Boxing: Tua departs arena with rival's respect

By PETER JESSUP and NZPA

Lennox Lewis told David Tua he would need to bring more than a hairdo and a left hook to lift his world titles before battering him out of the contest yesterday.

Tua brought the hairdo. He could not land the left hook, but he left with his mana intact after enduring more punishment than any man should have to.

He went from the ring carrying Lewis' respect as a boxer able to take the best the world champ could dish out. Never again will Lewis question Tua's stamina, his ability to take, as well as deliver, a punch.

The New Zealand and Samoan supporters in Las Vegas were all still wearing their ulafala necklaces, the mark of Samoan warrior blood, after the fight. No one was ashamed of the effort Tua put up.

Tua could not hurt Lewis.

Lewis hurt Tua plenty, but the challenger never backed away in a courageous display that earned him another shot at the top of the ladder.

Given the 12-round decision to Lewis, albeit a one-sided 355 points to 329, a rematch is not out of the question, and a fight with Evander Holyfield, holder of the WBO belt, is likely.

Holyfield wants another go, his third, at lifting the "undisputed" heavyweight championship, the WBC belt Lewis holds, which is the one recognised by international boxing federations.

He is unlikely to get it unless he beats the best challengers, and Tua remains one of those after the evidence he gave of his ability to cut it at top level.

"After what he showed, he will come back," said Dan Goosen, president of his promotions company America Presents, one of the major boxing events companies worldwide.

Goosen said Lewis had reinjured a Tua rib cartilage that the New Zealander had hurt in training six weeks ago. Tua had worked hard to overcome that and, in doing so, showed he had heart, courage and a mental toughness needed at the top of world sport.

Former champion George Foreman, a commentator for broadcaster Home Box Office, said Tua had proved his worth to the business and would remain in the top four, with the others being Lewis, Holyfield and Mike Tyson.

Goosen added: "He needs to get in the ring with some better fighters. He will have learned a lot from that, he will come back better. He took a lot of punishment. He can do better than that.

"He needs some other ways to find his way inside Lewis' reach and he'll get that. His whole team will have learned from this, and he'll come back stronger, I'm sure."

Meanwhile, a leading New Zealand boxing official also said Tua needed to get into the ring with either Tyson or Holyfield to bounce back from his bad-hair day.

"He needs some more tough bouts to get some confidence back in him - someone like Tyson or Holyfield," said Boxing Association president Keith Walker.

"They'll have to go back to the drawing board, but there's no point going back to weak fighters.

"I think David lacked the big-time bouts Lennox has had. When you look at his record, Lewis has fought some very good boxers and some champions. That experience helped him. David has not been fighting boxers of high ranking."

Walker said Tua would benefit from yesterday's experience.

"The height and reach advantage was just too much for David - it was a big disadvantage. It was a David and Goliath showdown, but this time he forgot his slingshot."

Walker was surprised at Tua's uncharacteristically gun-shy challenge. "He's usually more aggressive. He was showing a lot of respect for Lewis' blows."

Tua's manager, Kevin Barry, said the rib cartilage injury hampered the boxer's performance from the second round onwards.

The Boxing Association is expecting a financial windfall from the TAB after more than $2.62 million was wagered on the bout. About $1 million of that was invested yesterday.

The association will receive a percentage of the pool for allowing the TAB to take bets on the outcome.

Walker was unsure how much the association would receive, but said the money would be ploughed back into younger boxers for the future - "That's where David has come from."

The fight was the biggest single sports betting event in the TAB's history. The stakes were more than double the $1.15 million invested on the Bledisloe Cup rugby test in Wellington in 1996.

Herald Online feature: the Tua fight