Boxing: The weighting is over

One of the keys to the much-awaited return to the ring of David Tua will be the weigh-in this week. It is there that fight fans will see just how serious Tua has been in his preparation. His weight in his last fight, against Hasim Rahman and in his challenge to Lennox Lewis two years prior to that, was around 250lb (113kg) and has caused both debate and dismay in boxing circles.

Tua has been coy about his weight - hardly a surprise given the first pictures published of him in regards to his return showed him palpably overweight. Some reports put him at over 300lb or 135kg. Since then, there is no doubt Tua has been working hard and that he is fitter - much fitter.

Some unconfirmed - and slightly hysterical - reports claim that Tua has lost 85lb (39kg). While 39lb (17kg) may be more likely, there can be no doubt that Tua has shed the schmaltz. The scales will tell the real story.

But he looks fit and relaxed. Tua, to me, was a far better fighter when weighing less than 240lb (109kg) - he has quicker hands and is far more mobile. Above that, he can look ponderous.

I put this to him. He doesn't disagree. He explains that when his training environment is wrong, and when he is unhappy about matters, his training regime suffers.

And now? "I'm happy, very happy. And when everything around you is going well, you can train well. I have the focus and discipline to concentrate on what I'm doing. Being out of the ring for two years has meant I put on weight but I've taken a lot off and I want to get in better shape each time I fight."

Some put his weight back around 113kg about a month ago but he has been training solidly and dieting since then.

The Auckland heavyweight contender is happy because he's put the past (being the past of legal wrangling) into the history basket. He's edgy because he's keen to get back into action, frustrated that he's been away from the fight game for two years because of those legal wrangles and not quite certain of his form after this long lay-off.

"But I feel young again, man. I'm raring to go."

He fights American journeyman Talmadge Griffis in Auckland on Thursday night. Anything less than an impressive win will be a big disappointment - for Tua himself and the boxing public worldwide who have put up reluctantly with the confusion and blandness (Vitali Klitschko apart) that has been the post-Lennox Lewis heavyweight division. A top-form Tua is badly needed to inject some excitement.

He should be far too powerful for Griffis.

But a dose of realism is needed here. Two years is a long time for a heavyweight to be out of action. Most fighters need to ease their way back with at least one warm-up fight before taking on the top men. Griffis fits the bill perfectly. He's far from terrifying but he's a competent fighter, ahead in both ability and ambition of the hapless Mike Acey - the last American brought to Auckland to fight Tua.

Griffis' record is 22 wins, six losses and three draws, with 14 knockouts. In his last fight he lost a disputed decision to Clifford Etienne, a fighter with a weak jaw but who happens to be the last man to beat current World Boxing Organisation champion Lamont Brewster. Griffis has also beaten the respectable Dale Crowe but has been stopped by Joe Mesi and Cedric Boswell.

No great disgrace there. Mesi was ranked number one contender by the World Boxing Council for a while last year (he's at present sidelined with a suspected brain injury) and has a good knockout record. Boswell is a fringe contender with ability. He simply trapped Griffis on the ropes in the first round and threw punches until the fight was stopped with Griffis still on his feet.

However, neither Mesi nor Boswell hits as hard as Tua. Nor does anyone in the division, come to that. If Tua can shed the ring-rust, he should stop his man.

His next fight will be in the US, against an opponent selected by his promoter, Cedric Kushner. "That's the home of boxing. That's where you've got to go to get to the top. I don't care who Cedric gets for me. I'm happy to fight anybody.

"It's been so frustrating, being out of action these two years. I look at fighters out there, and there's no dominating heavyweight. I see John Ruiz (whom Tua knocked out in 19 seconds several years ago) somehow hanging on to his World Boxing Association title. And I could have had another title shot had I not been out of the ring all this time."

Is it realistic for Tua to be talking about title shots again? It certainly is.

There are four sanctioning bodies, and four 'world' champions. And there's a dearth of viable contenders. A win or two over a contender, or a name fighter, and a title shot will beckon.

The real question is, can he win it? We'll have a better idea after Thursday night but - presuming he's the Tua of old - much will depend on who he challenges.

He'd be favoured to beat (again) WBA champ John Ruiz. He'd also be favoured over WBO champ Lamont Brewster. IBF champion Chris Byrd, who holds a decision over Tua, would cause Tua problems but he's had three tough and close fights against men much bigger than him. He may be 'wearing down', as they say in the fight game.

WBC champion Vitali Klitschko is probably the best of them and the one Tua would be an underdog against. He's even taller than Lennox Lewis, and with the same long left jab that the relatively short Tua always has trouble with.

Tua will probably have his father plus former fighter Alex Sua in his corner Thursday night. In effect he has been, for this fight, without a recognised boxing trainer.

But he'll be signing a trainer up when his campaign moves to the US. Yet, if it were possible, he'd always train at home in Auckland - where his wife and family are, his friends, and his supporters.

"You know, I don't really see this fight as a comeback but a continuation. The dream goes on to win a world title. I only want to be in this game another two or three years. But I want that title. That's what I fight for - that and security."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY