Antonio Tarver Arrest and Charge: Boxer Booked for Felony Theft in Florida
At one time, Antonio Tarver was on top of the world. A few days ago, however, he fell from grace, and he fell hard -- the former world champion boxer has been arrested in Florida, on a felony theft and bad check warrant stemming from an incident in Las Vegas, Nevada last year.
According to Fox News, the Wynne Casino & Resort issued loans to him in the amount of $200,000, and he has failed to pay them back. In addition, Tarver -- who lives with his wife and family in the Tampa Bay, Florida area -- was hit with "bad check" charges because, in the state of Nevada, unpaid loans from casinos are treated as "bad checks." Many of the cases are resolved before trial, because Nevada accepts the bail payment as re-payment of the loan.
Needless to say, Tarver was being held on a bail of over $215,000. It's not clear whether Tarver had an attorney, nor is it clear whether the bail had been paid at the time of this writing.
And, according to TMZ, this isn't the first time that such a crime has been levied against a celebrity: "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis was hit with the same charges when he failed to pay back a casino a loan in the amount of $2 million.
Antonio Deon Tarver, nicknamed the "Magic Man", is an American professional boxer and the former WBC, WBA, IBF, and The Ring light heavyweight champion. Tarver built an impressive amateur career, including winning a bronze medal while representing the United States at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, eventually losing to Vassiliy Jirov, who he'd previously defeated in a match at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships.
He also captured the gold medal at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Berlin, just two months after having triumphed by also winning gold at the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata. Tarver became the first -- and to this day, only -- fighter to have won the Pan Am Games, National Championships and World Championships all in the same year.