Boxing: Doubts for Tua, Barrett contest

David Tua. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Uncertainty hangs over David Tua's next fight - the long-awaited rematch against Monte Barrett set for July 9 or 16 - with delay the most likely outcome as his promoter, Cedric Kushner, lies sick in hospital in New York.

Some doubt had visited the bout anyway. Sky TV stepped in as reluctant promoters after Duco's David Higgins (who promoted the successful Tua-Cameron bout of 2009) and another promoter, Dean Lonergan, did not not involved. Since then, there has been little or no movement on the fight publicly.

The re-match with Barrett has been mooted since the controversial draw in their bout in New York in July 2010. But, while it is thought that Barrett signed an agreement to fight Tua some months ago, nothing more has been said.

The Tua camp have been dealing directly with Sky over pay-per-view and promotion rights and rumours have been circulating in boxing circles for some time that this might be a new direction for Tua; where he relies less on promoters and deals direct with partners like Sky.

Kushner's illness - he has had several serious operations on his troublesome back - has added to the difficulty. He has contractual arrangements with both Barrett and Tua and it is not known where those matters stand. Attempts to reach Kushner last week failed.

Robina Tua, Tua's wife and manager, said there could be a delay but added: "This fight will still go ahead. But we obviously can't really confirm anything until we know what is happening." She would not comment on dealings with Kushner or with Sky and did not know whether Barrett had signed a contract for the fight or not.

Sky CEO John Fellett said he did not have a signed agreement with either Tua or his opponent.

"That wouldn't bother me this far out [from a date of July 9 or 16] although I'd have to say you'd need at least six weeks [to promote the fight effectively]. That would take us up until June 3, so I guess if you talked to me at midnight on June 3, I'd be able to know a bit more.

"There is a fight involving Sonny Bill Williams on June 5 and we'd not be doing a lot of promoting [of Tua] before then anyway and then there's a Shane Cameron fight straight after that."

Sky's role, apart from boosting pay-per-view sales, will be to find a venue, a raft of sponsors, organise an undercard, media partners, sell tickets and tables and the myriad of other tasks that fall to promoters.

There must also be a question mark over this fight's financial efficacy. For Duco to turn down promotion of this bout must raise questions about their belief in it as a financial vehicle - and the interest it might spark more than a year after Tua last fought a significant opponent.

It's not known what the Barrett camp make of matters right now. As for Tua, while a move into a more direct relationship with the likes of Sky may make financial sense in theory, it remains to be seen whether it benefits him or not.

Specialist promoters like Kushner have cut their teeth in boxing's complicated and hyperbole-ridden traps and can make things happen; as well as saving their fighters from many diversions allowing them to focus on training and fighting.

Tua's last fight, against Demetrice King, freed him from his Maori TV obligations and theoretically opened the door to bigger-ticket bouts. But the King fight was not particularly compelling and there followed an unseemly squabble between Kushner and 'local promoter' Inga Tuigamala over who had to pay King his fee of US$10,000 - perhaps another weakening of the ties with Kushner.

He is understood to have lost money on the Barrett bout and, with what appears to be a serious illness, his future with Tua could be in question.

Tua's own future may be seen by many to be slipping away if he doesn't gain momentum soon in a significant fight with a credible opponent. A year ago it would have seemed unlikely that Sky would be noting a Sonny Bill or Shane Cameron fight as an obstacle to promoting a Tua clash.