KEY POINTS:
That battered cruiserweight which is the Auckland promotional spirit just HAS to haul itself off the canvas and ensure that the David Tua-Shane Cameron fight is held in this fair to very average sporting city.
I dare say that the fight promoters are hoping to stir up a tasty auction in suggesting that Wellington might challenge Auckland to host this duel, which is pencilled in on a rugby lay day - June 6.
Come on. Tua and Cameron in Wellington - you have to be joking. That would be another Waterloo for Auckland sport, one that can't be allowed to happen.
Auckland's sporting mana apparently sailed out of the harbour with the America's Cup teams but now is the time to turn the tide. The embarrassment over gifting the streetcar series to Hamilton will seem like a low octane Sunday drive should the queasy city let Tua and Cameron leave the blue corner and duke it out in the city of red tape. The civil servant centre may have taught Auckland how to run a decent professional soccer side but they shouldn't get a chance to kick more sand in the big smoke's face.
The rising Breakers are putting on a brave face for Auckland, even though their home court is apparently an electronic basket case. But elsewhere, the record is farcical and includes the David Beckham fiasco, the building and redevelopment of a plethora of ill-fitting stadiums, a disgraceful history in organising professional soccer franchises, the street car shambles, rugby teams who continually sink under flotsam and jetsam coaches, and a league club still without the really big hits.
I'll spare the hyperbole and duck a chin under the Fight of the Century tag that has been foisted on the Cameron-Tua clash. It's a tired title, one that doesn't fit the occasion nor does anything to reflect the personalities of the men involved. Over-hyping the deal will only raise suspicions about the bout's credibility.
Maybe these fight boys could do with another Gil Sullivan around. The late Sullivan, father of the fighting Sullivan brothers, was a lovable rogue with a glint in his eye and a gift for the language. He once promoted a fight under the Rambo v Sambo tag, a disgraceful line that should not have seen the light of day, but you could admire it from the creative point of view.
Hyperbole or not, Tua versus Cameron is still the real deal, a Kiwi sporting clash to whet the appetite, as Auckland as None Tree Hill, a simmering brew that should froth into the mainstream, a promoter's dream even in these uncertain times, as certain a drawcard you might get in these parts in the mysterious world of boxing. It's the ageing power hitter with a neck like a tree trunk versus the tough younger man with skin that, unfortunately, isn't as strong as the heart. Both men are household names who have had world rankings.
There is, I suspect, a large soft spot reserved in the national sporting psyche for Tua, who froze on his greatest stage against Lennox Lewis, but who is still admired for hauling himself through boxing's unscrupulous maize for one shimmy in prime time.
It will be fascinating to see how he shapes up in June, whether there is a spark that can unleash those fearsome biceps, or whether - as many will suspect - it's very hard to turn back the clock in the game of fast hands.
If both boxers were in their prime, you'd back Cameron - to maybe last a couple of rounds before one of those thunderous Tua blows scrambled his senses or at least caused the blood to flow. But boxing more than any other sport takes men down treacherous paths. Tua has been exhausted physically and mentally by a lack of action in the ring and far too much of it in his personal life.
What's important from Auckland's point of view is that both these tough fighters belong to the city. Tua is as Auckland as it gets, from the south side, an icon of his neighbourhood, whose career was largely based Stateside. Cameron has been adopted from the provincial east coast, having made his base within spitting distance of the city centre. Their hometown fans should be given every possible chance to attend.
Only those with a serious aversion to the pugilistic arts will shun a power contest that just has to be held in Queen City. It would be a travesty if it ended up near Parliament House.
