We are thrilled about the fact that in the first couple of hours we have sold over 5,000 tickets. The excitement in Tampa is unbelievable. The appeal of Tarver and Jones can be seen right now outside the building where fans are waiting in line to buy tickets. It shows the anticipation among fans to be part of history and this great trilogy.

Tampa is not a hillbilly city. They know who Roy Jones and Antonio Tarver are. They know the deep lines of hatred these guys have for each other. That is what sells this fight. Sure, I'd love to have them in the same room because you can feel the tension. You can feel it. I'd love for the fans to see it, but if Roy doesn't show up until the week of the fight, or the night of the fight, what everybody will see is their hatred when they are in the ring.

I feel comfortable saying that the fight is on the horizon. I feel comfortable saying the fight is a 'go.' We've agreed to everything.

It's a pleasure to have Andre Ward on the Tarver-Jones 3 card. His accomplishments, including his spectacular gold medal winning performance in the Olympics, have shown that Andre is destined to be a world champ. In as much as Andre is a class gentleman outside the ring as well, I expect that he will be a champ to be proud of, and the HBO PPV fans should tune in early to catch a glimpse of this future star.

Their desire to fight each other outweighed the dollar percentages. That's really what's enabled this fight to take place. They want each other.

[The contract was signed Wednesday and gives each fighter 50% of the revenue. Tarver felt he deserved more, but settled on 50%.] Their desire to fight each other outweighed the dollar percentages, ... That's really what's enabled this fight to take place. They want each other.