Roy’s away so Griffin will play at 175

Dean Juipe

Thursday, April 24, 2003 | 9:45 a.m.

A world champion for five months in 1997, Montell Griffin wasn't sure if he would ever get another crack at a coveted belt.

But when Roy Jones Jr. vacated the light heavyweight division to try his hand as a heavyweight, a slew of titles came open. Among those was the International Boxing Federation's belt at 175 pounds, which Griffin will go after when he faces Antonio Tarver on an HBO-televised card Saturday from Mashantucket, Conn.

Griffin, a Las Vegas resident, may be perceived as the underdog in the fight but he is coming off a series of impressive wins and is feeling confident.

"I still don't think you've seen me at my best," he said before leaving for Connecticut. "Right now, I feel as if everything's perfect. I took my camp more serious than ever and I'm in tip-top shape.

"I've had eight weeks of solid training and everything's beautiful."

Griffin, 32, is 44-3 with 29 knockouts.

Tarver, 34, is 20-1 with 17 KOs.

They're matched with the IBF light heavyweight title at stake on a card that also includes IBF cruiserweight champ Vassiliy Jirov vs. veteran James Toney.

Tarver and Griffin are ranked Nos. 1 and 2 by the IBF, with Tarver having gained support by avenging an earlier loss to Eric Harding and Griffin having mounted a campaign on the strength of six successive wins.

Among those Griffin has polished off in recent months are Derrick Harmon and George Khalid Jones, both southpaws -- as is Tarver.

"I've been OK in my last few fights, but I can still be better," Griffin said. "The thing about it is that I feel I'm at 100 percent right now, and when I'm at 100 percent I don't fear anybody."

Among the fears Griffin has allayed is one pertaining to his career.

"I've been waiting six years," he said of the gap between his title fights. "For a lot of that time, I thought maybe it wasn't meant to be. I had to sit at home and do some soul searching.

"But since moving to Las Vegas (two years ago) I've become a man. Now I take care of business.

"I know I'm at an age where I'm not going to get too many more shots, so I'm taking everything very seriously."

Griffin became the IBF world champion March 21, 1997, in Atlantic City when Jones was disqualified for a late hit in the ninth round. But Griffin lost the rematch Aug. 7, 1997, in Ledyard, Conn., when Jones came out firing and flattened him in one round.

Griffin then lost to Harding and Dariusz Michalczewski before bouncing back to win his past six fights.

In Tarver, he'll be facing a man who is 6 inches taller and who attempted to goad Jones into a fight March 1 after Jones had beaten John Ruiz for the World Boxing Association heavyweight title. Tarver was belligerent at the post-fight press conference at the Thomas & Mack Center, and security guards were called when he persisted in attempting to antagonize Jones.

"I've found that most guys who run their mouths are scared," Griffin said. "What he did that night was stupid.

"But I'm not worried about him and if he's worried about Roy Jones, fine. I'd be more wary of him if he was the type of guy who kept his mouth shut."