By Jordan Moskowitz

 

Antonio Tarver has made it clear that he doesn’t think WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder is worth his time.

 

Instead, he prefers to face the lineal heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko sometime next year in his quixotic quest to become the oldest heavyweight champion of all time.

 

“Why would they want me to fight Deontay Wilder?” said Tarver, who faces Steve Cunningham tonight in Newark in a heavyweight bout. “For what? Other than for me to stub my toe and without giving me the opportunity that I want. The only thing that Deontay Wilder has that I would want is the WBC championship. But Wladimir Klitschko has everything I want. He’s the legend. He’s the lineal heavyweight champion and has been for years. He’s the record breaker. He’s the guy that’s dominated the division. If I beat Deontay Wilder, I still have to go through Wladimir Klitschko, so my whole thing is tell me why I don’t deserve that fight? With my credentials, why I don’t deserve a Wladimir Klitschko fight? He hasn’t fought anybody as big as me as of late. He’s fought guys like Calvin Brock, guys that have never won nothing on any level.”

 

Tarver believes he’s a breath of fresh air for the heavyweight division.

 

“Of course I bring a lot of life to the heavyweight division,” Tarver said. “It’s needed, especially from the American side of the fence. We need that. A lot of guys are just fighters but I think I’m so much more than just a fighter. I’m an entertainer. I’m a performer and it’s an art so I really want to share that with the world. I’m an Olympian. I represented the country. I had one of the biggest nights in the history of the sport when you look at the night I knocked Roy Jones out. Why not have two worlds collide when you look at where (Klitschko) is from and where I’m from. We’re from the same Olympic team. There are only three names that resonate from that Olympic team- that’s Mayweather, Tarver and Klitschko. So obviously we’re the three best talents from that Olympic team.”

Tarver was unable to close the show on Friday night in Newark, when he fought to a twelve round split draw with Steve Cunningham.