Former light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver will not, in fact, face former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir on Triller’s April 17th Jake Paul-Ben Askren card. ESPN reports that the “Magic Man” is ineligible to compete under Georgia’s laws, which mandate that “anyone 50 years or older must have participated in at least 10 pro fights in the immediately preceding 10 years, ‘including at least four professional matches or contests of boxing in the immediately preceding four years.’”
The 52-year-old Tarver (31-6-1, 22 KO) hasn’t fought at all since 2015, immediately knocking him out of contention. As a result, Mir now intends to face 44-year-old former cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham (29-9-1, 13 KO) “pending medicals being submitted.”
Cunningham last fought in 2017, losing a wide decision to Andrew Tabiti on the Mayweather-McGregor undercard. He won his first world title a decade prior with a majority decision over Krzysztof Wlodarczyk and subsequently defended it with a stoppage of Marco Huck; though he narrowly lost it to Tomasz Adamek soon after, he reclaimed it in 2010 by stopping Troy Ross. He would go on to have mixed success at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, including a 2015 draw with Tarver, before the Tabiti loss seemingly marked the end of a 17-year career.
The rest of the card includes Regis Prograis vs Ivan Redkach, Joe Fournier vs Reykon, and a number of musical performances.