What did Tua lack?

Tus lacked boxing skills, ring IQ, foot speed, defense, versatility, and a varied offense such as combination or counterpunch. He only fought one way, plodded, couldn’t cut the ring off, and relied too much on a big punch. Although he had a strong chin and awesome power to compensate he didn’t have that motivation or work ethic to get himself beyond just a puncher. Just didn’t have that extra gear to go far.

 

He had an iron chin and a big punch. One of the skills I think he lacked was the ability to cut off the ring against some of the better boxers he faced.

 

Because in fairness he only got two opportunities to fight for a world title and of them was against Lennox Lewis. It wasn’t like he was ever awarded a title or given a chance to fight for a vacant one against a weak second rater.

 

You’re right !!! He was only given ONE shot at a world title because the Byrd fight was an eliminator. I forgot that. Chris Byrd was a two time world champion in the 2000’s. Rahman upset Lewis and was ranked on and off for a while. I wouldn’t exactly call them second raters.. Tua was simply not given that many opportunities.

 

I’ve never heard anyone claim that Tua was “ on the same tier “ as a man who is commonly considered as a top 5 ATG. The only two things I’ve said about him in the past week are:

1. He seems to be underrated these days
2. He was a better fighter than Tony Galento

 

Pretty much everything.

 

I guess I must have missed it when someone said he’d beat ATG’s. I mean I can certainly see some of his attributes being a “ problem “ for a few of them. A guy who’s damn near impossible to knock out, with an awkward style and cannon-Like punching power could be an issue for a lot of people. We’ve certainly seen plenty of upsets from guys with less to offer.

As it stands David Tua survived 59 pro fights without a single stoppage loss . He was floored only once at the very end of his career. He handed John Ruiz his first stoppage loss. Beat Rahman once and drew with him in the rematch. Stopped a comeback Michael Moorer in his tracks in one round. Blasted the undefeated Darrell Wilson right after he just sparked Briggs. And he went the distance with Lennox at a time when just about everyone else was dropping like flies. I think Tua was pretty good.

 

Tua lacked footspeed and was too heavy. He should have weighed no more than 220 lbs.

Stylistically he could pose a lot of problems for some all time greats. Sure, Marciano and Frazier were much greater. But Tua is bigger and has more raw power than them. Could Tua stop them early? Not impossible. It’s not like Marciano or Frazier had the height of a Lewis to keep him at a distance.

 

He should be pretty highly regarded as an also-ran, because he cunny-punted some guys who would be champion and Ike/Tua is a genuine HW classic of probably some of the strongest non-titlists we've ever had. Other than that, I'm not sure he is considered a H2H monster, the way a champion like Vitali is often treated without having that good a best-of list. One of the best combinations of chin and pure punching power, even if you compare him to the champions, though. That has to count for a lot of how you assess H2H. He lacked a great set of feet, came in when the really tall guys became the norm at the tippy-top, while being among the shortest lot of name heavies, so you could say he lacked height, but if he had the skill to use his height like a Frazier or Tyson, well, I guess I'm saying that's not so much his deficit as going back to the skills not being well-rounded or sophisticated enough.

He had conditioning problems at times, so you could say skill set, discipline, foot speed, are all deficits. Some may fault "heart" but I don't think it's that easy. I think when you had a guy hotly contesting active fight with him, you can get all the heart you want, but a lack of "head," in the way of not how I have that, and miss it, but in terms of mental poise, is not really so much a character issue as a mental glitch. When you're fighting and stop, it might be heart, but when you're just getting outclassed, and you're not feeling like you can create openings, close distances, on someone plastering you at will, when you're trying to advance, it almost seems like the most likely winning strategy is to wait on a tide turning for you, rather than you turning the tide, because you can't really do it without getting obliterated. So, you wait, and eventually you've waited so long it's over. It's not an easy mental hurdle for guys to get over, even if they feel all the gumption to go out on their shield if it's for what feels like a real chance, as opposed to just being outclassed more brutally than when you take your foot off the gas. I miss head. It's got nothing to do with this but when you have that lack of head...it's like no one cares the way they should. I feel like the only partner or friend I have is the city of angels, man. Right now, that's how I feel.

 

Oh, everyone's already said all of that. Well, never mind. It helped me process my thoughts. And my feelings.

 

Interesting that you brought up Marciano. Watching Tua vs Lewis this morning, I tried to envision Rocky in there with Lennox. He would've done what he always did. And what Frazier did, too. They'd be crouching, bobbing, always trying (sometimes failing but still trying) to get close and throw hard shots. But that requires will, determination, HUNGER. Tua's corner kept imploring him to be aggressive. Nobody had to tell Marciano or Frazier.

 

A big punch and a good chin only get's you so far.