Boxing: Tyson sees Tua as a match for Lewis

By PETER JESSUP

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson is worried that New Zealander David Tua will take Lennox Lewis' world titles before Tyson can get the chance to do so.

"Tua is dangerously underestimated. We have been looking at him for a year and he has plenty of guts and the skill to seriously threaten Lewis," Tyson said.

"Tua is angry, mean and hungry. He's got that look in his eye like he's ready to kill someone. I hope it's not Lewis, because I want to end Lewis."

Tua's stakes continue to rise in the United States as commentators weigh his build-up to the bout with Lewis.

His management has opened negotiations with Lewis' team for a fight in November, with the WBO and IBF world title belts on the line. Before that, Lewis will meet Francois Botha in London on July 15, but Botha has not been on anyone's agenda as a serious contender.

Tua fronted up to the American media in New York to talk up his November fight, but it was the fallout afterwards, the reaction from promoters, broadcasters, fellow pugilists and the critics, that finally gave him the credibility he has worked for.

Tyson came out and was completely disparaging of Botha and backed Tua's suggestions that Lewis was scared of him.

"Forget Botha, he is not even a contender, but Tua could be," said Tyson, who will fight Lou Savarese in New York in July, a week after the Lewis bout.

The vice-president of major boxing promoter America Presents, Dan Goosen, said Tua had done everything he could to try to fight Lewis, while Lewis had done everything he could to avoid fighting Tua.

"David Tua is ready to fight Lewis today, but Lewis has said he would rather fight Francois Botha, who has done nothing to earn that shot but lose [to Mike Tyson]."

Goosen discounted Lewis' height and reach advantage. "You don't have to be looking at Lennox Lewis' hairdo ... as long as Tua can see his chin, that's all he needs."

The USA Today newspaper's boxing correspondent, Dan Rafael, described the South Aucklander as "one of the few mandatory challengers who actually deserves his [No 1] ranking."

Rafael pointed out that Tua had knocked out a host of other contenders. Five of them - John Ruiz, Hasim Rahman, David Izon, Oleg Maskaev and Darroll Wilson - had a combined record of 99-4-2, with 74 knockouts, at the time Tua fought them.

Lewis himself rated Tua as "not of my class."

Tua's response was: "If that's the way Lewis feels then I'll enjoy knocking him down."

The 28-year-old, whose record is 35-1 since turning pro after his Olympic bronze medal in 1992, remains in training at Prince Ranch near Las Vegas and will fight early next month, with negotiations almost completed for him to meet former Marine Obed Sullivan in Las Vegas.

Sullivan, aged 31, has a 35-5-1 record, including a 10-round points loss to Grant.

Tua's manager, Kevin, Barry, said Sullivan, of similar size to Lewis, was a durable fighter with a heavy punch and his charge had decided that was ideal as a build-up to a clash with Lewis.

He said they did not want someone who would be kocked down in round one, though Tua was clearly in shape to achieve that, with his attitude and confidence "great."