SHAW:
Thank you everybody for being on the call. I want to
give a special thank you to Chad Dawson and Glen Johnson and
Henry Foster, who is on with Glen. On behalf of everyone
that's on the call, I want to thank everyone for the interest
in this fight.
To me, we're putting on a great doubleheader
with two world championship fights. I believe we have the
four best light heavyweights in the world. A lot of fighters
claim to be the best or magazines rate them as the light
heavyweight world champion, then, then they need to fight at
light heavyweight, and not all these catch weights.
These two fighters are stepping up. Chad
Dawson is young. He is the future of the division. Everybody
knows about Glen Johnson. Glen's been in with Tarver, he's
been in with Clinton Woods. He's been in with the best. This
is Chad's first major test since becoming light heavyweight
champion of the world. He needs to get past Glen Johnson to
get the recognition that he's lacking. On the other hand,
Glen knows what he has to do to get back in the picture. Chad
is the stepping stone for him.
So that sets the pace for the fight. We'll
talk about Tarver and Clinton Woods on the second half of this
call. I'm very proud to be associated with SHOWTIME, who are
helping put together this tremendous doubleheader. This might
be the single best doubleheader of the year. I'm really
leaning towards getting a unified light heavyweight champion
of the world.
So once again, I thank everybody very much. A
special thank you goes out to SHOWTIME for stepping up and
paying for what it took to put this fight on.
DAWSON:
First of all, I want to thank Gary Shaw and SHOWTIME for
having me on the card. It's a big card and I'm definitely
looking forward to be challenged. Everybody knows Glen
Johnson is a tough fighter. But I'm here, and I'm going to be
on my "A" game.
Training has been going great. I’ve been
training for seven weeks, and I've been ready for the past two
weeks. I'm definitely looking forward to taking on Glen
Johnson in the fight.
JOHNSON:
I'm going to take a time out to say thanks to everyone
involved: SHOWTIME, Gary Shaw and Warrior Boxing. It's a
tremendous card. I'm definitely looking forward to April 12
and becoming the WBC light heavyweight champion. Chad is a
great fighter and I have a lot of respect for him. But I have
to worry about my future, so I'm bringing it all to the
table.
QUESTION:
Chad is there anyone
style-wise that you can compare to Glen?
DAWSON:
Not really. He is real aggressive, but it’s basically all
about me being in tip‑top shape. I have the skill, I have the
talent. I'm in shape, and I've got my "A" game. I'm not
worried about anything. I just let my hands do the talking.
QUESTION:
Chad, what do you think
about the light heavyweight division?
DAWSON:
I'm just fortunate enough to be a young guy in the Top 10
with these guys. Antonio Tarver has had a great career, Glen
Johnson's had a great career. Roy Jones Jr., has had a great
career. I'm just honored to be mentioned among those names.
Come April 12, I'm going to show everybody I'm
not just the future of the division, I am the division, and I
am the best light heavyweight in the world.
QUESTION:
Can you reflect on your
career?
JOHNSON:
That’s the way boxing is. For me it's been a bit of
struggle sometimes. I see other guys lose a fight and they
come right back into a major fight.
For me, when there's a loss, it takes me a year
or so before I get another chance or another shot at it. It's
been an up‑and‑down road in that sense. But looking back on
my whole career, I have my share of disappointments, but I'm
pretty pleased. It really makes me who I am as a person and
as a fighter.
I'm still blessed with the skills that I have.
I’ve had a lot of challenges that I had to step up and
overcome in the long run. I’ve had to rise above it all,
because the plate wasn't set for me. The table wasn't set for
me. I had to set my own table and make it what it is today.
QUESTION:
What do you think your
advantages are over Glen Johnson for this fight?
DAWSON:
My advantages are I'm younger and faster. Everybody thinks
Glen Johnson's going to be stronger, but I don't know about
that. I am fully focused for this fight and I'm in the best
shape of my career.
I'm looking forward to April 12. Glen Johnson
is a tough opponent and I have respect for him. The last
three or four years he has been very successful. I'm just
looking forward to the challenge.
QUESTION:
Glen, you very confident
going in?
JOHNSON:
I'm very confident. It's going to be a tremendous fight. I
believe Chad's going to bring his best game, and I'm going to
bring my best game. I honestly think this is going to be the
best fight of the night. There's no losing in this fight, and
the fans are really going to enjoy their money's worth.
QUESTION:
Many fighters today are
doing very well at a later age. What do you attribute this
to?
JOHNSON:
I can't really speak for other fighters and athletes,
because I don't really know how they do it. But for me, it's
all about taking good care of myself. I don't have any bad
habits as far as drinking, smoking or anything like that.
I stay in shape, and I keep praying. I'm at
the stage now in my career where I really feel like I'm on top
of my game. It's just a blessing.
QUESTION:
What are you expecting
tactically from Dawson?
JOHNSON:
I really don't have any tactics. I love to let it develop.
I'm just going out there to see what I need to do to win.
QUESTION:
Chad, what are you
expecting to see from Johnson?
DAWSON:
I definitely expect him to be aggressive like he's been in
previous fights. I'm going out there and executing. I'm
pretty sure Glen Johnson's going to bring his "A" game, so I'm
going to be on my "A" game. I'm pretty sure it’s going to be
the fight of the night. It's going to be a battle. It's
going to be a war.
QUESTION:
Is there any particular
weakness that you can see in him that you can exploit?
DAWSON:
I don’t really see a weakness. But like I said, you have
to be in great condition and great shape to win, and I'm in
great condition and great shape. It's been the most intense
training and the best shape I’ve ever been in.
I've got a tough opponent in front of me, and
I've got to be on my "A" game.
QUESTION:
Who do you think is going
to win between Tarver and Woods, and who you want to win?
JOHNSON:
It doesn't really matter to me who wins. I’ll give a small
edge to Clinton Woods because it seems like he's been doing
better in his recent fights. In Tarver’s last couple of
fights, I wasn't impressed at all. So I would give Woods an
edge, based on that. But Tarver is able to come out and
fight, so we'll see what happens on the 12th.
QUESTION:
Chad, what your thoughts
are on that fight as well?
DAWSON:
I would go with Clinton Woods.
QUESTION:
Can you elaborate on why?
DAWSON:
In Tarver's last two fights, he has shown nothing. He's
like a dead fighter to me. Clinton Woods is not going to back
up and he's not going to back down. Like I said, Tarver looks
like a dead man to me.
QUESTION: Do you think you
need to beat a guy like Johnson to get the respect you
deserve?
DAWSON:
It's not about recognition. I definitely have to beat a
guy like Glen Johnson to get the recognition. For three or
four years, Glen has been very successful. A win over him
would help me get recognized.
QUESTION:
Gary, do you think Chad's
been recognized properly for what he's accomplished?
SHAW:
No, not at all. He's a world champion, and there's a
reason for that. There's a reason Glen Johnson is in this
fight, because Glen Johnson is a true champion that's willing
to step up and fight one of the top guys, if not the top guy,
in the world at 175 pounds.
That's why Roy Jones is calling out other
people. That's why Hopkins is fighting 168 pounds or catch
weight fights. For some reason, the press is enamored with
those guys. They keep talking about Roy and Hopkins. You
don't hear Hopkins say, give me Glen Johnson, give me Chad
Dawson, give me Clinton Woods. He's not calling out any of
those names.
So I think time will help Chad Dawson. I think
this fight is a turning stone in Chad Dawson’s career, because
if he can get by Glen Johnson, then, to me, he's gotten by one
of the best fighters in the world. His years of experience,
his wins, and winning fighter of the year speaks volumes about
who Glen Johnson is.
April 12 is his night to prove who Chad Dawson
is.
QUESTION:
What are your thoughts on
Calzaghe-Hopkins?
JOHNSON:
It's a difficult fight. I really think Bernard is a
defensive whiz, and Joey throws a lot of punches from every
different angle. I think Joe might win the fight, but I don't
think he's going to be able to land a lot of punches. He'll
probably just win off just the fact that he throws a lot of
punches.
Bernard is very skillful defensively. He
doesn’t have as much offense as he used to have in his prime,
but he still has his defensive skills.
SHAW:
I'd like to throw a shot at that question. I love
Bernard Hopkins on a personal level. I think he's great, and
I'm a huge fan of Bernard's. But in the fight game, I have
all the respect in the world for Joe Calzaghe. I watched him
at ringside destroy Jeff Lacey. Go through Miguel Kessler. I
think in the underrated department, that Joe Calzaghe should
be rated number one.
QUESTION:
Glen, What makes Woods such
a difficult opponent in your own eyes?
JOHNSON:
Well, Woods is a very good fighter. But my opinion is
simply based on what I’ve see in recent years between the two
fighters.
When I fought Woods, I fought him in his
hometown back in England. It's a different setting. He was
able to sit back and just try to rally at the end of the run
to get the crowd involved. Now he's going to have to deal
with the crowd trying to support Antonio Tarver.
So you can't sit back. You've got to go out
and fight, and fight for 30 minutes. That's what's going to
make the difference in the fight. If he can do that, I
definitely think he'll beat Tarver based on what I've seen the
two men do recently.
QUESTION:
Can you tell us what you
think of your career and what you expect to come out of this
fight?
JOHNSON:
I expect to come out victorious, but this is a situation
that is constantly thrown my way. It seems like I get my
respect based on the person I'm fighting. Many based on them
beating me and moving on. That's how I get my opportunities.
This is just another one of those situations.
I guess it's the only way I'm going to get chances to fight
and not be on at the major level. I'll work on the challenge,
and I'm looking forward to it.
QUESTION:
I'm wondering, can you tell
us about your training? How is it you've been able to
maintain such a high level of quality in your fights?
JOHNSON:
I just think that I'm blessed with good genes. I work hard
and I’m determined. I'm trying to create situations for
myself because I have three kids that I've got to support.
You know, mama don't play, so I've got to go make it.
QUESTION:
Would you fight Antonio Tarver a third time?
JOHNSON:
I definitely would like to fight Antonio Tarver again. I
beat Clinton Woods. The way it is on paper, I think he
deserves another fight because there's a win on both sides and
that's deserving of another fight.
I definitely would like to fight Tarver again.
No matter who wins or loses the fight I still want to fight
both guys. There's a win and loss with Tarver, and that's
deserving of another fight.
I'm not like the rest of the group of guys who
grab a win and take off running. If you want to remain
champion of your division, you want to leave no doubt in
everyone’s mind. That's what I'm about. I want leave no
doubt in the fan's mind or the media's mind. I want to clean
up in every sense of the word, cleaning up.
QUESTION:
Gary, you've been putting
together some exquisite cards as of late. Is this something
we can expect from you in the next couple of years?
SHAW:
Chad can answer that. When you sign and you fight
for my company, then you agree to fight. We're a fan‑friendly
company. I love boxing. I want to see boxing here long after
I'm gone. The only way boxing is going to continue is if the
great fights happen constantly.
There is this crazy thing in boxing that came
about that after a fighter wins a real fight, he's supposed
take one or two easy fights. I don't get it, because the only
person that gets robbed is the fan. It's not even good for
the fighter.
History shows that many fighters lose on the
easy fights, look terrible or devalue themselves.
I have all respect to the Glen Johnson's of the
world that have stepped up and fought the best fights, and to
Chad Dawson who will fight everybody. Chad has yet to tell me
don't make a fight. That's why the great fights are
happening.
Thank God this year you've seen some real good
fights, not only from my company, but from De la Hoya and
Arum. I give credit to those guys that put on great fights,
because it's only going to help the fighter.
Everybody's afraid of MMA. They're afraid of
MMA because a loss in MMA is not detrimental to the fighter's
career. They come back and fight and the fans love it.
So thank you for your question. I appreciate
the compliment. It's really about my fighters who step up and
fight the great fights.
QUESTION:
Do you have any plans on
coming back to Sacramento.
SHAW:
Sure. As a promoter, wherever we can do a gate and
people will come, watch and cheer for our fighters, that's
where we'll go.
QUESTION: Chad, is this going
to be as much of a mental fight as a physical fight?
DAWSON:
It's going to be a physical fight and a mental fight. Glen
Johnson is a tough guy. He's aggressive, and that is the
physical part. In the later rounds I plan on making it a
mental fight. Once I get past the aggressive part, the mental
part will come into play.
QUESTION: Glen, if you take
away your age, where do you see yourself in terms of your
career.
JOHNSON:
I have a game plan: To go out and unify the division. I
want to leave no doubt, and that's my peace of mind.
At my age, it is what it is. I have never felt
any better. I feel great. I believe that I have what it
takes to get it done.
SHAW:
Glen Johnson doesn't have the age problem. His
manager has the age problem, believe me.
DAWSON:
I'd like to thank SHOWTIME, Gary Shaw and Glen Johnson for
taking this fight. I'm just looking forward to a great night
on April 12th. It is going to be a fan‑pleasing fight.
Glen Johnson is a tough opponent. I have
nothing but respect for Glen. I'm looking for a tough fight.
Like Glen Johnson said, it is going to be the fight of the
night.
JOHNSON:
I want to thank everyone involved for putting this show
together. Not just our fight, but the whole card. It's a
great card, a great night of boxing. The fans are going to be
thrilled, and I'm looking forward to the challenge.
I thank Chad for giving me the opportunity,
Gary Shaw for letting this happen, and SHOWTIME and Warriors
Boxing for believing in their athletes.
SHAW:
Again, it's the top of the card. Tarver‑Clinton
Woods is the real fight. Everybody's been saying that Tarver's
not fighting real fights. You heard Glen Johnson and Dawson
talk about both fighters and what they thought about Clinton
Woods and how tough Clinton is.
I give credit to Clinton Woods for being one of
the few British fighters who will come across the pond and
fight. He said he'd come across and fight Tarver, and he
did.
To me, Antonio Tarver is probably the best
light heavyweight in the world. It seems that only three
people want to believe that right now. That's Al Haymon,
Tarver and myself.
On April 12th, you'll see that Tarver's here,
and he's the old Tarver. A lot of people still have that
crazy perception of fights that he shouldn't have taken, some
that he took too quick when he came back from the movie.
But on April 12th, everybody will see who
Antonio Tarver really is, when he steps up and fights Clinton
Woods on a great doubleheader on April 12 on SHOWTIME.
TARVER:
I'm eager and excited. I can't remember a better camp.
I'm focused and looking forward to April 12 more than anyone.
I'm not really taken back or surprised that I'm
underrated once again. I mean, all I've ever done is be
successful and win. It's never enough.
No one can say they whooped me. Glen Johnson
can say what he wants. Everybody is rooting for my opponent
because they don't want to see me. Roy Jones go on record, I
want to fight Clinton Woods when he beats Tarver. But he
wouldn't be able to beat me. You understand me?
The bottom line is I'm a headache for anybody.
When I'm ready to fight, and focused mentally and physically
and in great shape, I'm undefeated. That's my record.
When given the opportunity to fight again, I've
come back and avenged my loss. It might have been a political
loss or I just didn't show up that night for whatever reason.
But, I learned from all my mistakes.
The bottom line is I know I'm the best and I'm
going to prove that. My first thing is I came back. I told
the world I wanted to become undisputed champion. This is one
step toward that goal. When I become undisputed champion, I'm
looking to go out on top and hang my head on the fact that I
was one of the best of all time, bottom line.
WOODS:
It's going to be in America. This is my second big
fight in America. My clinic has been fantastic and I feel
strong. I am physically ready for this fight. It's probably
the biggest fight of my career.
I've been champion for three years now. I've
fought some good fighters. I feel as though I'm in tip‑top
condition.
I think the Americans are going to love my
style of fighting. I'm just ready for this fight. It's been
a long time coming for me. I just want to go out there and
showcase my talent. I'm sure that I'm going to be the one who
comes out on top.
QUESTION:
Antonio, everybody's been pointing to a fight with Chad
Dawson, if you're both victorious on Saturday, April 12 on
SHOWTIME. Is there anyway to pass Glen Johnson?
TARVER:
I don't know what Chad does. He's his own man. I'm sure
he's not going to be naive enough to look past Glen Johnson, a
proven champion, proven veteran. The guy's resume speaks for
itself. I don't think Chad has come this far to look past
anyone.
But I'm not going to speak on that fight. You
just asked him all the questions.
QUESTION:
Is there anyway you look
past Clinton?
TARVER:
I don't look past anybody. I didn't get this far by
looking past opponents. I'm coming to do what I do, and
that's win. I'm in great shape. I can't stress that enough.
I'm ready and I'm eager. I don't look past Clinton. I'm
ready for Clinton Woods. I'm not looking past him, not at
all.
QUESTION:
What's it going to be like
fighting in Tampa, which is your hometown?
TARVER:
It will be just like it was when I fought Roy here. It's
going to be electrifying. People come, pay their money and
they expect great things out of me. So there's a little added
pressure, but I step up to the pressure.
I love the pressure. That's when I'm at my
best, when all the chips are down. That's how we're
approaching this fight. There is nothing past Clinton Woods
if I'm not victorious.
So my whole thing is why would I be silly
enough to look past anybody at this stage of my career?
There's so much more to prove, so much more to gain. There is
so much more to accomplish.
I feel like right now I'm at the pinnacle of my
career. I'm going to go out with a bang. I'm going to lay it
out on the line.
If Clinton Woods comes to fight like he said, I
suspect that this fight can be right up there with the fight
of the year. If everybody comes and does what they say
they're going to do. There's enough at stake that there's no
more tomorrow.
So those are the top fights that the boxing
fans can really, truly get excited about and look forward to.
I'm glad I'm a part of this fight. We have four great light
heavyweights involved, the cream of the crop. We're going to
see who's going to rise to the top.
QUESTION:
How much did the movie
(Rocky) drain you when you went in the ring against Hopkins?
TARVER:
I can say that I left it on the road, because we were
doing a tremendous amount of running. I felt like camp went
well. But maybe we rushed into it.
February we signed on the fight, and we had to
lose a significant amount of weight.
But I've never made any excuses. I'm not going
to sit here and tell you I made an excuse for that fight.
Hopkins came, did what he had to do. Everybody that witnessed
the fight knew I was not even a shell of myself.
So when you do the comparisons, when you go
back and look at the tapes of my fights, you know when I'm
feeling good, when I'm energetic and all that, you know what
type of fighter to expect. Even walking out to the fight,
people knew when they looked in my eyes that something was
missing, something was wrong.
I contemplated a whole lot of things happening,
I just never thought that the training camp could take such a
toll on me. But, hey, I had to lose a significant amount of
weight.
But that's the business. When I sign on to
fight 175, it is my responsibility as a professional, as a
champion to get the weight down by any means necessary. I did
what I had to do. I showed up, I felt fine. Obviously, I
fell flat.
Bernard Hopkins won the fight. But on my worst
night I was able to stay in there for 12 rounds.
It wasn't as competitive as I would have
liked. But I was in there, due to my skill and my ability. I
was able to stay on my feet make it through the fight and
didn't get hurt.
If somebody shows up like that against me, he's
going to have serious problems. He may never fight again. I
have ruined a lot of fighters, just look at my record. A lot
of fighters can say Antonio Tarver was their last fight.
So looking past me is dumfounding to me. It's
totally asinine, it's incredible that somebody can say they're
looking past me, coming into a big fight like this. Making
plans to fight this guy, that guy, you know. There may not be
a tomorrow after April 12.
QUESTION:
Just your thoughts on that Hopkins-Calzaghe? Does Hopkins
have anything left, do you think?
TARVER:
Yeah, Hopkins has something left. He's going to always be
a cagey, cagey fighter. He's going to always know how to make
a good fighter look less than stellar by the little tricks
that he does. He's always going to be in the best of shape.
I mean, Hopkins definitely still has a fighting
chance. But like you said, one day it may all be gone. But,
you know, I don't think that's the case. I think Hopkins will
definitely be in the fight.
When you look at styles, styles make fights.
Calzaghe is a very energetic fighter. He throws a lot of
punches, but he takes a lot of chances. A great kind of
puncher can catch him, but it will take a great kind of
puncher. It takes someone with a lot of tricks. You've got
to have some speed of your own. You've got to have some power
to really get his respect.
I don't know if that's Hopkins or not, but
we'll see. May the best man win.
QUESTION:
I was wondering what your thoughts are on the match‑up between
Chad and Glen Johnson?
WOODS:
I've been in the ring three times with Glen, in three
really hard fights with him. Chad's a good, slippery fighter
with good moves and fast speed. He's got youth.
But Johnson just keeps having a good night.
It's a hard one to call. But if I had to put my money down, I
would put it on the young fighter in Chad.
QUESTION:
Antonio assessed the Calzaghe‑Hopkins fight. Can you tell us
who you think will win that fight?
WOODS:
For me, I think Calzaghe has the fresher factor. He's
he the bigger guy, really.
So I think Joe's the bigger fighter. He's
going to have the bigger pull this year. I'm 90% sure that it
will be Hopkins at the end of the night.
QUESTION:
How would you assess
Antonio's last few performances?
WOODS:
I just watched his last two fights. I didn't watch the
Hopkins fight. Everybody's telling me about the Hopkins
fight, but I haven't seen or watched the fight.
He's lost two fights. He did look fresh. At
the end of 12‑rounds, he looked back to himself. He did a
good 12‑rounder in a hard fight. I think he's back to his
best.
QUESTION:
Clinton, have you done
anything different since you've been out there?
WOODS:
Not really. I've just been working on quite a lot of
speed work on the pads. Actually, I've got a few sparring
partners lined up, and I’ve gotten some good sparring in.
I’ve been working on more speed on the pads and, obviously,
the southpaw sparring.
It's going good. The training has gone
absolutely fantastic. I'm in fantastic shape. One more week
of hard training, and I'll be ready for it.
QUESTION:
A bit nervous, Clinton?
It's been a few years since you fought over in America.
WOODS:
Yeah, there's obviously nerves there. There's a fear.
A fear I'm fighting a great puncher, a great fighter in
Antonio Tarver. But that's what I relish. I relish fighting
with fear. I think that fear's going to reward me at the end
of the night.
When I fight, I've got fear in me. I feel I
fight better.
QUESTION:
Would this be the biggest win of your career?
WOODS:
This is the biggest fight of my career. When I fought
Jones, I didn't come with a title. This time I'm defending my
own title. I keep telling people, I'm in the best shape of my
career.
It's a massive win. On Saturday it will go
down as my greatest victory. I will be the greatest British
fighter light heavyweight, so it's a massive event for me.
QUESTION: Clinton, are you in
Florida now?
WOODS:
Yea, I'm in Florida at the moment.
QUESTION: How long have you
been there?
WOODS:
I've been here since Sunday, so three or four days.
QUESTION:
There's not
going to be a problem with acclimation?
WOODS:
No, no problem. We're here two weeks
before the fight, so no problem.
QUESTION:
I wondered if you could
talk about how you have changed as a fighter since the Jones
fight in Portland?
WOODS:
When I fought Jones, I was not doing the proper
training. I wasn't eating the proper food. I just trained
for that fight.
But now I've got people around me. I have a
nutritionist, which I never had before. They're guarding my
food and guarding my weight. That has made me into a
stronger, fitter fighter. Right now I've got a proper team
around me. I've got proper people to look after me.
QUESTION:
Is your second training
camp for U.S. fight? Are there any changes you've made from
how you approach things for?
WOODS:
In Portland, it got like a holiday towards the end.
This time there's two weeks. Two weeks in Miami with the
kids, that's enough for me. I think it's going to be
perfect.
QUESTION:
are you still maintaining the anger you had before you fought
Santiago?
TARVER:
Well, you know, I have a lot to look back at and say, hey,
I don't always get a fair shake at things. But that's
motivation. I always use it as motivation.
Right now it’s the quiet before the storm,
basically. I'm just looking forward to getting in on the
12th. I’m feeling good about everything. I’m going to let my
punches do the speaking for me.
I think everybody knows how I feel. I just
need Clinton to show up, and the rest is going to fall into
place. I mean, it's I'm focused on the fight. It's a big
night for me. I'm excited about it, and I can't wait.
QUESTION:
Is Woods the right opponent
for you right now?
TARVER:
I've got one mission in mind and that is to become
undisputed light heavyweight champion. He has one of the
belts, so this fight is very important. Once I take care of
business on the 12th, I'm one step closer to unifying this
division. I’ll be one step closer to going out on top and
being remembered as one of the best that ever did it. That's
what I'm hell bent on achieving right now. That's my goal.
QUESTION:
You're both tall light
heavyweights. Does that have any significance to you?
TARVER:
No, not at all. Height, weight, reach, it really doesn’t
matter to me. As long as you weigh 175 pounds it doesn’t
matter. I've fought tall guys before, and I've fought taller
guys before. I've been successful with all types of guys.
That's one thing about boxing. You want to
master your craft. I'm not a one dimensional fighter. I can
change on the drop of a dime. I can adjust to whatever is
going on in front of me.
So I feel confident that if I have to take it
to another level or do something different in order to secure
a victory, I'll be able to do that. I'm in the shape in order
to allow my talents to do everything that we can do.
So I'm going in there just with the spirit,
going in there to have a good time. I am going to dissect
Woods anyway I can. I’m going to get him out of there and
make sure I secure the victory.
QUESTION:
You're 39 years old and you're still doing well, what do you
attribute that to?
TARVER:
I can say that I've truly taken care of myself. I just
think it's in my genes. I don't see a lot of people my age
walking around with the type of energy that I have.
It's happiness and feeling really good about
yourself and where you're at in your life. I just really
haven't had anything to get down about. I've been as
successful as anyone in this game. I've accomplished every
goal I set out to accomplish.
It’s all about living well, being happy and
having people that truly love you around you. That adds years
to your life. With this boxing game, I started late. I
didn't turn pro until I was 27. So I'm still young.
I don't even have over 30 fights. Every
opponent I face has 40 or 50 fights. I just took the right
fights. I didn't have 25 fights just to get my record built
up. I went out there and fought the best. When I was 11‑0, I
was fighting main event type fights. I was fighting tough
fights. Every fight was meaningful.
I just really haven't abused myself. I've
taken the fights that were there. I haven’t taken any
punishment and sparring out in a fight. I attribute that to
my defense.
QUESTION:
You seem very enthusiastic,
confident, and happy to be training, which was something we
didn't see the night that you fought Bernard. What would you
attribute that to?
TARVER:
Just being back, man. I just love being back, with a
whole lot to prove. That's when I'm at my best. When I have
my back against the wall, I have these naysayers saying what
they say.
I'm back and my body feels great. I have the
best sparring in here. I'm going to let my work speak for
me.
QUESTION:
If you become the
undisputed champion, would you be satisfied with your career?
Would you see yourself continuing after that?
TARVER:
I'm satisfied with my career right now, but you always
want to set goals for yourself. As long as you have more to
achieve, more to accomplish, then the show must go on.
Like I said, when it's obvious that I'm no
longer the best, I have to rethink my career. But right now I
just have to prove that I'm still very much the gatekeeper to
the light heavyweight division.
QUESTION:
How fun was that for you
to be a part of "Rocky Balboa"?
TARVER:
It was definitely a life‑changing experience. I never
thought I was going to be a part of something like that. As a
kid growing up, I was a huge fan of the Rocky franchise.
It was one of those opportunities that was a
once‑in‑a‑lifetime opportunity. I'm just glad that he chose
me, and I have no regrets. Like I said, it will be a memory
for people to watch that movie and say it was one of the best
Rocky movies. Better than the first one, that says a lot.
I think he should have shown me a whole lot
more, you know what I mean? He's a great writer and
producer. I just had fun.
QUESTION:
Clinton, who did you spar
with and how did your sparring go?
WOODS:
I sparred with some guys in England, some guys that you
don't really know. They were young guys, very fit guys.
They were quite flashy the way they were
boxing. They were boxing for the Olympic sport. So like I
say, they were young, quite flashy guys, similar to the style
of Tarver.
I had a couple of Americans come, one I forgot
his name. The sparring has gone well. I haven't fought many
southpaws. But all of them in the last two or three months
has been fighting in the ring with southpaws.
I'll overcome that. I'm not going to get a
sparring partner who is exactly like Tarver. Tarver's a bit
unique. But I'm a champion, and I'm so hungry to win it.
It's just something that I'll get through.
QUESTION:
Do you think Clinton has
improved in it the ring over the last few fights?
TARVER:
Any time you become champion, you improve. There's just
so much at stake. I've been several times, and I'm here now.
I feel that just his experience has helped him a lot. He
understands how to get in there and get out 12‑rounds if he's
behind.
I'm not expecting Clinton Woods to come here
and lay down by any means. I know I have my work cut out for
me. That's what champions are all about. That's why we step
up to the plate.
Everything that you have after the fact allows
you to go places and do things that you didn't even think you
were capable of doing. That's why you prepare so hard,
because the unknown is out there. We can't predict it.
I feel really good about my preparation, and
I'm sure he feels good about his. But we have to go to the
big dance, and at the big dance, anything can happen.
We have to be prepared for a grueling,
12‑round, toe to toe war. One punch, one clip and it's over
in a flash. That is the beauty of boxing. The ebb and flow.
We're on a head‑on collision. But I know one
thing, I've never been stopped. I don't plan on being
stopped. When I have to bite down on my mouth piece, I'm
going to get it out. I'm going to lay it on the line.
Everything I accomplished in boxing, I'm ready to lay it on
the line on the April 12.
I'm passionate about this fight. I'm excited.
It's in my hometown. This man is coming all the way from
England to take something that is rightfully mine.
So you know, we've got the drama built-up and
set‑up in this fight. It's going to go down in Tampa,
Florida, on the 12th. If you miss this, you're going to miss
everything.
I know Chad Dawson and Glen Johnson are
fighting for the opportunity to dance with the man. But
Clinton Woods has a chance right now today to shut it all down
and move on to be a superstar in England.
Let the fireworks begin on the 12th, baby. I'm
ready to put this whole light heavyweight division on a whole
different perspective.
We've got a lot of names, lot of champions, but
there can only be one. There can only be one champion. I'm
ready to show these people they can never underestimate the
"Magic Man.”
QUESTION:
Antonio, I want to ask you
where you think you are in your career at this point?
TARVER:
My whole thing is this: I want those belts. What I'm
thriving on right now are the guys that are holding the
armor. That I want, all three, all four of those belts around
my waist.
Anybody that wants to do business in the light
heavyweight division, they've got to come and see me. That's
the position and the power I want. I need to get those belts
in order to be king of the light heavyweight division.
QUESTION:
Clinton, Do you have any
concern if this goes the distance and if that could create a
problem in the decision?
WOODS:
No, not really. I'm just going to go in there with no
doubts in mind. I'm going to go in there want to win the
fight. You'll make up your own mind.
I just feel as though there will be no way that
you can give it to Antonio, so I'm not worried about it.
People keep talking about why I've always fought in England.
The reason I fought in England is because the purses.
QUESTION: Any predictions for
the fight?
WOODS:
I'm just confident I'll win the fight. I predict I'll
win it. I'll find a way, I always do. May the best man win.
I'm looking forward to fighting a great fighter in Antonio
Tarver. That's what he is, he's a great fighter. He's
achieved a lot more in boxing than me. I'm just looking
forward to the fight.
TARVER:
Beautiful. My achievements and accomplishments sometimes
fall on deaf ears. They still can't see me. And they still
can't hear me. I'm going to have to put mine on display April
12.
I'm not predicting anything, but I'm coming to
fight the fight of my life. I'm going to let it all hang
out. All I need is Clinton Woods to bring his himself to the
fight. That's it.
SHAW:
I want to thank both fighters for taking the fight.
Antonio said it well; it is going to be a great night with two
great fights and four great fighters. This hasn't been done
in the light heavyweight division before.
It's all going to take place in Tarver's
hometown of Tampa. Everybody just needs to show up. They'll
get the fight of their lives because everything's on the
line. Tarver said it well. Everything's on the line in both
these fights.
Two guys are going to come out victorious, and
we'll see what happens after that. For right now, in the
light heavyweight division, everything is on the line April
12th in Tampa.
