Antonio Tarver delivers a KO with a roundhouse left, and the bay area has another world champ.
By JOHN C. COTEY
Published May 16, 2004
LAS VEGAS - Antonio Tarver predicted Roy Jones Jr. was on his way out and it was he who would send him there.
It took just seven punches for him to back up his words.
In a stunning upset, Tarver knocked out Jones in the second round to recapture the WBC light heavyweight championship Saturday at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
The suddeness of the knockout sent the crowd of roughly 10,000 into delirium as fans spilled into the corner of Tarver, who has long claimed he has been overlooked and underappreciated by fans and the media.
"I never gave up on my dream," said Tarver, 22-2 with 18 knockouts. "This fight will go down in the history of boxing.
"I told you there would be a changing of the guard."
Tarver's knockout, at 1:41, was completely unexpected. Jones had just thrown a short right hand, which Tarver recoiled from before launching a left hand out of nowhere flush on Jones' right cheek.
Jones (49-2) fell flat on his back into Tarver's corner and struggled to get to his feet. He got up right at 10, but was wobbly as referee Jim Nady declared the fight over.
As Nady waved his arms, Jones stumbled forward and only the ropes saved him from going down a second time.
"He missed, I turned it over right after he did and I hit him with an overhand left right on the kisser," said Tarver of Tampa. "It was beautiful."
Jones told Tarver in the ring, "nice shot." It was only the second time he'd been knocked down, the first coming in a 1998 defense against Lou Del Valle.
The victory helps validate Tarver's claim that Jones was awarded a decision in their first match because of his star power. Ever since a majority decision loss in November in their first meeting, Tarver has dogged Jones in public and decried the decision at every turn.
He promised he wouldn't let the judges decide the rematch.
"The man came out strong," Tarver said. "Judge that."
Jones won the first round, and landed some solid body shots as Tarver took a tenative approach. Jones was the aggressor and seemed intent on chopping down Tarver slowly.
For Tarver, his moment at the top of the boxing mountain was long overdue. He had a chance to fight Jones in 2000, but in an elimination bout against Eric Harding suffered his first career loss and had his jaw broken. Harding went on to get knocked out by Jones.
Tarver picked up the pieces in Tampa, beating Lincoln Carter on the undercard of a Jones fight in 2001, and then calling the champion out at the postfight interview and keeping it up for two years until Jones finally gave him his first big chance.
"I'm finally at a loss for words," Tarver said.
Tarver looked much more fresh in both bouts. In their first meeting, Jones had an excuse - he had to drop 18 pounds of muscle after beating John Ruiz in a heavyweight title fight.
This time, he weighed in at 174, one less than the light heavyweight limit, sending a message to Tarver.
