Lateef Kayode's Team Wants Antonio Tarver Next

The trainer and manager of cruiserweight Lateef Kayode both want the Nigerian-born fighter to face Antonio Tarver next, reports Ryan Maquiñana at BoxingScene.com. Trainer Freddie Roach had this to say:

"[Tarver is] a great fighter.  He's proven like many great champions that age isn't always a factor when your heart still believes you've got more to give. But Danny Green isn't Lateef Kayode. That fight was between two vets in the sunset."

Roach also feels that a fight between Tarver and Kayode on American soil could give the cruiserweight division a shot in the arm, and manager Steven Feder basically agrees, saying he hopes that HBO or Showtime would pick up the fight. I have to figure HBO isn't really interested, because there's so little immediate future in the cruiserweight division and Tarver is 42 years old and works for Showtime, but of course I assume Showtime would be interested. They aired Tarver's lousy heavyweight experiment last year, and now that he's legit back in the discussion as a cruiserweight, with something they can call a "world title" (the lightly-regarded IBO belt), I have to think they'd be interested here. Add in the fact that Kayode (17-0, 14 KO) has been featured a few times on ShoBox, and I think you've got a fight Showtime would want.

But it remains to be seen. Cruiserweight is just not a marketable division in the United States and through most of its history has been a European-based division, and almost all of the current top fighters in the division are European, or in the case of Steve Cunningham, promoted by European promoters. Tarver might have to hit the road if he plans on defending this belt for real money, because his recent fights in the States have drawn absolutely dreadful live audiences, and haven't been TV hits either. Kayode really has no name value yet, so he'd be of little help there.

Still, I'm not sure that at 42 years old, Tarver (29-6, 20 KO) really sees Kayode as someone worth fighting. He might want to hunt for bigger money if he can find it, given the fact that he only has so many fights left. Tarver did sound interested in a potential rematch with Green in Australia after the fight, which gives me the impression that he enjoyed traveling abroad to fight, where he can be paid more money and fight in front of bigger crowds.