Antonio Tarver
Antonio Deon Tarver (born November 21, 1968) is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IBF and '' Ring'' magazine titles, as well as the IBO light heavyweight and cruiserweight titles. As an amateur, Tarver represented the United States at the 1996 Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the light heavyweight division; he eventually lost to Vassiliy Jirov from Kazakhstan, whom he had previously defeated at the 1995 World Championships to win gold. Tarver also triumphed at the 1995 Pan American Games and 1995 U.S. National Championships, winning gold in both. He remains the only boxer in history to have won gold at the Pan Am Games, World Championships and U.S. Nationals all in the same year. Outside of boxing, Tarver starred as Mason "The Line" Dixon, the heavyweight champion in the 2006 film ''Rocky Balboa''. Amateur c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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International Boxing Organization
The International Boxing Organization (IBO) is a US based corporation that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and regional championships. It is an independent organization not recognized by the "big four" governing bodies ( WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO), who only recognize each other in their rankings and title unification rules. Despite this, as of 2023, IBO titles have been unified with titles of the other bodies in several weight divisions. The WBC website highlights the importance of title recognition and the implications of multiple governing bodies in boxing. While the IBO operates independently, its titles being unified with the WBA, IBF, and WBO in certain divisions demonstrates how these organizations work together despite initial rivalries. History The IBO was founded in 1988 and incorporated in Illinois in 1992 by John W. Daddono. The organization was later moved to Florida in 1997 and incorporated in Florida at that time. Ed Levine, who continues ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Light Heavyweight
Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has produced some of boxing's greatest champions: Bernard Hopkins (who, upon becoming champion, broke the record for oldest man to win a world title), Tommy Loughran, Billy Conn, Joey Maxim, Archie Moore, Michael Moorer, Bob Foster (boxer), Bob Foster, Ann Wolfe, Michael Spinks, Dariusz Michalczewski, Roy Jones Jr., Joe Calzaghe, Sergey Kovalev (boxer), Sergey Kovalev and Zsolt Erdei. Many light heavyweight champions unsuccessfully challenged for the heavyweight crown until Michael Spinks became the first reigning light heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight championship. Bob Fitzsimmons captured the light heavyweight championship after losing his heavyweight championship. Two all-time great heavyweight champions, Ezzard Charles and Floyd ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the Kingdom of Greece, and the most recent was held in 2024 Summer Olympics, 2024 in Paris, France. This was the first international multi-sport event of its kind, organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) founded by Pierre de Coubertin. The tradition of awarding medals began in 1904 Summer Olympics, 1904; in each Olympic Games, Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals for second place, and bronze medals for third place. The Winter Olympic Games were created out of the success of the Summer Olympic Games, which are regarded as the largest and most prestigious multi-sport international event in the world. The Summer Olympics have increased in scope from a 42-event competition programme ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rocky Balboa (film)
''Rocky Balboa'' is a 2006 American sports drama film starring, written and directed by Sylvester Stallone in his first film as director since 1985. It is the sequel to '' Rocky V'' (1990) and the sixth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. The film co-stars Burt Young and Antonio Tarver in his only acting role. In the film, Rocky Balboa (Stallone), now an aging small restaurant owner, is challenged to an exhibition fight by hothead young boxer Mason Dixon (Tarver). Development for a sixth ''Rocky'' film began after Stallone expressed regret over the outcome of ''Rocky V'', which was viewed as a disappointing conclusion to the series. ''Rocky Balboa'' includes references to characters and objects from previous installments, and Stallone was inspired by recent personal struggles and triumphs when writing the film. It is Stallone's first directorial effort since '' Rocky IV'' (1985). Principal photography began in December 2005 and lasted until January 2006, with filming l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Organization. In 2020, the World Boxing Council increased their heavyweight classification to 224 pounds (102 kg; 16 st) to allow for their creation of the bridgerweight division. The World Boxing Association (WBA) did the same in 2023. Female boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major boxing organizations: the IBF and the WBC. The WBA and WBO do not have a female heavyweight world title. Historical development Because this division has no upper weight limit, it has historically been vaguely defined. In the 19th century, for example, many List of heavyweight boxing champions, heavyweight champions weighed or less (although others weighed 200 pounds). In 1920, the light heavyweight divi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mason Dixon (Rocky Balboa Character)
Mason Dixon may refer to: * Mason–Dixon line separating Delaware and Pennsylvania from Maryland, surveyed 1763–1767 *'' Mason & Dixon'', the 1997 novel by Thomas Pynchon featuring the surveyors as characters * Mason and Dixon, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Mason-Dixon Trail, hiking trail along the line * Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., an independent polling firm * Mason Dixon (band), a country music band from the 1980s * Mason Dixon (''Rocky Balboa'' character), a fictional character in the ''Rocky'' series * Sailing to Philadelphia, title track drawn from the 1997 novel ''Mason & Dixon'' by Thomas Pynchon See also * * {{disambiguation ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States National Amateur Boxing Championships
The United States National Boxing Championships bestow the title of United States Champion on Olympic boxers for winning the annual national Olympic boxing tournament organized by USA Boxing, which is the national governing body for Olympic boxing and is the United States' member organization of the World Boxing (since 2023; had been a member of the Association Internationale de Boxe (AIBA) until departing because of corruption in the governing body). USA Boxing comprises 56 Local Boxing Committees, which are currently grouped into 14 geographical regions (previously in 1970s and 1980s they were divided into 22 AAU regions represented in the national's, each carrying a team of 11 boxers, with each being a Region tournament winner. ''The Tennessean'', May 4, 1980, p. 78.) These LBCs, along with the coaches, athletes, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to the China–Kazakhstan border, east, Kyrgyzstan to the Kazakhstan–Kyrgyzstan border, southeast, Uzbekistan to the Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border, south, and Turkmenistan to the Kazakhstan–Turkmenistan border, southwest, with a coastline along the Caspian Sea. Its capital is Astana, while the largest city and leading cultural and commercial hub is Almaty. Kazakhstan is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, ninth-largest country by land area and the largest landlocked country. Steppe, Hilly plateaus and plains account for nearly half its vast territory, with Upland and lowland, lowlands composing another third; its southern and eastern frontiers are composed of low mountainous regions. Kazakhstan has a population of 20 mi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vassiliy Jirov
Vassiliy Valeryevich Jirov (; born 4 April 1974), sometimes known as Vasily Zhirov, is a Kazakhstani former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2009, and held the IBF cruiserweight title from 1999 to 2003. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, as well as consecutive bronzes at the 1993 and 1995 World Championships, all in the light heavyweight division. Amateur career Jirov took up boxing in 1986 when he was 12, studying at the Balkhash Technical School. His first coach was Alexander Apachinsky (Merited Trainer of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Master of Sports of the USSR). Jirov later recalled that: From 1989 to 1991, he became the champion of the Kazakh SSR three times in a row. In 1990 he became the champion of the All-Union Spartakiad of Young Students (4 fights, 4 victories, Moscow,) and also won the USSR Youth Championship (4 fights, 4 victories, Donetsk,) received a degree of Master of Sports of the USSR in boxing. In 1991, Jirov, who was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1996 Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. These were the fourth Summer Olympic Games, Summer Olympics to be hosted by the United States, making it the first country to have three different cities host the Summer Olympics. It also marked the 100th anniversary of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, the inaugural edition of the modern Olympic Games. These were also the first Summer Olympics to be held in a different year than the Winter Olympic Games, Winter Olympics since the same time practice commenced in 1924, as part of a new International Olympic Committee, IOC practice implemented in 1994 to hold the Summer and Winter Games in alternating, even-numbered years. The 1996 Games were the first of the two consecutive Summer Olympics to be held in a predomina ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cruiserweight (boxing)
Cruiserweight, also referred to as junior heavyweight, is a weight class (boxing), weight class in professional boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight. Before the advent of the current cruiserweight class, "light heavyweight" and "cruiserweight" were sometimes used interchangeably in the United Kingdom. Professional boxing The current weight limit for the division is . When originally established, the weight limit was . The division was established in order to accommodate smaller heavyweight boxers who could not compete with the growing size of boxers in that division. While many great heavyweight champions (such as Rocky Marciano and Joe Louis) weighed around 190 pounds during their careers, during the 1970s it became fairly standard that fit heavyweight boxers weighed at least . Many boxing authorities felt that asking men weighing between and to fight these larger men was unfair. The North American Boxing Federation (NABF) was the first sanctioning body to recogniz ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Ring (magazine)
''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, ''The Ring'' shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing-oriented publication. ''Ring'' began publishing annual ratings of boxers in 1924. With its November/December 2022 issue, the magazine stopped publication of its regular monthly print issues and will remain a digital publication, offering occasional special interest print issues. History ''The Ring'', founded and published by future International Boxing Hall of Fame member Nat Fleischer, has perpetrated boxing scandals, helped make unknown fighters famous worldwide, and covered boxing's biggest events of all time. Dan Daniel (sportswriter), Dan Daniel was a co-founder and prolific contributor to ''The Ring'' through most of its history. Another founding partner was John L. Dorgan, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |