If prime David Tua was active today where would he be in the HW picture?

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by MixedMartialLaw, Jul 9, 2021.



  1. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    Ruiz got beat by Roy Jones, Roy wouldn`t fare well at all in today`s heavyweight game, Ruiz would not have picked up a title in the last twen years if he was still in his prime, who the hell did he beat to win the title? Moorer couldn`t take a solid heavyweight shot. Rahman was an awful fighter.
     
  2. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    AJ is far more dynamic the Tua, David would never have won an olympic medal.
     
  3. Brighton bomber

    Brighton bomber Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Who did he win to win the title? Some guy called Evander Holyfield? Yeah never heard of him either. :stirrpot

    So you don't think Tua could beat Stiverne or Martin?
     
  4. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    He`s beat Martin but Stiverne could probably have beat the old worn out version of Holy that Ruiz beat and Ortiz who was around the same age when he fought Wilder would have boxed that version of Holy`s ears off.
     
  5. Themessiah

    Themessiah El Jefe Full Member

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    He's a terrible matchup for guys like AJ and Whyte
     
  6. Brighton bomber

    Brighton bomber Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    I dunno that Holyfield still was good enough to draw with Ruiz in their 3rd fight which many thought Holyfield won and he would then KO to beat Rahman so he wasn't totally shot. I think that Evander could beat Stiverne, especially if were talking the fat lazy Stiverne we saw after he beat Arreola.

    Not sure why you bring up Ortiz but yeah he'd probably beat that Evander as he has far fewer miles on the clock as he's basically fought nobodies his entire career with the exception of Wilder while Evander has been in with the best of his era, that will age a fighter.
     
  7. Ilesey

    Ilesey ~ Full Member

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    Would have loved to have seen him in with Ruiz.
     
  8. BCS8

    BCS8 VIP Member Full Member

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    He'd be top 5 for sure and in the mix for top 3.
     
  9. Surrix

    Surrix Boxing Addict Full Member

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    A.J olympic medal or " medal " had been widely discussed in internet.
    Full ENG language internet is about A.J holy fights in the Games.
     
  10. Kratos

    Kratos Well-Known Member Full Member

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    David tua at his peak was ibeabuchi, he wasnt the same after that fight, but even the tua that lost to lewis is undisputed champion today. Lewis was that good and wilder, fury and joshua couldnt do what he did for 12 rounds to avoid a knockout.
     
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  11. iamthegreatest

    iamthegreatest Well-Known Member banned Full Member

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    I really need to research on Tua. Never knew he was such a threat with his power. Aside from Lewis, how did he not manage to get the title?
     
  12. edabomb

    edabomb Active Member Full Member

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    Trolln? Tua win bronze at Barcelona as a 19 year old. Figure he needed the money and didn't have the luxury of "mean streets of Watford" AJ to hang around at amateur till 23. Although with Wlad winning in 96 he probably would have had to settle for silver.
     
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  13. Big Ukrainian

    Big Ukrainian Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    He was jsut very lazy and definitely lacked dedication. Even in the biggest fight of his life against Lennox Lewis he came terrible overweight at 245 lbs (crazy weight for 5'9''-510'' fighter). He then managed to get in better shape, but still got beaten by another great technician - Chris Byrd. Tua was very short heavyweight, yes, but his biggest flaws weren't his height or reach - it was a lack of dedication
     
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  14. Big Ukrainian

    Big Ukrainian Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I don't think it was a mistake - his team just knew they had zero chances getting Ruiz fight at the time. Ruiz was King's fighter, and Don was still very powerfull back then. They went for Lewis because Tua was an official IBF mandatory challenger, if they had a chance to match him with Ruiz again I'm pretty sure they would
     
  15. Big Ukrainian

    Big Ukrainian Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Moorer was far from his prime. Very far. I'd say he was much closer to being shot fighter by the time he faced David. Inactivity and alcohol killed his career