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David Tua - Source: Photosport -
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Comebacks seldom work out in the boxing world but David Tua's new found perspective on life is now as big a weapon as his famous left hook, writes tvnz.co.nz's Chris Matthews.
Everybody knows about David Tua's left-hook and, like a BJ Williams' sidestep or a Lance Cairns' swipe, it deserves its place in New Zealand sporting folklore.
This lethal weapon has landed him 42 knockouts in a career that is ultimately remembered for his much-hyped but failed world title fight against Lenox Lewis at the turn of the century.
Tua was never in that fight. Big hair, false pretences and a huge reach disadvantage all contributed to an inevitable result. Since that fateful night he has been largely inactive.
The Tuaman has only fought seven times since 2003 and in fact - no thanks to his fallout with former manager Kevin Barry - the 37-year-old has not entered the ring once in a little over two years.
This lack of real-time fight fitness along with his sudden weight loss, 20 kilograms plus in little over six months, is reason for concern ahead of Saturday's night so-called 'Fight of the Century' against Shane Cameron.
Fighting History
Whether it be in the pursuit of past glories or bulging purses some of the heavyweight divisions most celebrated names have seen their comebacks hit the canvas.
The great Muhammad Ali, the former three-time heavyweight champion, went one decade too many in 1981 when the 38-year-old failed to emerge for the 11th round of a humiliating mismatch with Larry Holmes. His hand speed and footwork had sadly disintegrated.
Other great heavyweights of the modern era have followed suit. Smokin Joe Frazier's comeback at the age of 37 is best remembered for his slumbering weight as he fought out an embarrassing draw with Floyd "Jumbo" Cummings. The once-lethal Iron Mike Tyson, at 39 years old, had his comeback halted by little known Irishman Kevin McBride in a farcical spectacle.
Will Tua join this inglorious list? It's unlikely. Tyson famously remarked after his seventh round TKO to McBride that he no longer had "the fighting guts or the heart anymore." For Tua, this sentiment couldn't be further from the truth.
"Shane Who?"
Despite Shane Cameron's impressive record (24-23-20-1) he hasn't fought anyone of note and his only defeat came to a journeyman, Nigerian Friday Hunanya, who Tua would have owned in his heyday
His much publicised bleeding above his eyebrow has since been operated on and presumably fixed, but a clean Tua left-hook will do more than draw blood, as Cameron well knows.
The Mountain Warrior's best - and only - chance of winning this fight is to go the distance. He won't knock Tua out, Tua has never been knocked out and popular opinion tells us that he needs to use his marked reach advantage to outpoint the shorter Tua.
This strategy though defies his natural instinct. Much of Cameron's appeal is his belligerent nature and whether he can resist this urge will go a long way to deciding the fight.
Cameron also tells us that Tua is past his prime, or rather that he had his time. But a more mature, rounded Tua - as Cameron will discover come Saturday night - is a far more dangerous proposition.
Tua's trainer Roger Bloodworth sees his protégée's age as an advantage.
"He is more mature now, not physically but mentally. He is sure of what he's wants to do," Bloodworth says.
The Tua of yesteryear with his Don King chop and American twang was not being true to himself. He had forgotten his identity, forgotten his roots. Tua has now shed himself of past memoirs of his inglorious fall from grace, his warehouse in Onehunga no longer has posters of the 'Tuaman' but instead photos of his family.
Indeed his South Auckland hub, just around the corner from DressMart, has been his refuge before the October 3 fight. So focussed, Tua has reportedly spent many a night sleeping in his humble ring, visualising the fight.
"Because I'm happy, I really am happy," Tua says when asked what has made this fight preparation so unique.
"You know there were times in camps in the past when there were too many things when I got into the ring that distracted me but in this fight I believe everywhere is where it needs to be."
Asked why he will win he says "for me this is what I love doing, this is what I'm passionate about and I believe that I blessed with a God-given talent and it's a challenge that I love the most."
"When people doubt me of things that I can't do I love to prove to myself and prove to them that they were wrong."
"I believe that I haven't performed to my very best and you know there is still a lot of juice, a lot of life left in these old legs.
"I believe the next four or five years will be a exciting time in my career."
