Antonio Tarver on Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr: “They Running From Their Adversaries”

By: Hans Themistode

The boxing world couldn’t help but yell in excitement once former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and pound for pound great, Roy Jones Jr. announced their contest. On September 12th, both men will end their retirement and dust the gloves off one more time. 

Choosing a winner between the two has been the topic of conversations for the past few days. But while most of the world is wondering how things will play out, former two division world champion Antonio Tarver is trying to figure out what’s the point.

“I hope they do their thing,” said Tarver on his social media account. “It’ll be great. But come on, beating a Roy Jones, knocking out Roy Jones, I mean we done seen that shit before. But if Roy Jones beats Mike Tyson then what does that mean? If he looks good against Mike Tyson then what does that really mean?”

What it would mean is unclear, but Tarver is hoping that a win for Jones Jr. could lead to a fourth fight against arguably his biggest rival. The two shared the ring together in the mid 2000s. Jones Jr. would famously move up to the heavyweight division to grab a heavyweight title from then WBA champion John Ruiz. Following that win, rumors between Tyson and Jones Jr. began to circulate, but their contest never materialized. 

Instead, the newly crowned heavyweight champion dropped down in weight to the light heavyweight division and took home a close decision win against Tarver. Believing that victory was nothing more than a fluke, Tarver got his hands on Jones Jr. in an immediate rematch, knocking him out in the second round. 

The two would meet for a third and final time one year later. Tarver would prove that he was in fact the better fighter as he scored a unanimous decision victory. 

With back to back wins over Jones Jr. Tarver believes he’s the last person that he wants to see inside of the ring, even at the age of 51.

“I believe both of them are running from their adversaries. You know Holyfield got Tyson number, I obviously have Roy Jones number, obviously. But they choose to fight each other, they running from their adversaries.”