ONE LEFT BY TARVER
Part I of II

By Frank Lotierzo
FightBeat Contributor

I don't know what the future holds for light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver, regarding his boxing career. However, I do know that one left by Tarver on May 15, 2004 destroyed Roy Jones the fighter. That's irrefutable. If the Tarver-Jones rubber match proved nothing else, it solidified the fact that, yes, it was Tarver indeed who ruined Jones the fighter.

In between November 2003 and October 2005, long time rivals Antonio Tarver and Roy Jones fought three times encompassing 26-rounds. In the first and third bouts, Tarver was the defending light heavyweight champion. In their second meeting, Jones was the defending champion. Before an objective evaluation can be done on the Tarver-Jones trilogy, a few things must be made clear, especially since they're conveniently being overlooked by some, with the intent being to shade the results.

In order to believe Jones is more responsible for going 1-2 versus Tarver instead of the opposite, you have to ignore a lot of conventional wisdom and fact. The fact is Jones was hit less and endured less physical punishment than any other boxing champion in the history of the sport. In reality, Jones was a young 34-year-old champion, from a physical standpoint.

Something else being left out of some debates is, one of the last thing that goes on a fighter is his chin. In Jones' case, it's not like his chin was his last line of defense or softened up by being pounded on by his opponents. Even at that, it's a slow process and doesn't go from concrete to Tiffany (not saying Jones chin is Tiffany) overnight.

Another thing never mentioned is that Tarver is two months older than Jones, making them almost exactly the same age. The issue before their first fight wasn't age, nor was anyone saying Jones is showing signs of eroding. It would've been a foolish statement since he looked terrific against Ruiz in his previous fight before taking on Tarver the first time.

It's been said repeatedly that Jones' body never recovered from losing the 18-pounds he added to fight Ruiz. I don't buy that. I could see if Roy went up and down in weight like Roberto Duran or Arturo Gatti did during their career, but that's not the case with Jones. He only did it one time. If Jones was ruined by the weight loss in between Ruiz and Tarver I, then he's medical history.

The first Tarver-Jones fight was titled "It's Personal," which according to Jones advisor Brad Jacobs was no gimmick. Jacobs added, "This is very personal. Tarver's been calling out Roy literally since they were teenagers, but Tarver's crossed the line by accusing Roy was afraid to fight him. Obviously Roy's become a superstar in the business. Tarver's done well and become a champion and all that, but I truly believe there's a personal score to settle between the two of them. I think if you take away the fact that Jones fought Ruiz for the heavyweight title, this will be the biggest showdown of his career in a long time. It's certainly the biggest showdown in the light-heavyweight division in a long time. I tell people what I'm expecting is Montell Griffin II."

It's safe to say that someone like Jacobs has insight to Jones mind set as much as anyone could other than Roy himself. Remember, Tarver was the best light heavyweight that Jones ever fought. Add to that, he showed up at the Jones-Ruiz post fight press conference and accused Jones of avoiding him. To think that Jones lacked motivation in any of his three bouts with Tarver is ridiculous. Many writers thought Tarver had galvanized Jones to the point that winning wasn't enough, that he wanted to demolish Tarver.

On the day of the first fight Jones was an eight-to-one betting favorite. The fight started slow but picked up as it went on. After ten rounds I had it even 95-95 or 5-5 in rounds. However, I thought Jones showed great reserve and courage and willed himself to win the last two rounds to take the fight 115-113 on my scorecard. The majority decision for Jones was seen as being controversial to many boxing observers. Plus, the Tarver faction who felt he won pointed out that Antonio was unmarked and the left side of Roy's face was. For the first time in his career, after fighting Tarver, Roy Jones left the ring and hadn't proved he was the better fighter and was seen as the loser by half of those who saw the fight.

The controversy over the first fight sparked the rematch. Jones hired Mackie Shilstone to help him get in shape for their rematch. At the press conference to announce the fight, Jones said that Tarver would get "The Real Roy in this fight." The second Tarver fight was also the first time Jones went into a fight with something to prove. It had been said during his career that he needed a Joe Frazier to bring out the best in him. Is there any doubt that Antonio Tarver was to Jones what "Smokin" Joe was to Muhammad Ali?

Prior to the rematch Jones felt he held the upper hand, "He fought the best fight he (Tarver) could fight. But I wasn't totally focused and didn't care to do it. This time it's exciting because people are interested because they think he has a chance," said Jones. The odds makers saw it the same as Jones. They also took into account that Jones defeated more southpaws than any champion in history. Noting that in title bouts versus southpaws in two divisions, he beat eight southpaws with only Reggie Johnson and Lou DeValle going the distance with him.

The day before the bout, Jones answered why he took the rematch with Tarver. Roy said he had one reason, "Why I'm doing this is because my fans want me to shut this boy's mouth, I don't really want to kill him like that. I just want to show him that when I'm on my day - no, you can't beat me at all. He couldn't beat me when I wasn't on my day and he definitely can't beat me when I am on my day." On the day of Jones-Tarver II, the odds makers had Jones minus $550 favorite. Tarver was plus $400.

The rematch marked Jones' 25th title bout, while Tarver was only fighting in his 24th fight and third title bout. Forget Tarver's trash talk at center ring before the fight. Both knew what was on the line. Tarver couldn't lose this time and Jones had to prove what he didn't in the first fight, that he was the better fighter and deserved the decision.

After having Tarver get in his face, Jones went out and fought the best round he ever did against Tarver in the first round of the rematch. No way was anyone thinking Jones was shot and that he had nothing left after seeing him in the first round. I thought he was on his way to taking Tarver apart.

In the second round, Tarver beat Jones to the punch and caught him with a crushing over hand left flush on the side of the face that dropped him. Jones was badly hurt even though he was up at about the count of seven. He stumbled across the ring as referee Jay Nady waved his hands halting the fight. With the only meaningful punch he landed in the rematch, Tarver regained the light heavyweight title and ended the Jones title reign.

After being knocked out by Tarver, Jones said, "I got hit with a good shot, a very good shot." The problem, though, is that it happened in the only fight he went into the ring versus an opponent who, more than any other, he had to beat. Later Jones dismissed the punch and referred to it as a lucky punch. On that we agree. It was somewhat lucky for Tarver to catch Jones that clean and flush with a single shot. But Jones being knocked out by it wasn't.

Later that night Jones said, "What basically happens is I probably got bored with this guy." The crime in that statement isn't Jones saying it - fighters lie. The real crime is that so many bought it.

To accept Jones was shot against Tarver in the rematch, you have to believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. How could Jones fight the best round in two fights versus Tarver and be seen as a faded fighter a round later? If you believe that, do you also believe Mother Nature and Father Time caught up with Roy Jones in between rounds? I don't.

I have no doubt Jones believed Tarver got lucky in the rematch. But he didn't realize the psychological damage he suffered after being knocked out by Tarver. Four months later Jones fought IBF light heavyweight title holder Glen Johnson. No doubt Roy saw Johnson - 2-2-2 in his last six bouts and 8-9-2 since he was stopped by Bernard Hopkins seven years earlier - as an easy win. A win over Johnson gains Roy the IBF title and leverage if he fights Tarver again, but that all changed when the bell rang for round one. With no way to simulate an actual fight, Jones had no way of knowing that he would be glove-shy after being knocked out, but he was.

During the Johnson bout, Jones fought with trepidation not wanting to get caught. The only time Roy let his hands go was when he felt it was safe. Jones waited for Johnson to reload or try and catch a breather before firing back. However, when he did fire back, he looked as fast and awesome as he ever did. At one point when he cut loose with a barrage, I thought it was only a matter of time before he stopped Johnson.

Johnson was best known for his toughness and aggression, but never was he thought of as being a big puncher. In the fifth round against Jones, Johnson almost put him away with a single left hook. Jones continued to fight without engaging and finally it cost him. In the ninth round, Johnson caught Jones with a right hand high on his jaw and knocked him out. This was the worst scenario imaginable for Jones. What he feared most not only happened, but it was even worse. Jones being knocked out by Johnson made it impossible for him to think Tarver got lucky in the rematch. Johnson's knockout confirmed the doubt that Tarver's planted.

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