Antonio Tarver vs Frank Mir canceled, Triller seeks Tarver replacement
A regulatory hurdle sees Antonio Tarver vs Frank Mir canceled.
The Georgia Athletic & Entertainment Commission was going off of a local bylaw that calls for combat sports athletes to have at least ten fights in the last ten years. Sadly for Tarver, he has only competed five times in the last decade.
ESPN first reported the news of this bout being called off. Antonio Tarver was posting footage of his training preparations on social media not even a full 24 hours ago.
Frank Mir vs Antonio Tarver was set for Triller’s upcoming Jake Paul vs Ben Askren event on April 17th. In lieu of Tarver not being able to compete, former IBF cruiserweight world titlist Steve Cunningham is being targeted as the replacement.
Antonio Tarver vs Frank Mir canceled
Steve Cunningham captured that IBF belt and avenged a loss to Krzysztof Włodarczyk in the process. He would defend his crown against the reputable Marco Huck before dropping the gold to Tomasz Adamek via split decision.
Also, Cunningham is actually the last adversary that Antonio Tarver has fought against. They went to a draw against one another in 2015.
Steve Cunningham also fought current lineal/ WBC heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury. Cunningham fell to The Gypsy King in the seventh round of their April 2013 meeting.
Cunningham has collected multiple championships at heavyweight as well as at cruiserweight over a career that spans over two decades.
Frank Mir last competed under the Bellator banner when he went 2-0 against Roy Nelson in their rematch at Bellator 231.
Since his exit from the promotion, Mir signed with BKFC for the chance to bare-knuckle box. He also began navigating this Triller agreement for gloved boxing too.
While the former multi-time UFC heavyweight champion has shown aptitude with his striking and a capable enough knockout proficiency in his MMA efforts, there are still many question marks with his crossover to the sweet science.
