Boxing: It's time to turn out the lights

By PETER JESSUP

Swinging a machete left-handed to cut the grass outside the family home gave David Tua the knockout punch that has gained him a shot at sport's biggest prize.

That's the family story. He always used his left hand, his mother Noella reckons.

In recent fights, Tua has expanded his repertoire to include a knockout right uppercut.

He has been working on that and other combinations to worry opponents as he develops his skill.

It is hard to believe Tua is mean enough to fight for the world heavyweight title.

At home he is quietly spoken, joking with friends and family as one of the boys, not demanding attention because of who he is.

At shopping mall appearances he is the last to leave, smiling because he's satisfied every kid who wanted an autograph.

He is deeply respectful of family, his elders and ancestors.

But in the ring, a new David Tua has his eyes set on destruction, his brain geared to take his opponent as quickly as possible. A Tua who now regards it as his duty to "get them out of there" once he has hurt someone.

Tua was born Mafaufau Sanarevi Talimatasi on November 21, 1971, in the village of Faleatiu in Western Samoa.

The family says his first name, Mafaufau, comes from his grandfather and means "being considerate."

Talimatasi, on the other hand, is the family clan name, and means "he who strikes with one hand."

The family trademark is the uatogi, a war club (a solid, hand-held striking weapon). Tua believes his warrior ancestors are with him when he fights.

He anglicised his first name and took the first three letters of his father Tuavale's name as a surname after the family migrated to New Zealand and settled, first in Otahuhu then Mangere. But tattooed on his leg is "100% Samoa."

It was his dad who dragged him along to the Otahuhu Community Centre after he had been mixing with the wrong crowd after school at Otahuhu College and was sitting on the edge looking for trouble.

George Cammick trained him and his also-talented older brother, Andrew.

At 16, David won the New Zealand heavyweight title. By the time he was 17, he was in the national squad for the Oceania Games, where he won selection for the Barcelona Olympics. 0He lost the gold-silver qualifier to David Izonrite of Nigeria, but came home with bronze.

His father had told him to win a medal and turn pro and Tua did. With an amateur record of 78 wins (63 by knockout) to seven losses, he was a saleable item and the notorious left hook soon made enough fans in the United States to keep him working and moving on up the long ladder towards the big title.

Tua's first fight was a round one KO of Ron Humes in Norfolk, Virginia. He had 14 fights before anyone took him into the later rounds. His record now is 37 wins, 32 by KO, including the fastest disposal of a heavyweight in fight history, the 19-second knockout of John Ruiz.

And one loss.

In June 1997 Tua fought Nigerian Ike Ibeabuchi in Sacramento, California, in one of the hardest-hitting heavyweight battles ever.

More than 1200 punches were thrown and the fight still holds the punch record.

Ibeabuchi won a disputed and close points decision over 12 rounds after both fighters were still going hard at it in the dying seconds.

Tua's mistake was giving Ibeabuchi an early lead. He started slowly and built up to take the later rounds.

Ibeabuchi went on to distinguish himself by imprisoning a Las Vegas "entertainer" he had called to his room. Police bashed down the door to arrest him. He pleaded insanity and is in the Nevada State Mental Health Institute, due to appear in court again in December.

Tua has had other hard fights. Three times he came from behind on points to score devastating knockouts, against David Izonrite, Oleg Maskaev, and Hasim Rahman.

The 10-round technical knockout of Rahman made him the International Boxing Federation's number one challenger.

Boxing's rules state that title holders must defend against the mandatory challenger within six months.

But by fight day, Tua will have waited nearly two years. Lennonx Lewis opted for other easier fights with bigger paydays than the unknown from Auckland offered.

Tua, meanwhile, has fought boxers well below his ability. Why risk a loss, and loss of the mandatory position?

But it has not helped his credibility. The Ring magazine writer Nigel Collins called Tua's recent opponents an "itinerary of stiffs" and compared "Tua's turkey shoot to Lewis' diet of Holyfield in double portion, Michael Grant and Frans Botha."

But Collins conceded that Tua has a better punch than Holyfield, Andrew Golota, Shannon Briggs, Tommy Morrison - who Lewis beat in title defences - and Oliver McCall, who knocked out Lewis in 1994 to briefly remove his crown.

Earlier, Tua had similarly easy wins over easybeats Cecil Coffee and Michael Acey in Auckland.

But to characterise all Tua's opponents as stumblebums is unfair. And however bad any of them were, they all went down and out in remarkably quick time.

The last three were Canadian champion Shane Sutcliffe (technical knockout, round two), former marine Obed Sullivan (knockout, round one), and cruiserweight champ Robert Daniels (knockout, round three).

John Ruiz, who went 12 rounds with Evander Holyfield for a points loss when challenging for the World Boxing Association title - the one Lewis doesn't have - was knocked out in 19 seconds of round one against Tua.

But what Tua has proved is that he can take a punch, and deliver one as hard in round 12 as he can in round one.

Lewis is known to wane in power, speed and strength as a fight progresses. Tua has not been hurt, cut, sat down or knocked out as a professional. He has never quit.



Tua's trainer, Ronnie Shields, has taken him repeatedly over tapes of his own fights and those of Lewis. Most watched is Lewis' 10-round points decision over Ray Mercer at Madison Square Garden in May, 1996.

Mercer was shorter than Lewis, but could take and land a punch. He shook Lewis but did not have the speed and stamina to press home an early advantage and Lewis came back to win a close points decision.

The Tua camp has been happy to have its fight plan published.

"I'm not going to stand out and let him punch me," Tua said of Lewis' height and reach advantage.

Ronnie Shields: "We're going after him. No jabs, just power punches. We're going for the knockout."

Tua will work Lewis' body because the Briton is known to stand up and back and drop his guard when hit hard in the stomach.

But what he will really be looking for is the opening that will come if he can slip past Lewis' big right. If Tua can land his left hook flush, at any stage of the fight, it will be lights out for Lennox Lewis, just as it has been for 32 others.

Herald Online feature: Tua v Lewis

The Herald Online is ringside for the countdown to David Tua's tilt at the world heavyweight boxing title. Reporter Peter Jessup and photographer Kenny Rodger bring you all the news, inside information and pictures, leading up to this Sunday afternoon's showdown in Las Vegas.

* Be sure to get your full-colour poster of the two fighters in the print edition of the Herald on Friday November 10.