Antonio Tarver vs Roy Jones Jr 3

The three-fight rivalry between Roy Jones Jr and Antonio Tarver was settled by a unanimous 12-round decision at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida, on October 1, 2005. Tarver retained The Ring and IBO light-heavyweight championships and collected the vacant NBA title before an announced sellout crowd of 20,895. Judges Peter Trematerra, Michael Pernick and Paul Herman scored the contest 117–111, 116–112 and 116–112 respectively. Referee Tommy Kimmons had little cause to intervene in a generally clean contest in which there were no knockdowns.

The men had divided their first two meetings. Jones won a close majority decision in November 2003 after returning to light-heavyweight from his victory over WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz. Tarver reversed that result six months later, knocking Jones out with a left hand in the second round. Jones then suffered a second successive stoppage defeat when Glen Johnson knocked him unconscious in the ninth. Tarver lost a disputed split decision to Johnson before winning their return by unanimous decision. Thus Tarver entered the third Jones fight as the recognised champion, while Jones was returning after a year’s absence and two severe defeats. Both men were 36. Tarver weighed 175 pounds and Jones 173.

The opening round was cautious. Jones moved around the perimeter, feinted and waited for Tarver to lead, but committed himself to very little offence. Tarver, a tall southpaw, advanced behind his right hand and sought to place Jones near the ropes, where the former champion would have less room to avoid the left. Jones still possessed enough speed to make Tarver hesitate, and the possibility of a sudden counter kept the champion from attacking recklessly. Nevertheless, Tarver assumed responsibility for making the fight.

Tarver increased the pressure in the second. He drove Jones towards the ropes and struck with a combination as Jones covered up. Jones tried to hold and turn away, but Tarver caught him with a right hand and made his legs look unsteady. Jones avoided further trouble by clinching and moving, though his reluctance to exchange allowed Tarver to take the initiative. The champion was neither especially accurate nor economical, but he was throwing enough punches to win rounds against an opponent who remained largely defensive.

The pattern continued through the early stages. Tarver followed, worked with both hands and directed the heavier punches, while Jones relied upon movement, single counters and occasional bursts. In the fifth, Jones briefly produced some of his former sharpness. He landed several quick punches at the start of the round, forced Tarver to cover and then moved away with greater confidence, drawing a response from the crowd. Tarver remained composed and answered with a hard right. Late in the round, Jones landed cleanly to the body and obliged the champion to rest against the ropes. It was Jones’s most productive spell to that point, but it did not lead to a sustained change.

Tarver’s trainer, Buddy McGirt, demanded greater use of the hook, and the champion raised his work rate in the sixth. Jones continued feinting, moving and attempting to unsettle Tarver with gestures, but too often did so without punching. Tarver was not drawn into abandoning his plan. He maintained his forward pressure and accumulated points through activity and the weight of his blows. During the later middle rounds, Jones remained difficult to hit cleanly, yet his defensive success was not accompanied by sufficient offence. His quick movements and occasional counters suggested that some of the old ability remained, but he was unwilling or unable to sustain an attack long enough to take control.

The contest reached its most dangerous point in the 11th. Tarver caught Jones with a right followed by a left and sent him staggering towards the ropes. Jones tried to duck and escape as Tarver pursued him. The champion missed one swinging blow so widely that his momentum carried him across the top rope, nearly sending him out of the ring. Recovering his position, Tarver continued his attack for approximately 25 seconds while Jones covered, clinched and moved along the ropes. Jones survived the assault and then advanced when Tarver tired, briefly appearing to shake the champion with his reply. Tarver avoided most of the follow-up and finished the round strongly. Jones returned to his corner blinking and still showing the effects of the earlier punches.

Jones required a decisive final round but again failed to produce the necessary volume. Tarver remained the aggressor, refused to give away his lead and completed the distance without serious difficulty. The decision contained no surprise. Tarver had thrown 620 punches and landed 158, while Jones connected with 85 from only 320 attempts. Jones’s percentage was slightly higher, 27 per cent against Tarver’s 25, but the champion had thrown nearly twice as many punches and landed almost twice as many. Tarver’s greater activity, heavier work and control of the contest supplied the clear difference.

The official cards confirmed Tarver’s second victory in the trilogy. The unofficial ringside scores were in general agreement, with 116–112 and 118–111 recorded in his favour. Each boxer earned more than $4 million when guarantees and additional revenues were included, and the promotion drew 440,000 pay-per-view purchases. Jones had restored his father, Roy Jones Sr., to the training team alongside Alton Merkerson and later complained that conflicting instructions and disorder in the corner had distracted him. Whatever the difficulties outside the ropes, the result was decided by what occurred inside them. Tarver pressed, punched and accepted the risks of making the fight; Jones spent too many rounds waiting for an opening he seldom attempted to create. Tarver won on merit and left no dispute over which man had prevailed in their series.

I remember watching this and realising very quickly that Roy Jones Jr was no longer the fighter who had made good champions look helpless. The reflexes had slowed, but the greater damage was mental. After being knocked out by Antonio Tarver and then brutally stopped by Glen Johnson, Jones no longer trusted himself when punches started coming back.

Tarver understood that and boxed accordingly. He did not chase a spectacular finish or become reckless looking for the left hand that had ended their second fight. He kept advancing, made Jones work around the perimeter and threw nearly twice as many punches. Jones still showed flashes of that extraordinary speed, particularly in the fifth, but flashes do not win a 12-round fight. He spent too much time feinting, posing and waiting.

The 11th told the story. Tarver rocked Jones badly and had him staggering along the ropes. Jones survived and briefly came back when Tarver tired, but the old Jones would have seized that moment. This version could not sustain the attack.

I had no argument with the scores of 117–111 and 116–112 twice. Tarver was the clear winner and deserved credit for proving the knockout was not a fluke. I do not believe he was greater than Jones at their respective peaks, but he was the better light-heavyweight when they met. Jones’s excuses about confusion in his corner changed nothing. His real problem was that Tarver had taken away his confidence, and without it, even his remarkable talent was no longer enough.