22 Facts About Antonio Tarver

1.

Antonio Deon Tarver was born on November 21,1968 and is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator.

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2.

Antonio Tarver triumphed at the 1995 Pan American Games and 1995 US National Championships, winning gold in both.

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3.

Antonio Tarver remains the only boxer in history to have won gold at the Pan Am Games, World Championships and US Nationals all in the same year.

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4.

Outside of boxing, Antonio Tarver starred as Mason "The Line" Dixon, the heavyweight champion in the 2006 film Rocky Balboa.

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5.

Antonio Tarver made his professional debut at the age of 28 on February 18,1997, with a second-round knockout of Joaquin Garcia at the legendary "Blue Horizon" in Philadelphia.

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6.

Antonio Tarver won his first 16 fights, 14 by knockout, before stepping up his level of competition.

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7.

On February 29,2000, Antonio Tarver scored a knockout against Ernest M-16 Mateen in Las Vegas.

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8.

Antonio Tarver then scored a fifth round stoppage over Harding in a rematch that was on the undercard of the rematch between Shane Mosely and Vernon Forrest.

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9.

Antonio Tarver was trailing on the scorecards until the 4th round, when he sent Harding to the canvas with a barrage of unanswered power shots; Harding was floored twice in the 5th round, leading to the stoppage.

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10.

Antonio Tarver became a mainstream celebrity after his rematch win over Jones, making appearances at late-night shows, appearing on the cover of both Ring and KO Magazine, being spotted by television cameras as a spectator at various boxing fights, and co-hosting ESPN's "Friday Night Fights" for one telecast.

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11.

Antonio Tarver, considered a favorite to win the fight, suffered an upset loss to Johnson by way of a split decision in a fight that he did not appear to be in top shape for.

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12.

Antonio Tarver avenged the loss six months later with a unanimous decision, out-boxing and out-working the aggressive Johnson at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee to regain The Ring championship.

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13.

On June 10,2006, Antonio Tarver faced former undisputed world middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins for Antonio Tarver's The Ring title at The Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

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14.

Antonio Tarver returned to the ring nearly one year after his loss to Hopkins, defeating Albanian-fighter Elvir Muriqi on June 9,2007, by way of a majority decision.

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15.

Antonio Tarver then regained the IBF title by outpointing Clinton Woods.

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16.

Antonio Tarver, who came to the fight as a 5:1 underdog, again lost by unanimous decision.

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17.

Antonio Tarver dominated the fight, knocking Green down in the second round and controlling the majority of the action from there on in.

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18.

On February 25,2021, it was announced that Antonio Tarver would be returning to the ring for the first time since 2015.

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19.

Antonio Tarver intended to represent mental health advocacy and has said he would dedicate the bout with Mir to all survivors or victims of mental health disorders.

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20.

Antonio Tarver was replaced by former IBF cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham.

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21.

Antonio Tarver starred as heavyweight champion Mason "The Line" Dixon in the 2006 film Rocky Balboa.

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22.

Antonio Tarver is one of only three fighters to actually defeat "Rocky Balboa" in film.

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