Boxing: Unsporting Cullen counts Tua out

By ALAN PERROTT and JEREMY ROSE

David Tua has most of the country in his corner, but he got an upper-cut from Finance Minister Michael Cullen yesterday.

Dr Cullen put his guard up and stopped Parliament from passing its best wishes to the boxer before his world heavyweight title contest on Sunday.

Dr Cullen thinks too much parliamentary time is spent on such matters and also stopped the House from applauding Brew's Melbourne Cup victory and the efforts of the Paralympics team.

But no one objected to an informal motion to wish all the best to Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel, who is getting married tomorrow.

National list MP Arthur Anae and Labour's Winnie Laban and Phillip Field were adorned in their red Samoan necklaces (ulafala) for the motion of congratulations to Tua that never came.

Mr Anae was upset: "David is proud to call himself a Samoan New Zealander. The Government should be proud to give him the due recognition and praise."

Dr Cullen, who used the right of all MPs to block such resolutions, later questioned the nationality of Tua, who moved to Auckland from Samoa when he was 10.

"He seems to be a New Zealander in New Zealand, a Samoan in Samoa and an American in America, as far as I can make out from publicity."

But as all eyes turn to Las Vegas, all roads will lead to Mangere if Tua beats the odds and Lennox Lewis for the world title.

Win or lose, Tua will get his wish, a big parade through the middle of his home town on November 20.

John Stowers, manager of the David Tua Supporters Campaign, says the parade will begin at Moyle Park on Bader Drive at 3 pm and thread its way past thousands to David Lange Park for the welcome, prayers and entertainment.

Dr Cullen may not be keen, but Prime Minister Helen Clark has been invited.

Lewis, meanwhile, seems to be more wary of Tua's hair than his mighty left hook.

He is worried that the shorter Tua may try to duck under his jab and give him a hairy upper-cut with his shock of vertical hair.

"I'm a bit concerned about his hair. If he's on my chest, his hair will be in my face. Who knows what kind of island tricks he puts in his hair."

Lewis' follicle fears arose from rumours that his opponent might arm his hairdo with glass before entering the ring.

The lightly barbed banter continued at the official press conference in Las Vegas yesterday.

This time it was the Tua camp pointing the scissors, the challenger's trainer asking the champ to remove his braids.

"Ronnie Shields, these are not braids," said Lewis, "these are locks. Know the difference. I've got a Samson-like complex."

As sporting frenzy grips Samoa's 170,000 people, someone who might be wise to give the islands a wide berth is Dr Cullen.

Fight day is being billed as Super Sport Saturday. There will be no time for sleeping in because, at 4.30 am Samoan time (Samoa is 24 hours behind NZ), Manu Samoa take on the Welsh rugby team, followed by the league World Cup quarterfinal between Toa Samoa and world champs Australia.

Then comes the big one - David Tua's shot at boxing history.

Half the population are wearing the ulafala necklaces worn by Samoa's favourite sporting son.

The ulafala, usually worn only by high-ranking matai, are so popular that they are reported to have more than doubled in price to about 30 tala ($20), big money in a country where the minimum wage is just 1.45 tala an hour.

Demand is such that the red fruit of the pandanus tree from which they are made is in short supply.

Everyone from schoolchildren to taxi drivers is convinced Tua is going to win; to say otherwise would be tantamount to treason.

Herald Online feature: the Tua fight

The Herald Online is ringside for the countdown to David Tua's tilt at the world heavyweight boxing title. Reporter Peter Jessup and photographer Kenny Rodger bring you all the news, inside information and pictures, leading up to this Sunday afternoon's showdown in Las Vegas.

* Be sure to get your full-colour poster of the two fighters in today's print edition of the Herald.