By James Slater – Samoan slugger David Tua, still in the hunt for a second world heavyweight title shot at age 38, is scheduled to be back in action in Manukau, New Zealand on March 19th – so reports website Stuff.co.nz. Tua will face 25-year-old Flint, Michigan journeyman Demetrice King, in a bout that will be promoted under the tagline “Tua’s Backyard Brawl.”
Tua, 50-4-2(37) was last seen struggling to an exciting 12-round draw with a rejuvenated Monte “Two Gunz” Barrett, and he has recovered from the shoulder surgery he had shortly after the much tougher-then-expected July battle. With a rematch against the New York veteran on the cards, Tua can afford no slip ups against King..
King, who goes by the nickname of “Only By KO,” has a distinctively average-looking 15-19(13) pro record, but he is tough (stopped just twice) and he has been in with just about every top-name heavyweight contender you could come up with. Okay, King lost to the likes of Shannon Briggs, Jason Estrada, Chazz Witherspoon, Kevin Johnson, Michael Grant, Fres Oquendo and, most recently, Tor Hamer – but he gave all of them a hard night’s work.
Even flooring Briggs before being taken out in the 2nd-round of a wild affair, King showed he can be dangerous. At just 25-years-of age, King has crammed a lot of fights into his seven-year pro career. At one time, King took ten fights inside a 12 month period! And King showed how he can be dangerous at a certain level back in August of last year, when he stopped unbeaten Tongan hope Bowie Tupou inside a couple of rounds.
No-one is suggesting the 6’2,” approx 270-pound King will upset Tua, far from it. But for the final fight in Tua’s TV deal with the Maori network, and for his first fight back after enduring painful shoulder surgery, King isn’t a bad opponent for Tua.
Tua may not have looked great against Barrett in July, but he has not lost a fight since way back in 2001 (the decision loss to Chris Byrd) and he has retained ambitions of having one last run at the world title. It’s highly unlikely King will derail Tua’s plans. The fight could be wild and exciting while it lasts, though, and due to King’s youth and durability the fight might actually go quite a way.
Tua could do with an impressive KO win, so as to restore faith in the fans who saw him struggle against Barrett, but will he get one? King, who has absolutely nothing to lose by taking this fight, is sure to come out swinging. Can Tua’s bombs take him out in style?
Briggs and Oquendo are the only two guys to have halted King. I think Tua will add his name to the short list come March.