{"id":18943,"date":"2012-05-16T16:21:18","date_gmt":"2012-05-16T21:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=18943"},"modified":"2012-05-16T16:21:18","modified_gmt":"2012-05-16T21:21:18","slug":"antonio-tarver-lateef-kayode-boxing-war-erupts-fighting-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=18943","title":{"rendered":"Antonio Tarver \u2013 Lateef Kayode: BOXING WAR ERUPTS \u2013 Fighting Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Less than three weeks before Antonio Tarver steps into the ring to continue his campaign at cruiserweight by taking on the unbeaten power puncher Lateef Kayode, the \u201cMagic Man\u201d held an open workout on Tuesday before a packed house of his hometown media at Calta\u2019s 24\/7 Fitness.<\/p>\n

Tarver vs. Kayode will headline \u201cFour Warned,\u201d a stacked night of boxing on SHOWTIME\u00ae featuring four high-stakes prizefights. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will air live at 9 p.m. ET\/PT (delayed on the West Coast) on Saturday, June 2 from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Joining Tarver at the workout on Tuesday was his good friend Ronald \u201cWinky\u201d Wright, who will fight in the co-main event, making his return to the ring against rising star \u201cKid Chocolate\u201d Peter Quillin. <\/p>\n

After a storied career at light heavyweight, Tarver (29-6, 20 KO\u2019s), of Tampa, Fla., made an emphatic debut in the cruiserweight division last summer. The Magic Man headed to Sydney, Australia and stopped hometown favorite Danny Green (RTD 9) on July 20, 2011 to capture the IBO cruiserweight title. Wright (51-5-1, 25 KO\u2019s), of St. Petersburg, Fla., will return to the ring for the first time since April 11, 2009. He faces Quillin (26-0, 20 KO\u2019s), who will risk his unblemished record.<\/p>\n

Kayode (18-0, 14 KO\u2019s), who is trained by the acclaimed Freddie Roach, is not only taking the biggest leap in competition in his career, but he is also facing a man who knows him very well. Tarver has been ringside providing expert analysis for all five of the Nigerian-born Kayode\u2019s appearances on ShoBox: The New Generation.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Tarver and Wright had to say on Tuesday:<\/p>\n

ANTONIO TARVER:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy is predicting he\u2019ll knock me out in the fifth round. If Kayode comes in with that type of recklessness, he can be out before that because he has never been hit by someone who can punch as hard as me. And not just punching hard, I\u2019m a sharpshooter. I punch organs. I target organs: liver, kidney, heart. I don\u2019t just punch mass, I punch organs and I punch that chin. Remember that the chin is not a muscle so you can have all the muscles surrounding your neck and body, chest and abs, because if I touch that chin the right way, it\u2019s lights out, baby.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no more guys like myself. Shane Mosley lost. Bernard Hopkins lost. I\u2019m the last Mohican. I\u2019m the last guy who is 40-plus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a storyline here: A young guy who took offense to what I was saying as a commentator. I was just doing my job. I think the youth, the inexperience got the best of him. He\u2019s got his handlers saying that he\u2019s ready to roll the dice. But you\u2019ve got to respect his position. He\u2019s a young fighter coming up that has nothing to lose. So Kayode is in a beautiful position and if he loses to me, what has it done? It\u2019s going to set him back a little bit but he can regroup. I can\u2019t regroup if I lose to Lateef Kayode. There would be an asterisk and a question mark by my name and we can\u2019t have that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s only got two hands and he can\u2019t throw them but one at a time. We\u2019re going to simplify it. I\u2019ve fought a lot of strong guys that didn\u2019t get lucky, that couldn\u2019t hit me, couldn\u2019t find me. So he\u2019s coming in here trying to get lucky. I\u2019m coming in here to rely on my skills, my experience and my conditioning to win this fight. I\u2019ll take Kayode places he\u2019s never been. And that\u2019s in deep waters. He\u2019s never been in there with a fighter like me and I\u2019m going to show him what it\u2019s all about.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what sparring is all about. I\u2019ve got young guys in here. I don\u2019t have any old punching bags in here. Because if I can\u2019t get it done in the gym, I can\u2019t get it done June 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re putting everyone on notice. Expect the unexpected. Kayode said the fight is going to end, that he\u2019s going to knock me out in the fifth round. He might have a good prediction in the fifth round but I think he\u2019s got the storyline a little twisted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a phone booth in camp. That\u2019s definitely what we think the fight will represent, a phone booth. We like it in close quarters. I\u2019m too old to run.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a chance to commentate a few of his fights and he didn\u2019t like the things I was saying. But as a young fighter, you can\u2019t always feed them cake and ice cream. Sometimes you\u2019ve got to put something in the back of his head so he could say, \u2018You know what? Maybe there is something I can go back and work on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about skill and I got it. We\u2019re not going to wait for anyone to tell us how great we are because if you wait for someone to give you a compliment, you\u2019ll be waiting forever and a day. We know who we are and we are going to continue to display it. We\u2019re going to kill our critics with success. We got the skill, us throwback fighters. And I\u2019m a throwback fighter because I\u2019m older now, I\u2019m sitting down [on my punches] more and I\u2019m a fan friendly fighter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat keeps the fire burning? Critics, naysayers and my own personal achievement. People can laugh now when I tell them I\u2019m going to become heavyweight champion. They don\u2019t want to buy into it but they will because at 210 pounds, I\u2019m elusive. I\u2019m powerful. I\u2019m strong and they can\u2019t hit what they can\u2019t see. I\u2019m not a big, robotic fighter that can\u2019t move. So those are they\u2019re advantages. The only hope they got is to hit me on the chin and knock me out. And that\u2019s never been done before. .<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to get that heavyweight title. Wladimir Klitschko, here I come. I\u2019m going to get that heavyweight title. That\u2019s coming back to America, baby. Trust it. Stamp it. Write it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

WINKY WRIGHT:<\/p>\n

On making his return to the ring on a card with friend and fellow Floridian Antonio Tarver:
\n\u201cIt feels good. It makes it easy. To have your homeboy on the same card, we go out there and kick some butt. You know me.<\/p>\n

When discussing the bravado displayed by Kayode and Quillin at the kickoff press conference:
\n\u201cYoung guys, young guys. Inexperience and all of that. The nervousness is getting to them and they want to prove this and prove that. The only time you\u2019ve got to prove something is in the ring.<\/p>\n

\u201cFans cans expect a great fight. They can come to see Winky Wright knock Kid Chocolate\u2019s head off \u2013 not knock him out \u2013 knock his head off. He thinks I\u2019m going to run? We\u2019ll see. I\u2019m going to show him a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFour Warned\u201d features former Light Heavyweight World Champion Antonio \u201cMagic Man\u201d Tarver (29-6, 20 KO\u2019s) facing unbeaten Lateef Kayode (18-0, 14 KO\u2019s) in a 12-round cruiserweight fight, former undisputed junior middleweight kingpin Winky Wright (51-5-1, 25 KO\u2019s) returning to the ring to meet undefeated Peter Quillin (26-0, 20 KO\u2019s) in a middleweight bout, Austin Trout (24-0, 14 KO\u2019s) risking his perfect record and WBA Super Welterweight belt against Delvin Rodriguez (26-5-3, 14 KO\u2019s) and IBF number one rated bantamweight contender Vusi Malinga (20-3, 12 KO’s) facing IBF number five rated contender Leo Santa Cruz (19-0-1, 11 KO\u2019s) for the vacant IBF bantamweight title. All four bouts will be telecast on Saturday, June 2, live on SHOWTIME\u00ae (9:00 p.m. ET\/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. \u201cFour Warned\u201d is presented by A.T. Entertainment, Golden Boy Promotions and Gary Shaw Productions with Trout vs. Rodriguez being presented in association with Greg Cohen Promotions and Joe DeGuardia\u2019s Star Boxing and Malinga vs. Santa Cruz being presented in association with Branco Sports Productions. The event is sponsored by Corona and AT&T.<\/p>\n

Tickets for \u201cFour Warned\u201d are available for as low as $25, with VIP floor seats priced at $200. Other tickets in the 8,000-seat outdoor stadium at The Home Depot Center are available at $50 and $100. Fans can purchase tickets at AXS.com or by phone at 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849), as well as The Home Depot Center Box Office (open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. PT). VIP Suites are available for purchase by calling 1-877-604-8777. For more information on group discounts or VIP packages, please call 1-877-234-8425.<\/p>\n

For information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, visit the website at http:\/\/sports.SHO.com.<\/p>\n

About Showtime Networks Inc.:
\nShowtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME\u00ae, THE MOVIE CHANNEL\u2122 and FLIX\u00ae, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2\u2122, SHOWTIME\u00ae SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME\u00ae, SHOWTIME BEYOND\u00ae, SHOWTIME NEXT\u00ae, SHOWTIME WOMEN\u00ae, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE\u00ae and THE MOVIE CHANNEL\u2122 XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD\u2122, THE MOVIE CHANNEL\u2122 HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND\u00ae and THE MOVIE CHANNEL\u2122 ON DEMAND, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME\u00ae. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel\u2122. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV\u00ae.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Less than three weeks before Antonio Tarver steps into the ring to continue his campaign at cruiserweight by taking on the unbeaten power puncher Lateef Kayode, the \u201cMagic Man\u201d held an open workout on Tuesday before a packed house of his hometown media at Calta\u2019s 24\/7 Fitness. Tarver vs. Kayode will headline \u201cFour Warned,\u201d a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1921,105,6230,659],"class_list":["post-18943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-antonio-tarver","tag-boxing","tag-lateef-kayode","tag-showtime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18943\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}