Boxing: Tua the toughest, says sparring partner

Heavyweight boxer Israel Garcia rates David Tua as the toughest fighter he's had to spar for.

Garcia and fellow American-based Harold Sconiers have been brought in to help Tua prepare for his bout with Nigerian Friday Ahunanya in Auckland on March 31.

Others that Garcia has sparred for include present or former world champions Wladimir Klitschko, Oleg Maskaev and John Ruiz.

"He's the hardest, the hardest," Garcia said yesterday after going another four rounds with Tua.

"Klitschko was tough to hit because he's a tall guy and he caught me with a good right hand," he said.

"But this guy is something, the toughest so far, and he's hard to hit.

"That's why you see me a lot on the inside. I let him hit me sometimes because I try to look for those openings, but he's hard to hit."

Garcia has a 19-3 win-loss record in his own professional career.

He was also part of the Tua camp ahead of the bout against Shane Cameron last October, when Tua took just over a round to win the showdown between New Zealand's top two heavyweights in Hamilton.

Tua invited the media into his Auckland gym yesterday, just the second time he has sparred in front of cameras.

The first was with Evander Holyfield in 1996 when Holyfield was preparing for his first fight with Mike Tyson.

Tua said he was pleased with the work he was getting from Garcia and Sconiers.

"They always give their best," he said, adding that his build-up was progressing well.

Trainer Roger Bloodworth said Tua was on schedule with his preparations.

Neither Tua, 37, nor Ahunanya, 38, have been stopped in their careers and Bloodworth said he didn't mind if the fight went the distance.

"David hasn't fought a lot in the last two years," he said.

"If it goes the distance, I don't care. We're not looking for a knockout. We're just looking for a win."

As for the fact that Ahunanya hadn't been knocked out, Bloodworth said: "Maybe he hasn't fought the right fighter yet. Anyone in the heavyweight division can get knocked down."

Tua has a record of 50 wins (43 by knockout), three losses and a draw.

Ahunanya has had 24 wins (13 by knockout), five losses and a draw. In November 2007, he ended Cameron's unbeaten record with a final-round stoppage in Auckland.

While the Tua camp would study the tape of that encounter, they wouldn't be putting too much emphasis on it.

"Very seldom do guys come in and fight one fighter the way they fight another fighter," Bloodworth said.

"They have tendencies, but he's not going to fight David Tua the way he fought Cameron."

- NZPA