Boxing: Antonio Tarver, Steve Cunningham Fighting for Different Reasons

For years, boxing’s heavyweight class has suffered from top-heaviness under the rule of the Klitschko brothers. However, as the career of Wladimir Klitschko appears to be winding down, names such as Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury have sparked renewed interest in the division.

Somewhere in the middle of the fray stand Antonio Tarver and Steve Cunningham, two fighters who did not start their careers at heavyweight but have made the leap in an effort to stake a claim at big-man supremacy.

Neither man has time to waste, and when they square off Aug. 14 in the main event of Premier Boxing Champions on Spike TV, it will be with the knowledge that the loser could tumble out of title contention for good. If ever there was a crossroads fight for two boxers -- both in desperate need of a victory, for totally different reasons -- this would be it.

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For Tarver (31-6, 22 KOs), this is all about respect.

The 1996 Olympic gold medalist has spent his entire career being overlooked. From his shocking 2003 knockout of Roy Jones Jr. to the present day, Tarver has always fought with a chip on his shoulder. Just when it seems like he’s about to grab a hold of the brass ring, his world comes falling apart.

Losses to Glen Johnson and Bernard Hopkins were evidence of Tarver’s efforts coming up short. Back-to-back losses to Chad Dawson seemingly sent Tarver spiraling into the end of his career. If that wasn’t enough, a failed drug test in 2012 appeared to put the final nail in the coffin for Tarver.

However, Tarver has experienced a resurgence in his heavyweight campaign. A pair of knockout victories over Jonathon Banks and Mike Sheppard has set up the 46-year-old for his showdown with Cunningham. Because of his advanced age, a loss to Cunningham would be devastating for Tarver’s career, not to mention satisfying the naysayers who believe he has no place amongst the division’s elite.

For Cunningham (28-7, 13 KOs), this is about family.

At 39 years old, Cunningham isn’t fighting because he wants respect. The only person he’s fighting for is his young daughter, Kennedy, who was born with a heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Since the day she was born nearly a decade ago with an underdeveloped left ventricle, it was obvious that Kennedy would need a heart transplant to survive. Cunningham fights because those hospital bills are certainly not cheap, and his success would give Kennedy a better chance at surviving through the defect that has plagued her for her entire life.

Kennedy had a heart transplant in December but isn’t totally out of the woods, so Cunningham will continue to fight for his daughter. A victory over Tarver could thrust him into the thick of things in the division. Coming off a disputed loss to Vyacheslav Glazkov in March, Cunningham cannot afford another loss -- and that’s in the literal sense.

With both fighters having so much at stake, Tarver and Cunningham’s Aug. 14 showdown should be an intriguing one, replete with storylines made for television drama. It’s unfortunate that one of them will have to lose.