Former world light-heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver is best known for stunning a near prime Roy Jones Jr. in two rounds in May 2004, but now ‘The Magic Man’ is following his old rival’s path by featuring in a bout on streaming network Triller on April 17.
Tarver, now 52, will face former UFC champion Frank Mir in a heavyweight 10-rounder as chief support to YouTuber Jake Paul’s latest outing against Ben Askren.
The Florida southpaw hasn’t been seen in a prize ring since a draw with former cruiserweight champ Steve Cunningham in August 2015. His record stands at 31-6-1, 22 KOs and 1 NC. Mir had a 19-13 slate in the UFC and holds the record for the most submissions and finishes in UFC heavyweight history.
Four-weight champion Jones shared the ring and the spoils with former undisputed heavyweight king Mike Tyson in the first ‘Triller Fight Club’ last November, drawing in an eight-round exhibition bout that garnered worldwide press attention.
The new network shocked the boxing world by winning the purse bid for undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez’s IBF mandatory bout against George Kambosos late last week after tabling a whopping $6 million plus offer.
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Filipino Rene Mark Cuarto (19-2-2, 11 KOs) won the IBF strawweight crown via a unanimous 12-round decision against compatriot and reigning champion Pedro Taduran (14-3-1, 11 KOs) in General Santos City, Philippines, on Saturday.
All three judges scored 115-113 for Cuarto – aka ‘Mighty Mouse’ – in a fast-paced encounter. Southpaw Taduran was making his second defence.
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Undefeated 168-pounder Daniele Scardina (19-0, 15 KOs) halted Cesar Nunez (17-3-1, 9 KOs) to earn the vacant European Union belt at the Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy, on Friday night.
Ranked No.13 by the IBF, Scardina is one of Italian boxing’s best hopes and currently trains at the famous 5th Street Gym in Miami. He systematically broke down Spaniard Nunez before referee Giovanni Poggi intervened in the eighth round.
Rozzano’s Scardina largely controlled the bout at range, but was ruffled on the inside at times, shipping a big Nunez left hook in the fifth and right hand in the sixth that prompted him to spoil. But the Italian remained forceful with his jab and right-hand work, wobbling a tiring Nunez in the eighth before the contest was stopped by the third man.
Main image: Esther Lin/Showtime.