(Photo credit: Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment) By Jim Dower: Former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver (31-6, 22 KOs) weighed in on Thursday for his fight at heavyweight this Friday night against former IBF cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham (28-7, 13 KOs) in their fight on Premier Boxing Champions on Spike TV at the Prudential Center, in Newark, New Jersey. Tarver weighed in at a soft-looking 217lbs. For his part, Cunningham was a trim 204lbs, and looked more like a cruiserweight than a heavyweight.
Tarver, ##9 WBA, is hoping to get in line for a world title shot against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2016. Cunningham, #6 IBF, is ranked a little higher than Tarver, but both of these guys are going to need to count on the 39-year-old Wladimir picking them out in a voluntary defense if they want to get a world title shot next year. Neither of them is going to get pushed up to the No.1 rankings by the IBF or WBA based on what they do in this fight on Friday night.