GL: Congrats on your victory over Elvir Muriqi. Can you give us some thoughts on your performance? "I thought I did pretty well. After a year lay-off which you have to take into consideration, I mean I did a lot of sparring but there's nothing like the real deal. I took my time and I think early on I just wanted to feel myself in there and when I got going, I got going. I'm anxious to know what the Compubox was. I was very accurate and my defense shined. I went a hard twelve rounds and I wasn't tired. I felt relaxed in there. I give myself a B. I still need to get a bit sharper, but we're going to get right back into the gym because we're looking at a September date. Hopefully I'm standing across from a champion, if not another legend. My whole thing right now is to just bring the big fights to the people."

GL: what are your thoughts on the judges scoring?

Antonio Tarver: "I think everyone knows my thoughts on the judges scoring. I think all of the judges was way off. I felt like I controlled the whole tempo of the fight and when the action got going, I pressed him. I put punches together and my defense was great. I can't win a fight on heart alone, but the man took a lot of shots and he was willing to die in there that night because he knew what was at stake. But I punished him and the fight wasn't even close. Judges got their right to judge a fight and that's why the only guarantee is when you go in there and knock somebody out."

GL: Are you disappointed you didn't stop Muriqi?

AT: "No because I stayed within myself. I never go looking for the knockout, but I put everything together. If he didn't prepare like he did he would've been knocked out. But you have to give the guy credit. They got him hyped up, he came and he took a beating. I don't know if he'll ever be the same after that fight because he took a lot of punishment. When you look at the two fights, my fight should have been stopped a long time ago. Chad Dawson went in there threw a 1-2, hit the guy to the body and the ref jumps in, but I have to kill somebody to get the mercy of the referee. I just stayed to my plan, but the guy took a beating and it was obvious."

GL: Your people are looking at a September date, so who are some of the names in consideration?

AT: "Like I said, I want to make the fight that makes the most sense to me. There's a lot of guys out there to pick and choose from, but they've got to want to step up and they've got to want to make it happen. But we're not going out looking for anyone. I've said all along at this time, I think if Jeff Lacy can get ready for September, he could be the guy. I think the writing is on the wall for that. I think he needs the opportunity and I think it would be a great fight for me. If it's not Jeff we'll look elsewhere."

GL: Gary Shaw told me the only reason a fight with Dawson doesn't happen is because you don't want it.

AT: "If it doesn't make sense it won't happen. They need to show me where the fight makes sense. Where's the guarantee? What's in it for me other than giving this guy a great opportunity? I'm not pressed to fight Chad Dawson. I personally don't think he's ready. I really don't. That's my personal feeling and I'll get a chance to prove that when the time comes. Right now I feel that we can go PPV with a Jeff Lacy. I don't think we can go PPV with Chad Dawson. Lacy has a bigger name and I think more people know him. I'm just trying to do what's best for Antonio Tarver. I'm not trying to prove a damn thing. I don't have anything to prove. If the Hopkins fight happens, hopefully we have a rematch. I want the rematch of course I want it because it would go a long way in solidifying my status as one of the greatest light heavyweights of all time.

"Calzaghe has been talking a lot, but we know he's not going to fight. He doesn't want to fight and his promoter doesn't want to put him in a real fight. He's picking on guys. The best guy he fought was Jeff and he followed that up with a Pretender. He's ducking and dodging everybody. He's talking a lot but doing nothing. If they want to make that fight I'm willing to make it. I'll fight anybody, but it has to make sense to Tarver. Do I feel confident in a fight with Chad Dawson? Of course I do. He makes too many mistakes and he's not ready for a veteran champion like me."

GL: The last time we spoke you told us that you wouldn't be surprised if you were poisoned before your fight with Hopkins. Do you regret making those remarks?

AT: "I don't have any regrets because I'm the only one who knows how I felt. My whole thing is that, it's not out of the realm of possibility. I've never accused anyone. I'm saying I felt so bad and out of place that it had nothing to do with a Bernard Hopkins and that's what I want to show the world. The only way for me to prove that is for him to step back up, if he's man enough and dumb enough to do it again. But I'm not sweating Bernard. He knows that fight makes sense and it did a big number and that's the type of fight I want."

M

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