by James Slater – As fight fans know, powerhouse fan favourite David Tua made a return to the ring back in October, as he spectacularly smashed countryman Shane Cameron to defeat inside two impressive rounds. Then, last month, also in New Zealand, the 37-year-old won a wide decision over a pretty negative Friday Ahunanya. Still looked at as one of the purest punchers in the heavyweight division, Tua, 51-3-1(43) showed he has retained much of his skill level and his power after over fifteen years in the pro game. The fans now want to see the Samoan slugger take the next step in this latest comeback.
Well, next up for Tua, according to The New Zealand Herald, will be a June 26th fight in Brazil, against, wait for it – Monte “Two Gunz” Barrett.. Sure to come as something of a disappointment to some fans, it’s true this choice of opponent hardly enthrals. It’s not that Barrett, 34-9(20) is a bad opponent, more that he is a faded force these days. Tua, though, must honour a three-fight deal with Maori television, and the Barrett fight will be the second bout for Tua in this deal. So, good opponent or not, at last “The Tuaman” will be a step closer to being able to get the fights he does want.
“I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for me to be exposed to the world internationally, so a fantastic way to get back into fighting again,” Tua said of the June fight which will take place in Sao Paulo. “[It’s] fantastic to have something to plan towards.”
Tua, matched as he was with “Mountain Warrior” Cameron in the first step in his latest ring return, was able to score a quick KO. With all due respect to New York’s 38-year-old Barrett, I feel Tua will almost certainly score a stoppage in this fight also. Some fans were disappointed when Tua failed to flatten his opponent in March – I think this time, against a Barrett who has now been stopped five times, these same fans will complain that it looked too easy for their hero.
Promoter Cedric Kushner says Barrett is a more than worthy test for his fighter though.
“He’s served his apprenticeship, he’s fought at the highest level,” Kushner said of Barrett. “He’s a solid fighter and a good test for David Tua.”
Is he though? Barrett undeniably WAS a fine fighter, and he certainly has fought at the highest level. But Monte’s recent form hasn’t been too much to write home about, has it? Since temporarily resurrecting his career with a high profile, 1st-round annihilation of the massive Tye Fields, Barrett has lost three fights on the spin – two of them by stoppage. David Haye stopped him in the 5th-round of a good fight in November of 2008, then Cuban big guy Odlanier Solis took “Two Gunz” out inside a couple of rounds in October of last year. And, most recently, the veteran was out-pointed over twelve competitive rounds by Alexander Ustinov back in December.
Barrett may feel this fight with Tua will give him one last chance at hauling himself into the upper echelons of his weight class, but it really would be some upset if he were to derail Tua. Instead, if this fight does indeed go ahead (The New Zealand herald reports that the fight has not been confirmed as 100-percet yet, although no other opponent has been named as an alternative), I see Tua winning inside three-rounds.