Heavyweight boxer Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver has reportedly been handed down stiff punishment after testing positive for synthetic testosterone prior to his fight with Steve Cunningham last summer in New Jersey.
Antonio Tarver has been suspended six months and fined $50,000 for testing positive prior to his fight against Steve Cunningham, per source.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) February 11, 2016
Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports also reports Tarver will get credit for time already served but that his suspension will not be lifted until the $50,000 fine is paid.
This could be a problem for the fighter, who is also in some hot water stemming from unpaid child support money in Florida. In late January, a judge found him to be in “willful contempt” of his child support order (h/t wfla.com).
He owes some $750,000 in that case and was ordered to hand over the keys to his 2010 ML350 Mercedes at the hearing. However, it’s not going to make much of a dent in the overall amount owed, as detailed by wfla.com’s Mark Douglas:
“The Mercedes — which Tarver values at around $19,000 — won’t even come close to covering his child support debt for a teenage daughter that now hovers around $750,000. The magistrate also ordered Tarver to hand over his championship Title belts and the Bronze Medal he won boxing in the 1996 Olympics so his ex-girlfriend Toni Rolle can cash in the mementos in lieu of child support.”
Needless to say, it seems like it might be a while until Tarver will be able to pay any of this back, especially in light of his ban, which also has that stiff $50,000 stipulation.
It’s important to remember that this isn’t the first time Tarver has tested positive for a banned substance. He tested positive for the anabolic steroid drostanolone before his 2012 fight with Lateef Kayode, earning a one-year ban in that instance.