The former multi-division world champion Antonio Tarver hasn’t gotten over his June 2006 loss to Golden Boy Promotions top honcho, Bernard Hopkins. Even though the ‘Magic Man’ was predicted to win against Hopkins back then, the conclusion of the fight saw him defeated via unanimous decision. 

However, this wasn’t Tarver’s first loss! He was defeated by Eric Harding in 2000, Roy Jones Jr in 2003, and Glen Johnson in 2004. Even still, the loss to Hopkins was different. While Tarver managed to avenge all of his past losses, against Hopkins – he never got to. So, while appearing in the Hotboxin with Mike Tyson Podcast recently, Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Rocky’ Starrer expressed his thoughts on boxing politics that cost him the Hopkins rematch. 

Antonio Tarver claims, “The business isn’t fair”

Discussing his losses and rematches, Tarver claimed, “There’s only one fight that I never had a rematch in… And that’s the fight with Bernard Hopkins.” When pressed by ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson about how he felt before the fight, the ‘Magic Man’ suggested despite feeling great, he learned about the sad reality of the boxing business after that fight. 

“I felt great going in. After the fact, I learned a lot about the business that it ain’t fair. The business isn’t fair… At the time, I was [an] undisputed champion. I had just come off of beating Roy Jones, knocking him out,” said Tarver. At the time, Tarver was fresh out of shooting the ‘Rocky’ movie, where he had defeated the on-screen boxer. 

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Moreover, he had all the belts in the light-heavyweight division. Whereas, Hopkins was coming off two consecutive losses to Jermain Taylor. So, despite suffering an unexpected loss to Hopkins, Tarver claimed he was prevented from securing a rematch. 

Also Read: Mike Tyson Draws a Confession Out of Former World Champion: ‘I Don’t Think I Was Ready (to Face Roy Jones Jr.) at That Time’

Tarver said, “He’s fighting for my championship and you mean to tell me I couldn’t contract a rematch clause… I was three and all [in the] rematches. [That] kind of prove to you that is… You really don’t know who would have won that fight. Man, that’s the one that got away!” However, that’s not the end of things, Tarver even called out Hopkins for a rematch recently! 

Tarver wants to fight Bernard Hopkins in the undercard of Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul

Before appearing in Tyson’s popular podcast a couple of days ago, Tarver sat down for an interview with Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show. During the interview, an unsatisfied Tarver blatantly challenged Hopkins for a fight in the undercard of the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight scheduled for July 20 in Arlington, Texas. 

“If they want to put two other old guys on the undercard, I got a name in mind too, so we can all have fun with this,” said Tarver. When asked about who his opponent could be, the former champion claimed, “Everybody knows I got a bone to pick with Bernard Hopkins, ya know what I mean? He’s a vegan, so he always stays in shape. So maybe we can support this big fight!”

It’s difficult to say whether Bernard Hopkins will be willing to come out of retirement to fight Antonio Tarver, but one thing’s for sure, it will quadruple the excitement about the Tyson vs. Paul event! Would you like to see Hopkins and Tarver back in action on July 20? 

Read More: Forgotten Behind-the-Scenes Footage of ‘Rocky’ Sylvester Stallone & Antonio Tarver Makes Boxing World Nostalgic