring is better than a lot of TV fights.
“5th St. Gym trainer Guy Laieta had been trying to convince me to join the team for the last five years. I spoke to Dino on several occasions, expressing my desire to train fighters out of the 5th St. Gym. He said, ‘Let’s do it.’ The success of the 5th St. Gym today has a lot to do with ownership. Dino has a passion for boxing and he is very hospitable, which trickles down to his staff and fighters. Good vibes all of the time!”
Cuellar left for Las Vegas in 1976 and, after he realized that being a boxer wasn’t in his best interest, he started training fighters there in 1981 out of Johnny Garcia’s Gym. A year later, he shifted his base Brooklyn and started training fighters out of another boxing icon, Gleason’s Gym. In 2000, he resettled in Miami.
Best known as world light heavyweight champion the head trainer of Glen Johnson, Cuellar also worked with future champions such as Nicolas Walters, Rances Barthelemy and Erslandy Lara, as well as Luis Franco, Aaron Davis and Juan Carlos Gomez, to name a few of the more notables. Today, he’s the chief second for several top fighters including Antonio Tarver.
Recognized throughout boxing as a superior teacher, Cuellar’s success is mostly attributed to his training of fighters on an individual basis, focusing on their personal needs rather than giving all fighters the same instructions and attention.
“Each fighter needs personal and specific work to complement their God-given talents,” Cuellar explained. “You can’t teach all fighters the same way. I specialize on what I call old school meets new school. Old school was upfront and personal to go 15 rounds, new school is about throwing more punches, more foot movement and fighting from the outside. I teach doffense: defense + offense. Punches aren’t vitamins, none should be taken. Boxing is little more than a battle of reflexes; one fighters versus another, but the real trick is how the fighter uses his reflexes. I teach my fighters how to turn the ring apron into a minefield.”
Boxing has played a huge role in Cuellar’s life. Back in the 5th St. Gym is just another chapter in his unique life.
“I live through my fighters,” Cuellar concluded. “Every victory is my proudest moment. There are no big or little victories, every win is a happy moment because of all the hard work and sacrifices me and my fighter made during training camp.”
Orlando Cuellar is thrilled to have gone back to the future.
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Undefeated prospect Antonio Tarver, Jr. establishing his own identity in ring
TAMPA (May 10, 2016) – Fighting for his young family, as well as to expand the legacy associated with his last name, the son of 5-time world champion and 1996 U.S. Olympian Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver – unbeaten junior middleweight prospect Antonio Tarver, Jr. – this past weekend continued establishing his own identity in the ring.
After a 9-month absence, the 28-year-old Tarver (4-0, 3 KOs) returned to the ring in Lakeland, Florida, stopping Jose Cortez in the second round. Tarver displayed his improving skills, especially a punishing body attack, during a thoroughly dominating performance. He broke-down Cortez and closed the show in style.
“It took me one round to get rid of ring rust,” he explained. “We had a game-plan to go to the body, then the head, body and head, but it took me a round to do it. God’s really blessed me and I owe all thanks to Him. My father and coach, Jimmy Williams, have always told me not to look for a knockout but that it’ll come. I’m not a one-punch knockout fighter. It’s all about setting up shots and putting them together. I may not connect with every single body shot I throw, but if I get in three of four each round, it’ll eventually cause damage. I’m focusing on my opponent’s liver and ribs, trying to be a body-snatcher.”
Tarver was an athlete, playing basketball and football, who didn’t start boxing until he was 19. He had a very brief amateur career and fully realizes that he’s consistently going to be fighting more experienced boxers.
“In the ring,” Tarver said, “I’m still a baby. My opponents may be much more experienced than me, but I do have a lot of experience around me: my father, coach Williams and Darrell Foreman. My father wouldn’t support me as a fighter until I proved to him that I was worthy (sacrificing and training). I’m worthy now and believe I’m coming into my own as I continue to learn.”
“As a father,” Tarver Sr., noted, “I wanted him to know what he was getting into and have the tools to succeed. He’s as tough as nails. When he realizes how strong he really is…..look out. There’s a difference between hitting an opponent with a punch and punching through him like he’s doing now. I just wish he’d get started quicker. He doesn’t get going until he gets hit and then he turns into a beast. A ferociousness comes out from inside that I never had. He’s improving all of the time. He’s putting punches together better and sitting down on his punches.
“Antonio is going to be a fan-friendly fighter. I know I put him under a lot of pressure, but he’s fighting much more experienced guys. I’ve never been worried about him fighting a tough guy. It’s the guys who think in the ring and have amateur pedigree that can be problems for him.”
Understanding that his opponents get pumped to fight him because of his last name, Antonio Jr. rationalizes that, taking advantage of the situation he is in. “It’s very important for my opponents to beat me and the name,” he admitted. “My father set this stage for me and my name is, Antonio Tarver, Jr., so they’re trying to give us both a loss. I’m fighting for my family and to protect the legacy of my last name. I try and take advantage of being my father’s son and accept everything that goes with that. I don’t try to put pressure on myself but, of course, I want to be the best Antonio Tarver Jr. I can be.
“People are always going to compare me with my father but we fight in different weight classes. Light heavyweights, other than Roy Jones Jr., are slower than junior middleweights, who are much quicker like Floyd Mayweather, Jr. I’m always going to be fighting opponents taller than me, or sometimes the same height, but I’m 5′ 9″ and a lot of my opponents are going to be 6′ 2″ or so.
The father has another important lesson he’s teaching his son. “Antonio became a father for the first time last September and he was slow getting back in the gym,” Antonio Sr. added. “He has to learn how to balance fatherhood with his pro boxing career, making sacrifices to become a champion!”
INFORMATION:
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@AntonioTarver
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PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS MAKE SUPER BOWL 50 PREDICTIONS
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Antonio Tarver refutes failed drug test
Team Tarver spent Labor Day feeding homeless & others at Salvation Army in Tampa
TEAM TARVER (L-R) – Jamil Thompson, Antonio Tarver, Angela Mitchell, Orlando Fernandez and Eboney De Costa.
Photo Gallery Below
TAMPA (September 10, 2015) — Team Tarver, led by five-time world champion and world heavyweight contender Antonio “The Magic Man” Tarver (31-6-1, 22 KOs), spent this past Labor Day serving more than 150 homeless, disabled and handicapped people, local military veterans, at The Salvation Army in Tampa.
“I really like the community service we’ve been doing lately because it makes me feel like I’m making a difference in people’s life who are less fortune then me,” Tarver said. “To know that my team seems to be enjoying it just as well makes this even more special for me. I really appreciate them for taking part every time they’re called upon. I can’t wait until for our Turkey Giveaway and Christmas Toy Drive in Tampa/Orlando. If any non-profit organizations or potential sponsors are willing to join Team Tarver, please don’t hesitate to visit my web-site at OfficialAntonioTarver.com as we continue to make a difference where it counts.”
Team Tarver’s next planned function will be a Turkey Giveaway prior to Thanksgiving.
For additional information, sponsorship inquires or to make a donation, please email officialteamtarver@
INFORMATION:
@AntonioTarver
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Inaugural Team Tarver Back-To- School drive a major hit last week in Tampa
Team Tarver at Layla’s House in Tampa
TAMPA (August 26, 2015) — The inaugural Team Tarver Back-To-School-Drive was a major hit last week at Layla’s House (www.LaylasHouse.com) in Tampa, Florida.
Five-time world champion and world heavyweight contender, Antonio “The Magic Man” Tarver (31-6-1, 22 KOs), his son, unbeaten junior middleweight prospect Antonio Tarver, Jr. (3-0, 2 KOs), and some other Team Tarver members distributed school supplies last Thursday to underprivileged children in Tarver’s hometown of Tampa.
TEAM TARVER: (L-R) – Antonio Tarver, Antonio Tarver Jr., Eboney De Costa, Orlando Fernandez, Angela Mitchell and Jamil Thompson
“There’s nothing better than seeing smiles on the faces of young children,” Tarver said. “I believe it’s important to give back in your community. We feel it’s very important for children, especially the youngest ones, to have supplies for the first day of school. We were able to provide them with essential supplies like book-bags, pencils, and notebooks. Hopefully, they feel better about themselves, attending school, and getting a good education.”
Team Tarver’s next planned function will be a Turkey Giveaway prior to Thanksgiving.For additional information, sponsorship inquires or to make a donation, please email officialteamtarver@
INFORMATION:
@AntonioTarver
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Travis Kauffman returns with 1st round destruction over Carmack
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