12-12-2014, 11:17 PM
...and this:
Tarver TKOs Banks, Trout stops Grejeda, Escandon edges Cave on marathon card at Pechanga
Other winners include: Dominic Breazeale, Edwin Rodriguez, Sergio Mora, Terrell Gausha, Rico Ramos, Gerald Washington, Marcus Browne...
By Felipe Leon and David Robinett at ringside
In a fight so tactical it would have made Bernard Hopkins blush, faded heavyweights Antonio Tarver and Johnathon Banks stared each other down for six rounds before the 46-year old Tarver exploded, relatively speaking, to score a seventh round knockout and stay relevant amongst the shallow pool of American heavyweight talent. The opening rounds were painfully slow, with Tarver winning the first two stanzas by virtue of landing one good punch in each, a left hook in round one and a straight left that snapped Banks’ head back in round two. The action did not begin in earnest until round five, after which the southpaw Tarver sought to control the action with his right jab while sneaking in some quick left hands while Banks mixed in the occasional right hand with his sporadic left jab.
Banks, (29-3-1, 19 KOs), never found an answer for Tarver’s left hand and paid the price in round seven, when Tarver threw his first combinations of the fight. Midway through the round, Tarver nailed Banks with a straight left and sent him down with the follow up right hook. Banks rose on unsteady legs and, failing to defend himself from Tarver’s newfound aggression, referee Jack Reiss stepped in to halt the bout at 2:25 of the round. Tarver, (31-6, 22 KOs), was in the ring for only the second time since his suspension in 2012 for a positive steroid test and appeared in less than peak condition. Nevertheless, while he clearly is no longer a threat to the top of the weight class as he was in his Mason Dixon days, Tarver still has enough remaining talent to compete with the Union Canes of the heavyweight division and lives to fight another day.
Tarver TKOs Banks, Trout stops Grejeda, Escandon edges Cave on marathon card at Pechanga
Other winners include: Dominic Breazeale, Edwin Rodriguez, Sergio Mora, Terrell Gausha, Rico Ramos, Gerald Washington, Marcus Browne...
By Felipe Leon and David Robinett at ringside
In a fight so tactical it would have made Bernard Hopkins blush, faded heavyweights Antonio Tarver and Johnathon Banks stared each other down for six rounds before the 46-year old Tarver exploded, relatively speaking, to score a seventh round knockout and stay relevant amongst the shallow pool of American heavyweight talent. The opening rounds were painfully slow, with Tarver winning the first two stanzas by virtue of landing one good punch in each, a left hook in round one and a straight left that snapped Banks’ head back in round two. The action did not begin in earnest until round five, after which the southpaw Tarver sought to control the action with his right jab while sneaking in some quick left hands while Banks mixed in the occasional right hand with his sporadic left jab.
Banks, (29-3-1, 19 KOs), never found an answer for Tarver’s left hand and paid the price in round seven, when Tarver threw his first combinations of the fight. Midway through the round, Tarver nailed Banks with a straight left and sent him down with the follow up right hook. Banks rose on unsteady legs and, failing to defend himself from Tarver’s newfound aggression, referee Jack Reiss stepped in to halt the bout at 2:25 of the round. Tarver, (31-6, 22 KOs), was in the ring for only the second time since his suspension in 2012 for a positive steroid test and appeared in less than peak condition. Nevertheless, while he clearly is no longer a threat to the top of the weight class as he was in his Mason Dixon days, Tarver still has enough remaining talent to compete with the Union Canes of the heavyweight division and lives to fight another day.