Trio of local boxers set to fight

Posted Sep 29, 2010 by Eddie Daniels

Updated Sep 29, 2010 at 04:23 PM

In roughly a two month span, three of the area’s current or former title holders will step into the ring. Tampa’s Antonio Tarver, Winter Haven’s Andre Berto and St. Petersburg’s Jeff Lacy will each face an opponent in the coming weeks.

Tarver announced he was making his debut in the heavyweight division recently and has put his money where his mouth is as he’s gearing up to face heavyweight Nagy Aguilera (16-4, 11 KOs). That fight will take place Oct. 15 at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, Lacy, the former IBO super middleweight champ, will make his return to the ring Dec. 11 at Janus Landings. The venue, more popularly known for hosting concerts, will transform into a boxing arena, for the first time, according to Lacy. An opponent has not been named.

Berto, the reigning WBC welterweight champion, tweeted on Wednesday he will face Mexico’s Freddy Hernandez (29-1, 20 KOs) Nov. 27 in Las Vegas on HBO.

Tarver (27-6, 19 KOs) and Lacy (25-3, 17 KOs) are each coming off of losses.

The 41-year-old Tarver was defeated in consecutive fights by Chad Dawson. The first unanimous decision loss came Oct. 2008, followed by a May 2009 defeat at the hands of Dawson (29-1, 17 KOs). In that first loss, Tarver relinquished his IBF and IBO light heavyweight belts.

Lacy was stopped in the 10th round by Roy Jones Jr. in August 2009 when his corner stopped the fight between the 10th and 11th rounds. That fight was for Jones’ NABO light heavyweight belt. At the time of the stoppage, each of the three judges had Lacy trailing (99-91, 100-89, 98-92).

Berto (26-0, 20 KOs) is the only fighter of the bunch coming off a successful defense of his title. He knocked out Carlos Quintana (27-3, 21 KOs) in the eighth round of a scheduled 12-round fight in April. Making that victory more impressive is the fact Berto suffered a left bicep tear early in the fight.