CARSON, California: Antonio Tarver rallied in the late rounds to earn a draw with unbeaten cruiserweight Lateef Kayode on Saturday night, and Winky Wright lost a unanimous decision to unbeaten middleweight Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin.
Austin Trout also defended his WBA super welterweight title at the Home Depot Center complex south of Los Angeles with an uneventful unanimous decision over Delvin Rodriguez. Local bantamweight Leo Santa Cruz won the vacant IBF title with a one-sided decision over South Africa’s Vusi Malinga.
The 43-year-old Tarver (29-6-1) got off to a slow start against the powerful Kayode (18-0-1), but rallied in the second half of the bout. Tarver and Kayode each won 115-113 on one judge’s scorecard, and the third was 114-114.
The 40-year-old Wright was soundly outpointed in his first fight in nearly three years.
Tarver likely didn’t move much closer to his goal of landing a heavyweight title fight against a Klitschko brother, but the veteran champion avoided his first defeat since May 2009 with a solid second-half rally. Kayode dominated the early rounds, keeping Tarver constantly in a defensive retreat, but Tarver broke through in the sixth round and finished strong.
Tarver fights to draw with Kayode
