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Antonio Tarver

Antonio Leon Tarver (born November 21, 1968), nicknamed the "Magic Man", is a professional boxer from Orlando, Florida, who is the former undisputed Light heavyweight champion of the world. He was the first man ever to knock out Roy Jones Jr. He built an impressive amateur career, which included winning a bronze medal while representing the United States at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. He captured the world title at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Berlin, just two months after having triumphed at the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata. In 2006, Tarver starred as Mason "The Line" Dixon, the opponent of Rocky Balboa in the sixth installment of the Rocky film series.

Tarver made his professional debut at the age of 28 on February 18, 1997, with a second round knockout victory over Joaquin Garcia at the legendary "Blue Horizon" in Philadelphia. Tarver won his first ten fights, eight of which came by knockout, before stepping up on his level of competition. After taking most of his first ten fights in either his native Florida or at the "Blue Horizon," for his eleventh fight he met veteran Rocky Gannon in Chester, West Virginia on August 30, 1998. Tarver knocked Gannon out in the second round. On February 29, 2000, he fought Ernest Mateen, who had previously fought and lost to James Toney, over whom he proceeded to score a first round knock out victory in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Later that year, Tarver suffered his first career loss when he was knocked down in the eleventh round by Eric Harding, en route to a unanimous decision loss on June 23 in Biloxi, Mississippi. However, he rebounded from this defeat by racking up four straight wins, including a knockout of Harding in round five of their rematch. On April 26, 2003, Tarver received his first world title shot, when he faced former world champion Montell Griffin for the IBF and WBC world Light-Heavyweight titles that had been vacated by Roy Jones Jr., who had gone on to beat John Ruiz for the WBA world Heavyweight title the previous month. After dropping Griffin in both of the first two rounds, Tarver was crowned world Light-Heavyweight champion after winning a unanimous decision.

On October 28, 2005, he was confirmed for the role of fictional boxer Mason 'The Line' Dixon in the upcoming film, Rocky Balboa (formerly called Rocky VI).