[Previous entry: "Celebrate Jose Hernandez' KO win at Copas This Thursday Night!"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Miranda Calls Out the 160 lb. Elite!"]
12/18/2006 Archived Entry: "Transcript: Antonio Tarver Speaks out on 'Rocky Balboa' Movie & Career"
Transcript: Antonio Tarver Speaks out on 'Rocky Balboa' Movie & Career
Photo courtesy of http://www.starboxing.com
Joe Deguardia's Star Boxing
By Mike Costello
Metro Goldwyn Meyer Conference Call
Wednesday, December 31, 2006
Last Wednesday, actor Sylvester Stallone and former Light Heavyweight Champion of the World Antonio Tarver engaged in a special conference call promoting the new movie, Rocky Balboa, which a host of reporters participated in, including the CBZ's Rita Figueroa. Figueroa reported Stallone's portion of the conference call. Here are Antonio Tarver's remarks.
ERIN: Hi, this is Erin from MGM. I have Antonio Tarver here. I’m just going to be handing over the phone. If you guys could just introduce yourselves when you ask your questions that would be great.
ANTONIO TARVER: Hello?
TONY FARINELLA: Hi.
ANTONIO TARVER: Hey.
TONY FARINELLA: I’m Tony Farinella from 411mania.com, and my first question for you is, sir, is how thrilled were you when Sylvester Stallone picked you this film?
ANTONIO TARVER: Man, I was thrilled to death. I mean you can imagine my excitement. I mean just, you know, relieving all the other ‘Rockys’ before, the films and the franchises... It’s unbelievable. It’s like I’m on a magic carpet ride. Man, I’m just floating, you know, in the air right now. But it’s all... You know, it’s just been amazing, just with all the media interest and, you know, how this film has taken off, and then people’s view of the film. I mean they’re saying this is another...another big hit of Sylvester Stallone’s. I’m just glad to be a part of it. Watching and coming up with ‘Rocky’, all the series, I would have never dreamed that I would have this opportunity, and I’m forever grateful. I just wanted to work hard and deliver a great product for Sylvester Stallone, because I know how much he put into this, how much he believed in this movie. And when you look at the fight scenes and my responsibility, I think I delivered. So, I’m just happy.
TONY FARINELLA: Sir, how has Hollywood treated you so far?
ANTONIO TARVER: They’ve treated me with open arms. I mean I think everybody’s really saying that, you know... They’re kind of in disbelief that I could, you know, pull it off with having no previous experience and no previous theatrical training. And they just... They saw... Whatever they saw, they saw just... It was just natural ability and just me being comfortable with the role of Mason “The Line” Dixon.
STEVE STASBERG: Antonio, it’s Steve Stasberg from the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network in the Maryland/Delaware area. How tough was it to actually act?
ANTONIO TARVER: Ah, you know, I had to prepare. You know, I had to train, basically, and it was kind of like they just threw me in the fire, and I had to produce. So, you know, if I had it all over to do again, you know, how... If I get another role of this significance, I’ll train and prepare for it. You know, I’m looking to take some acting lessons and some classes and just prepare myself for whatever comes in the future.
TANIA GANGULI: Are you looking to do more roles?
ANTONIO TARVER: Of course. I mean it would be anybody’s dream to be able to, you know, finish their boxing career, which I’ve had an enormous amount of success in, and then parlay that into another career, being considered a bona fide actor. I mean that would be a dream come true. I don’t think many athletes have those type of avenues to go into once their professional career is over with.
CHUCK JOHNSON: Antonio, where does your boxing career stand right now? This is Chuck Johnson with USA TODAY. Are you (inaudible)...
ANTONIO TARVER: Hey, Chuck. I’m glad to say that we’re back in the gym. I’m reunited with my old trainer, Jimmy Williams, in Tampa, Florida, and along with Buddy McGirt. I feel that I have the best of both worlds. Right now I’m at a different mindset as far as dedication and commitment to the sport that has given me so much. You know, I owe boxing, and for the next three years I’m going to give back. And I’m going to give back, meaning I’m going to give of myself like I never have before. It tell my trainer, Jimmy, and Buddy now, that this is the last time that I’ll ever have to get in shape, because I plan on staying in shape. And I plan on, you know, proving to myself just how great a boxer I can be.
CHUCK JOHNSON: So what do you see coming up for you in terms of opponents?
ANTONIO TARVER: Well, you know, we’ve got a couple names that we’re working on. You know, Joe DeGuardia at Star Boxing is putting together a situation where we’re looking to do a comeback fight. And that’s just what it is, a comeback fight, brush off the cobwebs; and we HBO’s support in that. And then, you know, it’s whoever. I’m looking to take over the world and show the people that I am the best light heavyweight. If there’s Joe Kalzacki (sp?) out there, Jermain Taylor out there... If there’s Bernard Hopkins, possibly, in a rematch... I mean those are the fights that interest me and any other guys that think they’re going to...can come up, move up and face me. Because right now, even though I lost to Bernard Hopkins, I think that with the work that I’ve done in ‘Rocky Balboa’, I mean it’s going to solidify me as a bona fide crossover star, and we’re going to utilize that in my boxing...in my boxing career.
CHUCK JOHNSON: That was... That was some of the conjecture, Antonio, that your involvement in the movie might have affected your performance against Hopkins. Having had time to look back at it, do you think that played a part at all?
ANTONIO TARVER: I mean I’m not the one to make excuses, but if I had it all over to do again, I would have had a comeback fight, at least a tune-up. I mean, because you know, no one can take that long off from one major fight, Roy Jones, the trilogy, Hollywood, and then right back into the fire with Hopkins. You know, I just wish I would have had an in-between fight in order to get used to the weight coming back down and then just get sharper. I just think that I, you know, I didn’t have enough time to properly prepare. But I take my hat off to Hopkins. He did what he had to do to win the fight.
ROY BRUNNER: Antonio, Roy Brunner, CBS SportsLine. How are you doing?
ANTONIO TARVER: I’m doing great. How are you doing?
ROY BRUNNER: Good, man. How difficult was Sylvester Stallone to work with in the ring?
ANTONIO TARVER: It wasn’t difficult at all. I mean we prepared... We practiced, actually, the fight scene, choreographing it, about a month and a...maybe a month and a week every day, hours upon hours. So, you know, we knew that this would be the meat of the movie. He wanted, really, to shock the people with the reality of it all and the realism. And I think we captured that. When you look back at all the other ‘Rocky’ movies, it was never this real in the action, as far as the boxing scenes; or any movie, for that matter. And I think anybody who is looking to do a boxing film in the future are going to have their work cut out trying to emulate what we did. I mean so that’s what Rocky... That’s what Sylvester Stallone wanted, and I think we delivered.
MIKE HERSLEY: Antonio, this is Mike Hersley with the Chicago Tribune.
ANTONIO TARVER: Hey, Mike.
MIKE HERSLEY: How are you doing?
ANTONIO TARVER: Good.
MIKE HERSLEY: Are the ages of the characters Rocky and Mason in the movie the approximate ages of you and Sly? And how realistic do you think it would be for two fighters of those disparate ages to fight each other?
ANTONIO TARVER: I don’t think it would be fair in real life. I mean that’s the difference between, you know, the movies and real life. I don’t think a 60-year-old guy, even though Sylvester Stallone is not your ordinary 60-year-old guy; I don’t think a 60-year-old guy will be... You know, thank God we have commissions and stuff like that to regulate, you know, someone’s age or... But you know, I don’t just think a guy 60 years old would have the reflexes, the speed, the power to compete with a guy that’s 30 years his senior...I mean 30 years younger than him. I just don’t think... I think it would be a major disadvantage, and who would want to put someone through that? But, you know, Rocky Balboa is another character altogether, and Sylvester Stallone plays him like none other. He came in shape. You look at his body, you look at his energy level, you look at his conditioning. I mean I’d bet my money on him against any 60-year-old guy today.
MIKE HERSLEY: So it’s not like Foreman and Moore. They’re a little bit closer in age.
ANTONIO TARVER: Well, yeah. Forty-three, 42, 43; you’re still young in a lot of ways. You know what I mean? And, you know, George Foreman was just one of a kind. I mean he really just did something and no one ever thought he would be able to do, but that just goes to show you that that, too, was also a ‘Rocky’-type of realism come to life. Because we all live that ‘Rocky’ story, that underdog story when people don’t believe in you, when you do things that people don’t expect you to do and when you pick yourself up even in defeat. So, I’ve had to live that in my career several times, and that’s what George Foreman simulates, the things that people don’t give him credit for, the things that he believed in himself that he was able to do and that’s recapture the heavyweight title after 20 years or so being champion.
MIKE HERSLEY: Thank you. You talked about the choreography of the fight scene. How much did you actually train with Sylvester Stallone in the ring?
ANTONIO TARVER: We trained quite a bit. I mean, you know, it’s just amazing that this guy believed in this fight scene so much to the point that he was begging me to really hit him while we were shooting in Vegas. And that kind of, you know, took me by surprise. I know he wanted realism, but I didn’t know we were going to do it to that extent. I mean he really wanted these punches to look as if I put my whole force behind them and that he took the whole impact of those punches. That’s just the great actor that he is, and that’s what he wanted to bring to the big screen. I think that we have a great product here, and the movie, the storyline, and I can’t praise this movie enough.
TONY FARINELLA: Sir, why do you think boxing is such a popular thing for movies? I mean it seems like out of all the sports (inaudible), boxing is seen the most in movies. Why do you think that is?
ANTONIO TARVER: You know what? I would love to say that there’s a crossover interest in boxing, but I mean when you look at the pay-per-view numbers that some of the biggest boxing stars have done as of lately, only Oscar DeLa Hoya seemed to like...to be benefiting from the all these...the popularity of boxing. You know, guys like myself, Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones, Winkie Wright and Floyd Mayweather... I mean it seems like we can’t crack the 300, 350, close to 400 number when it comes to pay-per-view buys. But when DeLe Hoya fights, he fights 800, 900, a million pay-per-view buys. I just don’t understand the disparity in all of that. You know, and so it’s confusing to me. Are they registering all the pay-per-view buys? I mean some times I question it.
RITA FIGUEROA: Do you think the closing of some of the gyms, the older gyms now like Windy City Gym and the Kronk is going to affect boxing in the future with fewer places for some of the inner-city kids to go?
ANTONIO TARVER: I mean I’m pretty sure that locally it’s going to affect it. But in every city, you know, I think every major city, there’s an opportunity for youngsters to get involved. I would like to see the YMCA and the things like the local Boys and Girls Club get involved in boxing and really give the kids an outlet. I know they do a whole lot for the inner-city youth, but I think the boxing program is something that we should all get behind and support, because it gives a kid from the inner city an opportunity to work himself, you know, out of the ghetto and put himself on a different level. And, you know, without boxing I don’t know where I would be. I have everything to credit and give boxing for, for just my travels in life. And right now, even, I think when you look at Sly choosing me over everybody else, I think he had to be somewhat in awe of the things that he witnessed from myself during press conferences, during various interviews; and who would ever forget the word I said to Roy Jones, Jr. before we fought in Vegas, “Do you have any excuses tonight, Roy?” before I knocked him out in the second round. I mean those are the things that really set me apart from just your average boxer. I mean I have the courage. I have the courage to step out on faith and then put my money where my mouth is. I mean what would have happened if I would have got knocked out? I would have never probably been heard of again. You know, but things happen like that. I trust that, you know, God is working miracles in my life, and today I’m blessed. And I give him all the credit.
CHRIS JANEK: Hi, Antonio. This is Chris Janek of the Sports Interview Publication, and we had a chance to talk on Monday for 15 minutes. I just wanted to let you know that I sent the article over to the email at your website, and thanks again.
ANTONIO TARVER: Beautiful. Thank you, sir.
MALE SPEAKER: (inaudible)
TANIA GANGULI: What was your favorite part of doing the movie?
ANTONIO TARVER: Just doing it itself. I enjoyed every day. I mean it put me in a different arena. Even though we were in a boxing gym, I knew I had a great responsibility on my shoulders. You know, to have Sylvester Stallone call you and tell you that he wrote this script with you in mind, I mean that’s pressure. You know what I mean? And I really didn’t know going into this thing how it would come out, but man, when I see the clips, when I see the trailers, and I’m like—wow, is that really me up there? I mean it just gives you chill bumps, and I’m just thankful and forever grateful for this great opportunity that he gave me.
TONY FARINELLA: Who would win the real fight, you or Sly?
ANTONIO TARVER: Say that again?
TONY FARINELLA: Who would win the real fight, you or Sly?
ANTONIO TARVER: Come on, man. You know I would win that fight. I mean I wouldn’t let him grab me; I wouldn’t want to meet him in a back alley. But in a boxing ring I think I have too many advantages right now.
DANNY SERRATELLI: Antonio. Danny Serratelli, Doghouse Boxing.
ANTONIO TARVER: Hey, Danny, how are you doing?
DANNY SERRATELLI: Sly said that you busted your knuckle in training. Was that during sparring or...
ANTONIO TARVER: Oh, you know what? It was actually during rehearsal. I mean I caught him one time on the top of the head, and man—I had to go to the doctor and everything. It was just a...I think a ligament, a bruised ligament. But it was so painful. But we still, you know, we had to work through that. I took a couple days off from contact, but I resumed in a couple days after that.
DANNY SERRATELLI: Thanks, Antonio.
ANTONIO TARVER: Okay.
DANNY SERRATELLI: Take care now.
ANTONIO TARVER: Yup.
TONY FARINELLA: Out of all the ‘Rocky’ films, which film was your favorite? The first one, second, third, fourth or fifth?
ANTONIO TARVER: I liked the first one. I mean Apollo Creed was my god, man. I mean whoever... Who could ever forget, you know, James Brown... You know, living in America, the red, white and blue. I mean Apollo resembles... I resemble him a lot when you look at the things that I’m used to doing in my own professional career, the antics, the confidence, and just spewing that all over everywhere. I mean I like Apollo as one of the favorite characters.
TANIA GANGULI: How old were you when you saw the first ‘Rocky’?
ANTONIO TARVER: I’d have to be about eight or nine years old and remember, you know, immediately going out and drinking raw eggs and doing one-arm push-ups. I mean little did I know I could have died from those raw eggs.
TONY FARINELLA: I have to say, man, I was so impressed watching you on screen. You seemed really natural out there, and I think you could be the next Denzel Washington.
ANTONIO TARVER: Oh, man. I mean if I could just walk one step in his shoes, I mean that would be great, man. But no, I’m not there yet. I know I’ve got a lot of polishing to do. But, I mean for the first time out, I think I did a pretty good job. I’m proud of my accomplishment, and like I said, most of all just proud that Sylvester Stallone believed enough in me to give me this chance.
MIKE HERSLEY: Antonio, which fight do you want the most after you get a tune-up and you come back and get back in action?
ANTONIO TARVER: Well you know I’m not going to say I want any fight the most. I know what fight would be more meaningful to the fans and to the public, and I think as long as Bernard Hopkins, you know, has a win over me... I’m going to build my name back up and to the point where, you know, he’s going to have to fight if he wants to continue to be in boxing, because this is going to be the mega fight for him. You know, we all both are businessmen. He knows what this fight means. I mean especially coming off the cuff of ‘Rocky Balboa’. Don’t let Hopkins fool you. He’s a smart guy. And if you’re telling me all the (inaudible) is going to be more popular than the Magic Man at the December 20th, then I mean you’re kidding yourself.
ROY BRUNNER: With that thought, would you be interested in challenging any other guys for the heavyweight title like somebody like (inaudible)?
ANTONIO TARVER: Well, I don’t know. I’m not a bona fide heavyweight. You know, it would have to be good circumstances for me to go up there and try to take on those giants. Those are big guys. I mean I know I can punch, but you know, hitting those guys... They’ve felt power punches before. They’ve been hit by guys like Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. I mean I’m not going to kid myself thinking that I can go up there and put a dent in those guys mental, man, but if the right opportunity presents itself, I mean, it’s worth a try.
MALE SPEAKER: (inaudible)
MALE SPEAKER: We might be finished.
ERIN: Hello?
MALE SPEAKER: Hello?
ERIN: Hi. Is everybody still here or... Are we wrapping up? Oh, okay. We have about...enough time for about one or two more questions.
TONY FARINELLA: All right. I have a final question.
ERIN: Okay. Hold on a second. I’m going to hand him back the phone, okay?
TONY FARINELLA: Sure.
ANTONIO TARVER: Hello?
TONY FARINELLA: How hard is it being inside the ring inside, say, a movie where you don’t really have the real crowd behind you... How hard is it... It seemed more, say, artificial than the real boxing. How do you kind of stay in that moment and not, like, you know you have to do so many take after take... How do you stay in that moment?
ANTONIO TARVER: Well, you know, you just have to pick up where you left off at. I mean... And that’s the good part of acting. You’ve got to turn it on; you’ve got to turn it off. You know, I would sum it up like that. And you’ve just got to recapture where you left off at. And everything is about big moments in movies. There’s a time to tone it down, and there’s a time to really put it on...pour it on. So, the fight scene was basically... We had fun. I mean we worked so hard in preparation, and we knew that we could get in here and nail it. It was just like a, you know, a figure skater trying to land a triple axle. When you know you land it, you land it, and that gave us a great feeling; and we both just rejoiced afterwards, because we knew we did our job. And I never would have thought in a million years it would look so good coming...you know coming over the big screen. But man, it looks like we have a hit on our hands right here.
TANIA GANGULI: Was this your first time doing any kind of acting?
ANTONIO TARVER: Any kind. It’s the first time out. And, you know, that’s what I’m mostly proud of, that I was able to get in there and do what was expected of me. You know it was a lot of pressure, because you don’t want to let Sylvester Stallone down, but you know, I think I...I surpassed expectations. You know when I look at how this film was shot, I look at the parts that I had to play; I think I surprised a lot of people.
MALE SPEAKER: Any more questions?
MALE SPEAKER: I’m good. Thanks, Antonio.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Thank you.
MALE SPEAKER: Appreciate it.
ANTONIO TARVER: Bye-bye. I appreciate it.
MALE SPEAKER: Thank you. Good bye.
