Is David Tua overrated ?

By some, yes.

It's an easy question to determine.

Ask someone if Tua would be champ in the days of Louis or Rocky.

If they say yes, they over rate him.

If they say no, but he'd be a top contender, they rate him sensibly.

 

No, that's just your personal opinion. There is no analogous fighter to compare him with back then, and champions like Baer and Carnera were not special. Marciano and Charles were great fighters who were horribly undersized next to Tua.

 

It's the acid test. If you think he would be champ you over rate him.

 

Baer was better than Tua and he still was a champion for a very brief time. I'd take the best pre-Louis fighters (Schmeling, Sharkey and Baer) over Tua comfortably.

 

You must underrate him according to the acid test that I invented.

He knocked out four champions and was definitely capable of becoming a lesser champion at different points in history.

 

Baer was sloppy, Schmeling was small and Sharkey just wasn't very good. Tua might not sweep them, but he'd do fine overall.

 

To answer the thread question, it now depends on how many share your views as to whether he's over rated or not.

We know now you over rate him, but for someone to be over rated there has to be a substantial amount with that opinion.

I think you're in the minority and generally speaking he isn't over rated.

 

About the only point Ruiz had control over the fight was prior to the first left hook in the first ten seconds of the bout, when they were still circling and exchanging jabs. After that he was gone.

You could argue that any decent puncher might have sealed the deal once that explosive left landed, but would they have been able to land it and mess someone up that badly in the first place? That was Tua's speciality.

 

What was the gameplan? How was that working out for him?

 

He was walking Lewis down and landing some effective combos inside. He totally packed it in by the mid rounds and doesn't deserve a pass for that.

I remember Brian Kenny saying he called Kellerman in the early rounds saying it looked like there would be a new champ. At the least, Lewis was complmentary of Tua's defense after the fight.

A lot of revision happens over time according to what boxing fans want to hear. Tua's persomance was disappointing but not inept. He belonged but failed to make necessary adjustments.

 

Sharkey was much better than Tua.

 

Size matter in boxing.

 

Basically what I mean by this is that Louis needs to understand that attempting to trade in close with Tua would be highly unwise. If he fought him like he fought, say, Galento, and got caught with a left then he's finished. If he fought him like he fought Tami Mauriello and gets rocked back against the ropes in the opening round he's finished. He's not got much room for error here.

Quality here meaning the concentration level. Lots of Tua's opponents were able to outbox him for stretches but lost concentration for a split second and were KOed. It happened against too many opponents for it be seen as a fluke. Fighters needed to be able to maintain a certain distance from Tua and not get lulled into complacency, and that was extremely hard to do, since Tua generally only needed one or two good shots to scramble your synapses.

It's not a black and white situation. There are obviously a range of factors to consider. A fighter who smothered Tua and tried to sneak in dirty shots for twelve rounds while stinking out the joint might perform just as well as someone who attempted to do a Malik Scott running act and pot-shot from range. But given his physical attributes, you're more likely to run into danger if you fail to take those tools away from him.

Where am I assuming that all fighters are chained to one style? I'm fully aware that fighters, especially on the higher end of the spectrum, often have the ability to alter their tactics based on the opponent they're facing.

Look, my point about Tua is very simple. You're more likely to have success if you avoid his limited but dangerous range of tools, and you're more likely to achieve that if you keep him at range. It's not the only way to beat him, but it is probably the one that gives you the most likelihood of doing so.

Yeah, sounds like we're on the same page here.

 

Brian Kenny must have been drunk.

 

Neither Ruiz nor Moorer was world class when Tua beat them.

They were name fighters who would be world class later (Ruiz), or had been world class previously (Moorer).

If he ahd beaten these men in their primes, I would view him very differently.