Tarver Derails the Roy train!

Ringside report by Aaron B. Dye & Christopher P. Cook

Photos by Scott Foster

www.fightnews.com

In front of a sold-out crowd of 20,895, the once pound-for-pound elitist Roy Jones Jr. (49-4-0, 38 KOs), 173 lbs, entered the ring against Tampa's own Antonio Tarver (24-3-0, 18 KOs), 175 lbs. Surprisingly, the hometown crowd cheered loudly for the Pensacola-born Jones, and showered Tampa's Tarver with a chorus of boos. At the point Michael Buffer announced Roy Jones Jr.'s name, the ovation heard rivaled that of Michael Jordan, while the mixed response to Tarver could be seen to have an effect on Antonio's response.

The opening round of this historic contest was a feeling out round, as neither fighter mustered much offense. Jones took the round, landing a few more punches than Tarver. The slow beginning of the second took a huge detour as Tarver caught Jones on the ropes, landing a long overhand left to the head that hurt Jones. Jones took the third one punch at a time, keeping himself in the middle of the ring. Tarver backed Roy into the corner in the final minute, but only to find Jones countering and moving out of the neutral corner. Jones ended the round with a sharp left hook.

Jones opened up more in the fourth, landing a series of punches that seemingly shook Tarver a bit. A solid double right hook backed Tarver off and Jones followed with a brutal body shot. A lead left forced Tarver to wince and shake off the head shot. The Jones of old struck early in the fifth, landing a lightning quick combination that first put Jones on the map. The crowd released a deafening roar every time Roy lands, showing almost full support to the former world champion. Jones staggered Tarver with a left uppercut halfway through the round and trading with Tarver throughout.

Tarver exploded in the opening of the next stanza, trying to trap Roy in the ropes and both are truly showing what this fight means to them. Tarver began to put together his shots together, scoring with a combination of pity-pat shots along with several hard blows to Jones' body. Tarver won the next round almost by default as Jones seemed reluctant to throw a punch. Jones continued to showboat, and absorb Tarver's shots, seemingly trying to prove to Tarver that he can take them. Same would be true for the eighth, with Jones lacking much offense and Tarver landing minimal amounts, but enough to secure the round.

Tarver hurt Jones with an overhand left as Jones came off the ropes to avoid Tarver's combination. Jones continued to try and steal rounds one punch at a time. The Jones of old that had shown itself early in the bout has already faded, as when pushed against the ropes in the ninth, Jones did not attempt to counter, but only let off when Tarver backed up.

Jones, knowing he needed to fight back, tried to come out strong, but Tarver swarmed him with a powerful assortment of shots. Tarver caught Jones cleanly against the ropes, reminiscent of the Johnson-Jones bout. Jones was able to land a flush combination towards the end of the round. Tarver froze Jones in the eleventh with a staggering straight left, but nearly fell out of the ring himself as he pursued Jones. Tarver pushed him into the corner and unloaded lethal shots to the head and body of Jones, but seemed to tire. Jones, gritting his teeth, proved his championship heart and mettle by furiously firing back at Tarver, trying desperately for a win.

The twelfth and final round would prove to possibly be the final chapter in the storied career of one of boxing's all-time best, as Tarver was able to coast in the round, giving it up to Jones.

Judges scored the bout 117-111 (Peter Trematerra), and 116-112 twice (Paul Herman and Michael Pernick) all for the reigning world champion Antonio Tarver. Fightnews scored the bout 115-113 for Tarver. Referee for the main event was Tommy Kimmons. Punch stats heavily favored Tarver, who landed 158 of 620 (25%) to 85 of 230 (27%) for Jones. Power punches were closer, as Tarver edged Jones 107 to 74 in that department. Following the bout, Jones acknowledged he lost the bout but was proud of his performance.

Campbell, Minto win by TKO!

In the semi-main event of the evening, Almazbek "Dr. Evil" – formerly "Kid Diamond" - Raiymkulov (20-0-1, 12 KOs), 135 lbs, battled Tampa's adopted son Nate "The Galaxxy Warrior" Campbell (26-4-1, 22 KOs), 135 lbs. Campbell put together his punches well in the first, placing his jab well, which allowed him to land several unyielding left hooks to the face of Dr. Evil. Campbell took the second, continually finding his mark with solid overhand rights. Raiymkulov came back some, smothering Campbell in the ropes on several occasions, but was unable to avoid the Nate Offensive. Campbell put on a boxing clinic so far, landing at will with powerful left hooks and overhand rights. The difference in power has become apparent at the conclusion of round three with every right hand moving Raiymkulov.

Two left hooks followed by a right showcased the energy level difference from Campbell's last fight to this one at the onset of the fourth. Campbell hurt Dr. Evil with a right hand and followed up with a punch that almost sent him through the ropes. Campbell began to taunt Dr. Evil in the round, trying to coerce Dr. Evil to trade more with him. The same would be true in round five, a double left hook followed by a right combination found its mark cleanly to the cranium of Dr. Evil. Dr. Evil, bleeding from the nose and starting to swell, retreated throughout much of the sixth, but ran out of room as Nate dropped the undefeated fighter with a right-left combination. Nate would drop him seconds later again with another right hand.

The following round, Campbell relentlessly abusing Dr. Evil on the ropes, as Dr. Evil began to act more like a whipped puppy dog than the undefeated monster of the division. Retreating after every punch, Dr. Evil found no profound response to Campbell's non-stop aggressiveness. Campbell began to play the part of Tiger Woods, teeing off on Dr. Evil's head with lightning-quick and just as painful left hooks. Dr. Evil spit blood after every punch of Nate's in the seventh. Raiymkulov survived by doing just enough to avoid from having the match stopped by Referee Brian Garry.

In the closest round of the bout, Dr. Evil was able to increase his output and land cleanly a few times in the eighth. Campbell countered well, however, and continued to land his blistering right hand. Nate coasted in the ninth, securing the round with crisp punches and hooking Dr. Evil's head to oblivion. Campbell came out the tenth on a mission, to end this bout with a bang. With hooks aplenty, Campbell dropped Dr. Evil once again. With a look of sheer exhaustion, Brian Garry waved off the bout at 2:26, as Dr. Evil began to wander aimlessly in the ring.

In a rematch of ESPN's 2004 Heavyweight Fight of the Year, Brian Minto (21-1-0, 12 KOs), 212.5 lbs, demonstrated a clinic of brutality for Vincent Maddalone (25-3-0, 18 KOs), 224 lbs. Starting off where they left off, the first round would be the most exciting between them to that point. Minto came out fast, pelting Maddalone with rights and lefts. A lot of holding ensued, which ended abruptly when Minto found a home for his right. Minto staggered Maddalone with a right hand, following up with a left hook, nearly dropping with another left hook. A cut around the left eye of Maddalone was bleeding freely by rounds close. A series of jabs in Maddalone's face would land with great effect. Maddalone would stutter-step in the neutral corner, prompting Minto to launch another offensive. Minto cannot miss with his left hook.

The third proved no help for Maddalone, who had no answers for the fast fists of Minto, which began to turn his face into the crimson mask of pain. The onset of the next round saw some life from Maddalone as he finally was able to connect with an overhand right and a pair of body shots. However, ever spurt of Maddalone's was answered twofold by Minto. In the sixth Minto would take the best Maddalone had to offer, a head-jerking right to the jaw which sent sweat flying. Maddalone winced from a left hook to the body later, as both fighters began to engage in back and forth action.

Minto ended the bout with an exclamation mark in round seven, landing an unheard-of fourteen straight left hooks to the head of Maddalone forcing Referee James Warring to step in and call the action to a halt at 1:21. Maddalone fell into the ropes immediately after. Referee Warring, who was unjustly criticized for his last television bout on ESPN, made the correct call in ending this bout before Maddalone sustained any more left hooks. "This fight meant everything to me; he never hurt me once," stated Brian Minto afterwards. "This fight put me on the map."

In the second televised bout, United States Olympic Gold Medalist Andre Ward (6-0-0, 4 KOs), 160 lbs, annihilated "Caveman" Glenn LaPlante (9-3-1, 6 KOs), 158 lbs, finishing the bout with a questionable left to the back of the head. LaPlante went down early in the first with a straight right followed by a left hook. After rising, Ward went to attack again, landing a solid right hand, followed by a left to the back of the head. Referee Telis Assimenios reached the count of ten as LaPlante was still sprawling in pain on the canvas. Official result was a KO victory at 0:59 of the first round for rising star, Andre Ward.

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In a better than anticipated battle of super heavyweights, “Mount” Lance Whitaker (31-3-1, 26 KOs), 272 lbs, overcame the human bulge known as “Big” Gabe Brown (17-6-1, 11 KOs), 337.4 lbs. The former world title challenger came out early shooting for a quick knockout and punctuated the round with a huge right uppercut. At the end of the third, both boxers traded freely, with the edge in power and connect percentage going to “Mount.” Brown came back in the fourth, landing an earth-shattering right that stopped Whitaker flat. A big right hand shook Brown off balance in the fifth. Whitaker immediately followed with another right that sent “Big” Gabe flying backwards. “Mount” attacked with a succession of grotesque power punches had Brown in danger of serious injury. Referee Frank Santore Jr. jumped in to stop the bout at 2:42 of the fifth.

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In an IBF Junior Middleweight eliminator match-up, Raul Frank (27-4-2, 13 KOs), 153.8 lbs, faced Rodney Jones (36-3-1, 23 KOs), 153.8 lbs.

Jones began the contest the aggressor, pressuring with his southpaw style effectively. Frank would come back to take the second round, countering Jones' pressure with calculated shots to the head. Frank attacked the body in the third, landing a solid left at the end of the round. Frank received a gash at the corner of his right eye due to a headbutt in the fifth. Jones utilized the jab to keep Frank out of range in the sixth, but was outworked between rounds seventh through the tenth. Jones closed the show, pressuring in the championship rounds and hammering Frank in the waning seconds of the twelfth.

Judges scored the bout 115-113 Frank (Alex Levin), 117-111 Jones (Donald O'neill), and 114-114 (Larry Hazzard Jr.), a draw. Fightnews scored the bout 116-112 for Frank. Referee for this bout was veteran Brian Garry.

Cortez Bey (2-0-0, 2 KO), 134.4 lbs, faced rookie Masresha Baye, 134.4 lbs, in the second contest. The highly regarded star amateur, Bey provided the first "oohs" and "awws" from the crowd, as he put together crisp combinations and clean punching. Baye came to win in the bout, fighting aggressively throughout the fight. Bey landed a solid left hook to begin the third round, dropping Baye hard. Baye rose only to be met with another powerful left hook which dropped Baye once again. Referee Frank Santore Jr. stopped the action at the count of three as Baye was unable to continue (0:35).

Anthony Concepcion (1-2-0, 0 KOs), 141.2 lbs, lost handily to undefeated Hervey Medina (4-0-1, 1 KO), 141 lbs. Medina used his quick hands and flashy style to mentally disrobe Concepcion, who had no desire to rise after being pushed to the mat in the fourth and final round. Referee Telis Assimenios was forced to call a halt to the bout, giving Medina his first career knockout.

In the opening bout of the evening, undefeated Malachy Farrell (11-0-0, 9 KOs, 250.2 lbs, blew out Joseph Reyes (3-7-0, 2 KOs), 236 lbs. Farrell dominated the scheduled six-round heavyweight bout, forcing Referee Jorge Alonso to call a halt to the action at the 2:42 mark of the fourth.

In walk-off action, Andre Berto (7-0-0, 5 KOs) destroyed his opponent, William Johnson (6-5-1, 3 KOs) in the opening round, KO'ing him at the 1:36 mark. Berto caught Johnson with a straight right and followed it with two chopping rights, knocking out Johnson before he even hit the canvas. Referee Jorge Alonso abandoned the count as Johnson was not about to get up any time soon.

In the final bout of the night, Mickey Bey (2-0-0, 1 KO, 132.8 lbs, met Lamont Sims (0-0-0), 126.8 lbs. A left hook-right combination dropped Sims in the first fifteen seconds, forcing an awkward stoppage. Seemingly unfazed, Sims rose to his feet, only to have his corner surrender at the 32 second mark. Referee for the match was Telis Assimenios.

The scheduled bout between Mujtabaa Muhammad (0-2-0), 149.8 lbs, and newcomer Tyronne Spearman, 152 lbs, could not take place as Muhammad never arrived to the arena.

In attendance to witness Tampa's largest boxing event in history were heavyweight legend Mike Tyson, middleweight kingpin Ronald "Winky" Wright, heavyweight contender David Tua, former light heavyweight world champion Glen Johnson and unquestionably basketball's greatest star, "His Airness" Michael Jordan.