By Jake Donovan

As is often the case when a fight ends in a draw, cries of victory being stolen come from both sides.

Such was the case after unbeaten Lateef Kayode and IBO cruiserweight king Antonio Tarver fought to a 12-round split decision stalemate in their Showtime-televised main event Saturday evening at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Tarver (29-6-1, 20KO) insisted that he was hardly ever hit cleanly and that he landed all of the telling blows over the course of the bout.

Kayode not only disagrees with that statement, but insists that the evening went according to plan.

“Everybody knows I f***ed him up,” Kayode (18-0-1, 14KO) insisted afterward. “Look at me, look at him. I am a strong man. I did my job and did what I said I'd do.”

When the question arose of whether or not a rematch would happen, the unbeaten cruiserweight made it clear that he’d want a more level playing field.

“Maybe we do it on HBO,” Kayode said to Showtime’s Jim Gray afterward, hinting that Tarver’s status as a Shobox announcer perhaps influenced the outcome.

When approached again on the subject, Kayode was far more dismissive of such a fight

“Why, so they can rob me again?”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments via e-mail.