Tarver: ‘Call me champ’

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2003 | 10:19 a.m.

The betting line is indicative of the general perception: Antonio Tarver isn't expected to beat Roy Jones Jr. when they fight Nov. 8 at Mandalay Bay.

It's Jones minus 950 and Tarver plus 650 in sports books around town, and that type of solid support reflects the belief that Jones is the finest fighter in the world today.

Yet Tarver is adamant that he will pull off the upset and ascend to the type of stature and adulation he feels he already deserves.

"Call me 'Champ,' " he said to reporters on a Wednesday conference call, adding that he preferred the title to his given name.

Tarver, 21-1, is the World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation light heavyweight champion, while Jones is dropping down from heavyweight to fight for the belts he once owned.

Jones is 48-1.

"He's facing the most dangerous fighter he's ever faced," Tarver said during a media day at his training camp in Tampa, Fla., last week. "I'm going to destroy him.

"He knows my determination. He knows my ability. I'm a slick southpaw with power in both hands, a defensive wizard and a guy that knows his way around the ring.

"I'm a guy that is seasoned and has dominated at all levels."

Tarver, calling himself a "self-taught" southpaw, will be the eighth left-hander Jones has faced in his career. Jones is 7-0 against the previous lefties, although the lone knockdown of his career -- vs. Lou Del Valle in 1998 -- came at the hands of a southpaw.

"The man is supposed to be invincible and unstoppable, but bring him on," Tarver said of Jones. "I'm ready and I'm hungry."

Beyond his natural abilities and the commitment he has put into his training for this fight, Tarver believes he has an additional advantage. With Jones coming off a noteworthy win over then-heavyweight champ John Ruiz, Tarver feels there's a chance for a letdown.

"There's a lot of risk and no reward for him," he said. "For the first time in his career, the risk outweighs the reward for him.

"But they can't say that about me. To be the man you've got to beat the man, and that's the opportunity before me."

To make sure he's getting this chance, Tarver says he's willing to bend on the issue of which fighter will enter the ring first. Each man had been insisting on entering the ring last -- as a defending champion does -- and, by agreement of the fighters, a final determination will be made by the Nevada State Athletic Commission; the fighter who comes in first will be introduced last.

"I made another concession to make this fight happen," Tarver said of the dispute. "It was an issue but it's been resolved."

As for Jones' wanting to come in last and be introduced last, Tarver voiced his disgust.

"Roy, being the spoiled brat and egomaniac that he is, wants to change tradition for ego's sake," he said. "(But) he's not angering me."

Both fighters are due in Las Vegas early next week for a pay-per-view fight that Tarver pushed to fruition by calling out Jones following his March win against Ruiz.

"I know what a victory over Jones will give me," he said. "It's a risk I don't mind taking."

Tarver lost by split decision to Jones when both were amateurs (in the 1984 Sunshine State Games) and feels that additional losses (in the Olympics and as a pro to Eric Harding) kept him from attaining his goals thus far.

"I was slated to be one of the greatest fighters of all time," he said. "But I had to slow myself down and pull myself together."

The loss to Harding came after Tarver sustained a broken jaw.

"I wasn't ready," he said. "I was ill prepared for that fight. I had to do some soul searching (afterward). I had to look inside."

He also admits to having to overcome his reputation.

"There were people who said I wasn't coachable and that I was a head case," he said. "They said everything, that I wasn't focused or determined."

He thanks current trainer Buddy McGirt for helping him through that period and getting him ready for Jones.

And as for the odds?

"The experts have been proven wrong a whole lot of times in boxing," he said. "This is just going to be another one of those times."