By James Slater – It’s pretty hard to be able to tell from the mixed statement he gave to The Herald on Sunday, but former heavyweight contender David Tua could well be retired from the sport he helped make exciting for well over a decade.
According to a news article on nzherald.co.nz, Tua and his wife have reportedly separated (Robina Siteine-Tua told a publication she and David had split, while Tua himself refuses to speak about the matter for the sake if his two sons), and due to the separation (Mrs. Tua was the fighter’s unofficial manager and this will no longer be the case), “The Tuaman” decided to quit the ring.
“I’m retired. But I’m not officially retired,” Tua told The Herald on Sunday this past weekend.
Tua was then asked about the reported £2 million tax bill his owes the government, and he said that he’d “rather sort out these important matters out of the ring than in the ring.”
Tua is currently training young kids as “Kamp Tuaman” in New Zealand.
So, has the former heavyweight title challenger decided his fighting days are over, or does the “not officially retired” addition to his retirement statement leave the door open for future Tua fights? I’d have thought, that if Tua has so much back tax to pay, his getting as many big fights as he can would be his best method of being able to clear the debt. But Tua has not fought since his August 2011 rematch loss to Monte Barrett. With this new inkling towards retiring all together, it doesn’t appear as though Tua is in a rush to earn as much as he can by fighting.
If this is the end for 39-year-old Tua he goes out with a fine 52-4-2(43) record. Losing only to Ike Ibeabuchi, Lennox Lewis, Chris Byrd and Barrett, Tua was never stopped during his 1992 to 2011 pro career. A monstrous puncher who took out top names like John Ruiz, Oleg Maskaev, Hasim Rahman, Fres Oquendo and Michael Moorer, Tua might even have a shot at getting into The Hall of Fame.
Certainly, Tua did a whole lot for boxing in New Zealand. As things stand now, Tua’s place in boxing history will be as one of the best heavyweights to never have won a world title..