Antonio Tarver will always be remembered as the man who switched the lights out on the legendary Roy Jones Jr. However, there was so much more to the Orlando-born southpaw, who possessed a superlative ring IQ and impeccable timing. An Olympic bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta preceded a glittering professional career, but it was The Magic Man’s early development that paved the way for his unique blend of ring sorcery.
had a great coach, who I lost about five years ago, Jimmy Williams. He was training me at 10 years old, so I was able to be advanced in boxing at a young age. “The fighters I was around were so good it was crazy. There was a guy who got killed, one of my best friends, his name was Maxie. He died around 1990, and I only found out about two years ago that he had a win over the great Roy Jones Jr. Roy told me that, and that shows you how good this team was. That team boxed against the Gray brothers (acclaimed amateur fighters from Florida). “Some of the guys I came up with had solid pro careers, like Greg Young and Bruce Johnson. Bruce Johnson fought Buster Drayton. And there was Harvey Hester. These were the guys I was training with at 10, 11, 12 years old. Sam Johnson was a sparring partner for Marvin Hagler. Greg Young sparred with Marvin Hagler. These guys were older than me, but I was the young brat who was hanging around trying to learn how to box. “I was the only one who really made it.” MY FIRST
THE FIRST TIME I LACED UP THE GLOVES
“I was part of a boys and girls club in Orlando. All the kids from the inner cities would do that kind of thing in the summer. We had all kinds of sporting activities and we would go on field trips. There was a football team, a basketball team and a boxing team.
“Being 9 or 10 years old, I wasn’t really interested at that time. I was just being a kid. I was from one side of the city and a lot of us would meet with kids from the other side of the city. I was an active kid, but I’d get into altercations and fights most of the time. The director of the club said, ‘Hey man, we’re going to have to do something about you. The next time you get in a fight, we’re going to make you put the gloves on.’ It was sort of like a punishment. “There were seven or eight guys on the boxing team, and I hadn’t paid any attention to it. But the first time I put on gloves,
My First Time Antonio Tarver As told to Tom Gray
AMATEUR FIGHT “It was the AAUs at the Eddie Graham Sports Stadium [in Orlando] in 1979. That was a famous stadium that used to have all the wrestling in the late ’70s and early ’80s. I’ll never forget it, because I won my first trophy with the little boxing man on it. We had a team where everywhere we traveled, they knew we were coming to get all the trophies and all the belts. I was maybe 88 pounds, really light, and I’d win trophies that were taller than me.
no one told me what to do or explained the rules. I stepped in there with heart, toughness and the willingness to fight. “My boy JoJo Harris was a standout member of the team. Me and JoJo sparred, but I don’t know why they thought I was good enough to be in there with him. We got in there and the dude hit me to the body. I had no defense and didn’t even know if that was legal. He belted me so hard and I lost my breath and fell down. I was hurt and had no experience, but I sucked it up. I sucked it up and, believe it or not, I was back on my feet and fighting again. “That amateur team was almost like a Kronk situation, but these guys never got out of the city. They never lived out the dream of becoming a champion or going to the Olympics. But they were so talented, and we learned together. We
“I don’t remember the name of the kid I fought, but I knocked him out in 38 seconds. Back then, I was fighting orthodox, because this was at a time when no one boxed southpaw. It was just foreign, and no one worked on it. I was in the gym and there were no southpaws, so I just started doing what everyone else was doing. I’m just following suit, and I don’t know that I’m supposed to be on the other side. (laughs hysterically) I’m naturally left-handed, but I was orthodox through my amateur career up until 14. I didn’t know anything about being a southpaw until I came back to boxing [five and a half years later]. I taught myself how to box southpaw. “The kid I fought in my first amateur fight, I knocked him out with a leaping left hook from the orthodox stance. That
RINGMAGAZINE.COM 83
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker