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.