Hundreds greet humbled hero Tua

By SUZANNE MCFADDEN

Four-year-old boys shadow-boxed on the Auckland Airport floor waiting for their hero David Tua to arrive home last night.

It was well beyond their bedtime when the famous Tua haircut suddenly emerged from under a hat at 10 pm.

But with the speed of a left hook he was whisked into a limousine and home to Mangere and a Samoan feast.

Six hundred fans waited two hours for Tua's flight from Los Angeles. They erupted into song when the defeated world heavyweight challenger appeared.

It was an emotional welcome, but not quite what the 27-year-old South Aucklander had dreamed of.

Tua told the crowd: "I thank God that I came out all right. It was a tough fight and I couldn't have done it without your support.

"It was very overwhelming for David Tua but I knew I wasn't in that ring alone."

His manager Kevin Barry said: "Before we left we expected we would be greeted by 25,000 people as we brought two world-title belts home. But David is still humbled by this welcome."

Tua can expect grander things, including a parade through Mangere on Monday.

And the Prime Minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Sailele, has invited him to fly with his family to his other home in the Pacific this weekend.

Barry said a fight was on the cards for Tua with a world top-10 boxer next March but he would not reveal the fighter's identity.

But the only thing on Tua's mind last night was to get home. After playing with children on the plane, including his son Kaynan, the boxer appeared exhausted.

Herald Online feature: the Tua fight