This is Rummy’s Corner.
Friday Night, March 15th, 1996 in Atlantic City, NJ, HBO Boxing televised the event known
as Night of the Young Heavyweights.
In the main event of the evening, undefeated contender Andrew Golota defeated Doc Nicholson
by 8th round stoppage.
Prior to that match-up, undefeated contender Shannon Briggs suffered his first defeat when
he was stopped in round 3 by Darrol Wilson.
And prior to that, in the first televised fight on the broadcast, undefeated prospect
David Tua stopped John Ruiz a mere 19 seconds into the opening round.
It was a ferocious display of power, and many fans began making comparisons between Tua
and a young Iron Mike.
Tua had already exhibited big knockout power prior to this big stage event, but this was
a big step up in class against Ruiz.
Many believed that David ‘The Terminator’ Tua had what it takes to become a future heavyweight
world champion.
And Tua made a believer out of many more on his subsequent journey that ultimately earned
him the status as a mandatory challenger.
Six months after beating Ruiz, Tua stopped the aforementioned Wilson in round 1.
In December 1996, he faced David Izonritei, a man who previously defeated Tua in the amateurs.
Tua avenged that defeat when he scored an explosive 12th round knockout, where Tua proved
he could carry his tremendous power into the final round.
In April 1997 Tua faced Oleg Maskaev, and this was a difficult fight for Tua where Maskaev
was able to exploit many of Tua’s technical deficiencies.
Tua had a difficult time getting around that pesky jab of Maskaev, but his perseverance
again won the day.
Tua hung in there and he clipped Maskaev with a mean left hook and unloaded on him to score
the dramatic stoppage win in the 11th.
Two months later, Tua squared off against fellow undefeated contender Ike Ibeabuchi.
The crazy activity from Tua and Ike made this one a mighty memorable heavyweight encounter.
The two were trading hard clubbing shots with staggering regularity throughout.
There were a lot of very good punches being thrown and landed, andthe action remained
very lively and competitive throughout all 12 rounds of the contest.
Ibeabuchi won the fight by 12 round unanimous decision.
This was a setback for Tua, but not a major setback at all.
The performance actually improved his reputation.
After winning 5 in a row following the loss against Ike, In December 1998 Tua got the
opportunity to square off against undefeated heavyweight contender Hasim Rahman in an IBF
elimination match.
Rahman controlled much of the action, using the blueprint set by Maskaev more so than
the strategy of Ike.
Rahman was boxing effectively and Tua was having trouble creating openings for his power.
After the bell sounded to end round 9, Tua caught Rahman flush with a bludgeoning left
hook.
Tua jumped on him early in round 10 and the fight was stopped by the referee.
Tua had secured his position as a mandatory challenger for the IBF, and at that time,
the IBF champion was Evander ‘Real Deal’ Holyfield.
In fact, at that time Holyfield was the unified WBA/IBF heavyweight champion, and Lennox Lewis
was the WBC and lineal heavyweight world champion, and the two were headed for a showdown for
undisputed heavyweight supremacy in March 1999.
The fight resulted in a highly controversial draw, where most fely Lewis deserved to win,
and a rematch would happen later that year.
Meanwhile Tua was out of luck, same as the other alphabet mandatories of the time, Akinwande
and Ruiz.
This was effectively the end of David ‘The Terminator’ Tua, who despite earning his
mandatory shot in December 1998, didn’t actually compete for a championship until
November 2000 when he faced Lennox.
When you look at his journey leading up to his shot at Lennox, Tua’s only loss was
in a sensational effort against Ike, and interestingly enough, Tua beat 3 different boxers who would
go on to earn a portion of the heavyweight crown.
John Ruiz would become a 2-time WBA champion, and Hasim Rahman would become unified world
champion when he scored an upset knockout against Lennox Lewis, and Rahman also later
won the WBC title too, which he ultimately lost against Oleg Maskaev.
So Ruiz, Maskaev, and Rahman were all Tua victims who went on to become heavyweight
world champion, and Tua likewise beat former champion Michael Moorer at a later stage in
his career.
It just goes to show that timing is everything, and getting the right opportunities and taking
advantage of them when they count most is imperative to make it at the championship
level in boxing.
When Tua beat Ruiz, Tua officially weighed 225.
When he beat Maskaev, he officially weighed 223.
When he lost a close decision against Ike, he weighed 226.
And when he earned his mandatory status against Rahman he weighed 224.5.
That was David ‘The Terminator’ Tua.
But when Tua was sitting on his mandatory status waiting for the Lewis-Holyfield saga
to play out, his weight started climbing and he stopped facing top opposition.
And in order for Tua to have his best chance at success against a master boxer like Lennox,
with so many physical advantages - it required Tua to be in top form.
He was never really in top form ever again, however, and The Terminator had devolved into
The Tuaman.
Tua declined the chance to face undefeated contender Michael Grant and he also declined
the idea of a rematch with Rahman.
Understandably he did not want to risk his mandatory status in a risky fight.
Instead he faced Obed Sullivan where Tua entered the ring at a career high 253.
When he eventually challenged Lennox, he was 245 - a solid 20 pounds heavier than his prime
fighting weight.
Tua always had some technical limitations.
Tua was always going to have some problems with bigger guys who can move and jab.
Tua was never especially fast, but he had a solid chin, he was very durable, he had
terrific stamina, and he had a lot of heart and determination where he could carry his
power late.
But with the extra weight came decreased activity, heavier feet where he had more difficulty
closing the distance, and slower hands where he was becoming less explosive and telegraphing
his punches more.
By the time he got to Lennox, Lewis basically followed the established blueprint design
laid out by Maskaev and Rahman, and Lewis executed that gameplan with near flawless
precision.
There is no shame whatsoever in losing to an elite all time great like Lennox.
It takes more than a left hook and a haircut to beat Lennox Lewis.
But Tua didn’t do himself any favors, and no doubt The Terminator would have had a better
chance against Lewis than the Tuaman.
Tua did have some other nice wins later in his career.
He beat Doc Nicholson in another fight where he was being outboxed, but his incredible
power saved the day.
That was part of a 4 man eliminator, and then Tua lost in the final eliminator against Chris
Byrd, which was actually the only fight Tua ever got back down below 240 when he was still
a serious contender, he was 233 in that one.
But Byrd proved too slick and too slippery, easily pivoting his way around the ring.
After that Tua had another vintage performance where he was being thoroughly outboxed by
Fres Oquendo, and Tua’s power bailed him out again, where he actually landed some mean
right hands to score the stoppage.
Then he had the aforementioned victory against former champion Michael Moorer.
By the time Tua had his rematch with Rahman in March 2003, which ended in a draw that
many believe Rahman deserved to win, Tua was effectively finished as a top contender.
Although he did have a nice turn-back-the-clock type of performance against Shane Cameron
in October 2009.
At the end of the day, Tua was a talented top heavyweight contender who lost his only
shot at a title where he didn’t provide himself the best chance at victory.
And it’s also a funny situation because Tua probably would have been better off if
he hadn’t earned a mandatory spot when he did, because that is when the business side
of boxing led him to start slacking on his dedication and taking on inferior opposition.
And on the other hand, Tua was also all around unlucky with the timing of a lot of things
in his career, and guys like John Ruiz, Oleg Maskaev, and Hasim Rahman all drive that point
home.
He will always be remembered for that Classic high energy bout against Ike, which incidentally,
I know I’m in the minority here, but I actually thought Tua edged it in that one.
That was The Terminator in a situation where his power did not bail him out, Ike had an
awesome chin.
But The Terminator was doing all of the little things he needed to do to be successful in
that one, working downstairs and throwing right hands and short combos to try and set
up the left.
At his best Tua was a special talent with a sledgehammer left hook, and he made for
a lot of exciting and dramatic knockouts throughout his entertaining career.
But for me, I will always think of The Terminator and The Tuaman as being two separate entities,
which makes me wonder about what might have been had The Terminator stayed true to his
peak form just a few years longer.
Thank you very much for watching everyone, I hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night!
This is Rummy’s Corner.