Light-Heavyweight Fight Has Heavyweight Grudge

Roy Jones is serious about his opponent. Serious enough to issue a challenge, boast about his chances for victory and proclaim his resolve to make it happen.

Against Antonio Tarver? No.

To hear Jones tell it, tonight’s defense of his World Boxing Council light-heavyweight championship against Tarver at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center is a foregone conclusion.

Jones, 48-1 with 38 knockouts, has already moved on, discussing a November fight against Vitali Klitschko, the WBC heavyweight titleholder who is generally recognized as the heavyweight king.

There are, however, a few matters to be dealt with first.

Such as, Klitschko’s first choice for an opponent is retired champion Lennox Lewis.

Oh, yeah, and Jones still has Tarver.

While Jones blithely dismisses him as a human punching bag he will dominate and toy with for 12 rounds, Tarver (21-2, 17 KOs) seethes.

A mental snapshot of Jones has long been front and center in Tarver’s mind. To say he is obsessed would not be much of an exaggeration.

Their paths first crossed almost a quarter of a century ago in Gainesville, Fla., where as 13-year-olds they fought in the Sunshine State Games.

Jones won.

“He was more experienced than I,” Tarver said.

Seven years later, Jones again came into Tarver’s vision. But it was a long-distance reunion. Jones was on a world stage, fighting in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. Tarver was in his living room, watching on television.

“I felt like, ‘If he can do it, so can I,’ ” Tarver said.

Rededicating himself, Tarver began the long, steep road up the amateur ladder. It took him eight years to reach the Olympic level, where, at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, he reached the semifinals in the light-heavyweight division before losing to Vassili Jirov.

In the professional ranks, Tarver again found himself in Jones’ shadow. While Jones was establishing himself on the list of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Tarver was trying to make his case for a match against Jones.

He got it by winning the WBC and International Boxing Federation light-heavyweight titles in 2002 in a decision over Montel Griffin.

Even then, there was a Jones connection. It was Griffin who had handed Jones the only loss of his career. But it was a defeat worthy of an asterisk.

Jones was disqualified for hitting Griffin after he was down in a 1997 fight. In the rematch five months later, a furious Jones won in a first-round knockout.

Last November, Tarver finally got his long-awaited match against Jones. And it nearly ended as Tarver had fantasized it would.

Nearly, but not quite.

Tarver had Jones in a place he had never been before, his nose bloodied, his left eye swollen, his chances for victory seemingly slipping away.

But all those who questioned how Jones would react if adversity ever confronted him were answered dramatically as Jones pulled out a narrow decision. Two judges gave him the verdict with the third, Jerry Roth, calling the fight a draw.

Any credit Tarver received for even coming close was diluted by Jones, coming off his victory over John Ruiz for the World Boxing Assn. heavyweight title, having to lose 25 pounds before the fight.

“I was hurting then,” Jones said before weighing in Friday at 174 pounds, one pound under the limit. “I’m not hurting now.”

Tarver, who weighed in at 175, exhibits a look of anger mixed with weariness when the subject of Jones’ weight surfaces, as it invariably does.

“I’m not buying into that,” Tarver said. “Give me my due respect. There should be no excuses. I told people for two years what I was going to do to Roy. Why were they so surprised when I did it? I beat one of the greatest fighters of all time and they didn’t give me the decision. The torch must be passed.”

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Felix Trinidad will formally announce his comeback today at Mandalay Bay, returning after a ring absence of more than two years to face Ricardo Mayorga at 160 pounds on Oct. 2.

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Klitschko hopes to fight Nov. 13. Tom Loeffler, head of Klitschko’s promotional company, said, short of Lewis’ return, “Roy would be the most attractive opponent.”

One week later, Winky Wright and Shane Mosley will meet in a rematch, Wright having won the first meeting earlier this year.

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Responding to charges that shadowy figures somehow caused heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko to lose to Lamon Brewster last month, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has asked attorney Judd Burstein to present those charges to the commission.

Burstein enumerated his points in a letter to the U.S. Attorney’s office last week. He questioned a steep drop in the betting odds against Brewster, an underdog, the disappearance of an access pass before the fight and the results of blood and urine samples taken from Klitschko.

Vitali’s brother collapsed, seemingly from exhaustion, at the end of the fifth round after winning the first four rounds.

Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada commission, has said the medical tests on Klitschko came back normal and Nevada gaming officials say the line fluctuations were not suspicious.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Tale of the Tape

Roy Jones vs. Antonio Tarver, 12 rounds for Jones’ World Boxing Council light-heavyweight title at Las Vegas.

TV: Pay-per-view, card begins at 6 p.m.

*--* Jones Tarver 48-1, 38 KOs Record 21-1, 17 KOs 174 Weight 175 5-11 Height 6-2 70 inches Reach 72 inches 38 1/2 inches Chest 39 inches 13 inches Biceps 15 inches 11 inches Forearms 12 inches 28 inches Waist 32 inches 22 inches Thigh 23 1/2 inches 14 inches Calf 14 1/2 inches 16 inches Neck 16 1/2 inches 7 inches Wrist 7 1/4 inches 10 inches Fist 11 inches

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Note -- Weigh-in weight and announced weight at fight may differ.