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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Tarver complains, but Jones knows about bad decisions

Tim Dahlberg Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — Roy Jones Jr. finds it ironic that Antonio Tarver tells anyone who will listen that he was robbed in their first fight.

Jones knows a little something about bad decisions himself. Before he made a dime in the ring, he was on the losing end of one of the most celebrated decisions ever.

“I’ve been the victim of one of the worst robberies in the history of boxing,” Jones said.

Jones never got a chance to avenge the decision that cost him the gold medal in the 1988 Olympics, moving on instead to make millions showcasing his spectacular talents as a professional.

Tarver, on the other hand, had to wait only six months to get his rematch with Jones.

The two meet again tonight for the WBC light heavyweight title Jones took from Tarver last November. It’s a fight that will settle far more than just who wears a gaudy green championship belt.

“His whole legacy is on the line whether he realizes it or not,” Tarver (21-2, 17 knockouts) said. “We are stuck together like Siamese twins in history.”

Jones, who had to move to the heavyweight division for his last challenge, has found one in his natural weight class in the brash, talkative Tarver. He seems motivated to put on a show, and prove at the age of 35 that he still retains most of the skills that made him such a dominant fighter.

The scheduled 12-round fight will be televised on pay-per-view from the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino. It is expected to begin about 8:30 p.m. PDT.

Jones (49-1, 38 knockouts) looked old, sloppy and out of shape in the first fight, but still escaped with a majority decision that was loudly booed and loudly disputed by Tarver. Embarrassed by the performance, he says this fight will be different.

“I won the first fight, so what am I out to prove,” Jones said. “I’m just coming back to do it again because the fans say ‘Hey, he gave you the hardest time in your career.’ You’re right. Well, let’s do it again.”

Jones likes to claim he never makes excuses, but says he had to lose 25 pounds in training for the first fight, which came eight months after he won a decision from John Ruiz to win the WBA version of the heavyweight title.

He stayed heavy during most of the months after the fight with Ruiz, he says, because he expected to fight as a heavyweight again against Mike Tyson. When that fight didn’t happen, he dropped down in weight to fight Tarver, who had picked up his 175-pound title in the meantime.

“Last time I just ran the weight off. I just didn’t care how I felt,” Jones said. “I didn’t make sure I ate right. I didn’t care about training and I didn’t care how I looked in training. I wasn’t interested in the boxing part so much as I was in running the weight off.”

This time, Jones says, he is back in prime shape for what he says will be one of the final fights of his career. He leaves open the possibility of moving back to heavyweight again for a fight against Tyson or Vitali Klitschko, but seems resigned to the fact that may never happen.

“I would probably fight one more time (at home) in Pensacola, Fla., but this would be my last serious fight,” Jones said. “If I can’t find somebody that could fight as good and would have a good fight, then I’m out of here.”

Tarver, a tall southpaw who might have won the first fight had he not backed off late, gives Jones what he has lacked most of his career — an opponent who motivates him.

If the way Tarver fought him in November didn’t do enough of that, the way he has talked since certainly has.

“Why I’m doing this is because my fans want me to shut this boy’s mouth,” Jones said. “I don’t really want to kill him or nothing like that. I just want to show him that when I’m on my day 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.”

Oddsmakers agree with Jones, making him a 4-1 favorite in a fight he seems to be taking personally. The last time that happened, Jones avenged his only loss by knocking out Montell Griffin in the first round.

“This time I got myself back together. I’m Roy again,” Jones said. “He wasn’t going to beat Roy Jones the first time when he was lackluster. Now I’m right — you’re so bad, beat me.”

Tarver says he will do just that, and if he fights as well as he talks Jones could be in trouble. Tarver gave Jones his toughest fight as a pro but failed to take the fight to Jones at crucial times and faded in the last two rounds.

“I’m much more confident this time,” Tarver said. “I never bought into the excuses. I came down far more than Roy Jones ever came down and I made no excuses.”