Boxing

 

The Reemergence of David Tua

Paul Barker

10.12 - Is there a place in the heavyweight pantheon for a guy about 5'9", with no discernible boxing technique, and sledgehammer power in both his fists? You're damn right there is! I'm guessing that many fans of the Tuaman jumped ship after his disgraceful losses to Lewis and Byrd, only to clamber back aboard after his spectacular KO victories over Fres Oquendo and Michael Moorer. Entirely understandable; I was close to writing him off myself, until a thought occurred to me.

This impenetrable tank of a fighter has never been knocked DOWN, let alone knocked out.

Skillful boxers can make Tua look foolish, but they cannot seem to hurt him. And it's not as if Tua hasn't been in against some bangers - Maskaev, Rahman, Ibeabuchi, and Lennox Lewis all tried their damndest to drop him but could not. What's up with that? Does the guy have a titanium chin?

A great chin does not necessarily make a great fighter, and Tua knows it. He's been working diligently to eradicate, in systematic fashion, the myriad of "shortcomings" caused by his lack of height and reach. If his recent blowout of Michael Moorer is any indication, the wise words of longtime manager Kevin Barry (throw more right hands!!) have finally fallen on receptive ears. Now if only he can find his way inside the pole-like jabs of boxers like Lennox Lewis…

Tua is scheduled to meet Hasim Rahman early in 2003, and the fight may be a good indication of just how far "The Terminator" has progressed. Rahman is a good boxer with a decent jab, and was actually very much in control of their 1998 bout until Tua unintentionally cold cocked him between rounds. "The Rock" never fully recovered from the belated blow, and Tua, sensing blood, quickly moved in for the kill. It's my opinion that Tua will fare better in the rematch, as he knows something of Rahman's style now, and the latter has a suspect chin, to say the least. (It seems that every powerful boxer Hasim Rahman has faced - Maskaev, Lewis, Tua, Holyfield - has either knocked him out or beaten him to a pulp.)

What astonishes me about Tua is his age. It's hard to believe that this grizzled veteran of the ring is barely thirty years old! His best years may still be ahead of him. I certainly don't expect this clean-living, levelheaded dude to burn out the way Tyson did (though pure punchers do as a rule seem to have a shorter shelf-life their lighter hitting, more technically adept counterparts.)

I believe his future is very much "up in the air." With all due respect to trainer Kevin Barry, I don't think he is doing Tua any favors by matching him up with the likes of Russ Chasteen. Did Chasteen-Tua qualify as even a tune-up fight, I wonder? The logic behind such a mismatch escapes me. I'm not saying that Tua should take as big a leap as Jameel McCline did recently, but surely there are more worthy competitors around. He's still young enough and successful enough to take a few risks.

Yeah, eventually I would love to see him face the Klitschkos. Can anyone imagine what such a fight would be like? In either scenario (Wlad or Vitali), Tuaman would be facing an opponent almost a foot taller than himself, with firepower damn near the equal of his own. Would Wladimir toy with him the way Lennox did, or would the new-and-improved Tua maneuver his way inside the Ukrainian's jab and proceed to mow him down with pulverizing body punches? Would the monstrous Vitali Klitschko be too slow to evade Tua, or would he go down in history as the first boxer to ever knock him out?

How do I envision a contest between Tua and any of the current crop of super-heavyweights? All I can offer is this lame analogy:

In the late Cretaceous period, there was a dinosaur known as Ankylosaurus. This creature was virtually encased in a kind of bony armor. While not nearly as big and mobile as Tyrannosaurus Rex, it was all but immune from the latter's attack, and could even inflict grievous injuries upon the Rex with its club of a tail. Only the most powerful and most intelligent Rexes would have had a shot at killing the Ankylosaurus.

In other words, dear reader - your guess is as good as mine!

0 comments
 


Bookmark and Share

 

If you detect any issues with the legality of this site, problems are always unintentional and will be corrected with notification.
The views and opinions of all writers expressed on eastsideboxing.com do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Management.
Copyright © 2001- 2015 East Side Boxing.com - Privacy Policy