Boxing: Tua will push for fight with a party

By PETER JESSUP

David Tua's camp has come out slugging at suggestions that Lennox Lewis will try to sidestep him for a bigger-money bout with Mike Tyson.

A Las Vegas party planned for today will push Tua's claims with boxing bosses and the media.

His promoters, America Presents, have had a new range of "Tuaman" clothing produced.

They have stretched the moniker the South Auckland fighter gave himself to "Tuaman-datory," playing on his No 1 contender status with the International Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Council.

Jackets and shirts lead with that line, underneath three others that state "IBF 1, WBC 1, USA Today 1."

Tua is in camp at the Prince Ranch, 20km out of Las Vegas, and has sparred 20 rounds in his first few days back there after an Auckland visit that followed his last victory, over Obed Sullivan.

He is already below the 253lb he took into the ring against Sullivan and will continue to trim down.

The line being pushed is to get the American public to support Tua's mandatory challenger status.

"How can Lewis be the people's champion if he doesn't face the people's best contender?" asked manager Kevin Barry. "The way we're viewing that [Lewis saying he would rather fight Tyson] is positive.

"Lewis is worried he won't be able to talk after the Tua fight because he'll be carried out of the ring. The challenge Lewis has to face is David Tua and if he's talking about fighting others, it's because he's scared.

"Come November, Lewis will be in the ring with David Tua."

Around 500 people will be invited to a Samoan-style luau today, with high-rollers, influential boxing promoters, media and casino types likely to be in the bidding for his title fight purse.

There has been little comment about the late change of his next opponent, which came when the Tua camp had last-minute problems settling the finer details of a deal to meet Fernaly Feliz, of the Dominican Republic.

The 29-year-old Feliz was regarded as a puncher with a similar jab-based style to Lewis, with his 1.88m just short of Lewis' height and a record of 17-2 and 10 knockouts better than useful.

The replacement is former world cruiserweight champ Robert Daniels, aged 31, from Miami, who has 39 wins (32 knockouts), four losses and a draw.

"Arguably, he's a better opponent, he's a better fighter on paper," Barry said of Daniels.

He and Tua have seen little of Daniels and are expecting tapes of his last fights as they spar up to their July 21 bout at the Regent Hotel in Vegas.

Across town, Lewis said yesterday: "I'll definitely take Tua out easily. Tua can't handle me.

"I'll give up one of my belts to Tua to fight Tyson."

He was a bit distressed about Tyson's recent disparaging remarks about him after a first-round knockout of Lou Savarese.

"Hearing the statements that he wants to eat my heart and eat my children kind of confuses me because I thought he was a vegetarian," Lewis said lightly. "It was a preposterous statement.

"But before he has a chance to eat me, he has to eat my left and right crosses."

Lewis (36-1-1) was speaking during his training sessions for his fight with Francois Botha (40-2-1) at Wembley Stadium, London, on July 15.