Antonio Tarver: The Roy Jones Knockout, “Any Excuses Tonight?” & The Greatest Story Never Told
About this episode
Antonio Tarver shares his journey from a challenging upbringing to becoming a Hall of Fame boxer, discussing pivotal moments in his career and personal life.
Fresh off his 2026 International Boxing Hall of Fame induction, Antonio “The Magic Man” Tarver sits down with Andre Ward and takes him from Ivy Lane in Orlando to Canastota: raised by a single mom with three sisters, put in the ring at nine as a punishment at the Boys and Girls Club, and the rock bottom at 18 that ended in drug rehab, where he was telling anyone who’d listen that he was going to the Olympics. Tarver gets into the stories only he can tell: watching Roy Jones get robbed in Seoul and getting up off the couch to run, captaining the ’96 Olympic team that consisted of a young Floyd Mayweather and Zab Judah, turning pro at 27 with not one promoter or manager calling, fighting four rounds on a jaw broken in two places, and the three-year campaign that ended with “You got any excuses tonight, Roy?” and the punch heard around the world. Plus the Bernard Hopkins fight he says deserves an asterisk, being Al Haymon’s first fighter alongside Vernon Forrest, playing Mason Dixon in Rocky Balboa, and finally getting his flowers. 0:00 – Welcoming Antonio Tarver, Newly Crowned Hall of Famer 0:23 – Induction Weekend &…
More episodes of The Art Of Ward
- Chad Dawson: Andre Ward’s Apology, The Leaked Sparring Knockdown & Weigh-In Mind Games
- Zab Judah: The Mayweather Knockdown They Never Called, Roger in the Ring & $350K in Fines
- Zab Judah: Don King’s $250K Gucci Bag, Meeting Mike Tyson at 8 & The Kostya Tszyu Blow Up
- Dre & Roy Break Down Spence vs Tszyu, Fulton’s Weight Disaster, Berlanga’s Must-Win & Fury-Joshua
- Jermall Charlo: The Truth About Turning Down Canelo, Al Haymon’s Handshake Deal & The Comeback at 36
- Boots Ennis BROKE Xander Zayas Down, but Roy & Dre Don’t Agree on That “Mental Lapse”
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