Boxing: Tua corner sets sights higher

David Tua and Shane Cameron at Mystery Creek. Photo / Michael Craig

David Tua's next fight - to be held overseas in January - will likely be against an opponent of greater stature and credibility than either Kali Meehan or Friday Ahunanya, according to Tua's promoter, Cedric Kushner.

Speaking from his New York office, Kushner was at pains to point out he was not being disrepectful to either fighter - but it was clear he is aiming Tua's next fight a little higher to keep up Tua's comeback momentum and gain more credibility, especially in the US.

Kushner has four potential locations (Hawaii, Sao Paulo in Brazil, New York and Berlin) but no opponent yet.

That's because he is trying to arrange an international broadcast deal which he hopes will help subsidise a Tua fight in New Zealand early next year.

A more heavyweight opponent - and we are not talking solely weight - would increase the likelihood of such a deal although, as always with boxing, the conditional tense should be used.

"I would hate it to be thought that I was being disrespectful to fighters like Meehan and Ahunanya, as I always repect those men who step up those three stairs into the ring," Kushner said from New York. "But sometimes people are not required because there are more strategic moves to be made."

Meehan was the No 1 challenger on the WBA listing behind giant 7 foot 2 inch (2.18m) champion Nikolay Valuev but was downgraded recently to No 4. He and Ahunanya have been calling Tua out recently.

The New Zealand-born, Australian-based Meehan was well beaten by former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman in 2004 and Rahman was well beaten by the man thought by many to be the best in the world, Wladimir Klitschko, last year. That indicates the gulf in quality.

Only his brother Vitali is rated by most as a viable threat to Klitschko.

Ahunanya is a journeyman fighter although undeniably awkward. Kushner, when asked if Tua's next opponent would be more of the ilk of former champions Rahman, Ray Mercer or Evander Holyfield, said: "Yes. I am not going to ask David to fight Humpty-Dumpty.

"David's quest is to win the world heavyweight championship and if someone can enhance that quest and even speed it up, then they become more appealing. We don't want to be held up - we want to keep the momentum going.

"David will fight anyone in the world, the Klitschko brothers and Valuev included."

Perhaps New York and Berlin appeal as the most likely venues. New York has obvious claims with venues like Madison Square Garden - though Tua may need another fight yet before he can fill the Garden and persuade US pay-per-view TV bosses to market the fight as a special charge (HBO and Showtime show good fights with no special charges except for big-name fights).

Germany could be the place.

The Klitschkos and Valuev have fought there regularly and Valuev faces a challenge from UK heavyweight David Haye in Nuremberg on November 7.

All have fought in Berlin, Mannheim and Hamburg and there is an established television market Kushner and Tua may be able to tap into.

Kushner is trying to do a deal that will realise enough revenue so Tua can fight in New Zealand after his overseas bout.

"I did say David would fight in New Zealand next and at the time I believed that would make sense. But after being inundated with calls about David's next fight, I realised - with all due respect to David's fans in New Zealand - there was tremendous interest in other parts of the world, specifically the four places we have mentioned."

Kushner said doing the right deal overseas now could mean Tua fighting in New Zealand by March "at the very latest and hopefully before."

The overseas bout will be televised live by Maori TV whose three-fight broadcasting contract with Tua sees the fighter paid only $50,000 a pop - so there's a difficulty in setting a purse big enough to attract name fighters to a New Zealand bout. That frustrates, for example, Duco Events (the promoter of the Tua-Cameron fight at Mystery Creek) in setting up a similar event here. Duco paid $500,000 to each fighter last time but such a sum is ruled out without a pay-per-view operator in New Zealand.

Maori TV chief executive Jim Mather said Duco had tried to buy out Maori TV's broadcast rights to Tua - but the channel had declined. The figure is not known but is thought to have been well above $50,000, possibly as much as $250,000.

"We are looking at this long term and the advantage to us is not short-term commercial gain but building our audience through our relationship and contractural arrangements with David," Mather said.

He also signalled Maori TV would provide host broadcaster TV pictures free of charge should a fight be held in New Zealand.

Kushner said he was working hard towards a New Zealand event. "There are many different ways to do that and I am working hard to find ways to make it work."