Tua vs Friday Ahunyaya

tvnz.co.nz




Heavyweight boxer David Tua has some serious thinking to do over the next 48 hours as he plans his American return.

But as ONE News revealed on Wednesday, plans for a December bout in New Zealand are still on, and a reputable opponent has been signed up to fight the Kiwi boxer as his career resurgence continues.

Duco events, the promoters of the recent 'Fight of the Century' revealed on Wednesday they have had initial discussions with David Tua about setting up a bout with Nigeria boxer Friday Ahunanya - the same guy who handed Shame Cameron his first ever knock-out in 2007.

Duco events also confirmed they have got a signed contract from Ahunanya, who is reportedly keen for the bout, but are refusing to give anymore details until they have had further discussions with the Tua camp.

If the December fight does go ahead, it will be a major draw-card for Tua fans who flocked to watch him knock-out Shane Cameron in the second round of their bout in Hamilton.

And even Cameron's trainer Ken Reinsfield believes Tua could prove more than a match for Ahunanya - who has lost just three out of 32 fights.

 

David Tua has been offered a fight in New Zealand against the only other heavyweight to beat Shane Cameron, Nigerian Friday Ahunanya.

TV One news reported on Wednesday that Duco, the promoters of Tua's knockout win over Cameron in Hamilton last month, have Ahunanya's signature.

Now they are trying to get Tua to seal the deal.

They have been working towards a December 13 date in Auckland.

But Tua, who has a global promoter in New York-based Cedric Kushner, will also have fights in the United States to consider as he tries to decide where to get the best momentum for his second comeback that got such an impressive start with his two round demolition of Cameron.

Ahunanya, nicknamed "Friday the 13th", found Cameron a much tougher proposition than Tua.

He fought Cameron in Auckland two years ago and stunned him with a final round knockout in their 12 round fight for the vacant PABA heavyweight title, the WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title and the interim NABA heavyweight title.

In an interview with TV One the 37-year-old Ahunanya who now lives in Las Vegas said he would take the same patient approach to a fight against Tua if it came off.

His manager Luis Garcia called out Tua, declaring: "We are going to go there (New Zealand) and knock you out."

Ahunanya has fought 32 times as a professional, winning 24 (13 KOs) with five losses and three draws.

Cameron's manager Ken Reinsfield suggested it would be a good fight for Tua at this stage of his comeback. He said Ahunanya had "a good chin" but he would expect Tua to win by knockout.

American heavyweight Chris Arreola, looking to rebound from a world title fight loss to WBC champion Vitali Klitschko, has also been linked to Tua's comeback.

The Californian native with Mexican connections and the nickname "Nightmare" has a fight scheduled for December 5 with his opponent still to be named.

Tua is an option although the stronger contender could be American Deric Rossy who has been calling out Arreola all year.

It seems Tua, keen to push on from his knockout win over Shane Cameron earlier this month, might be prepared to look at a fight in the United States rather than Auckland as was anticipated.

Bigger money is on offer in the United States, especially in the TV market, and Fairfax Media understands the New Zealander is being courted by broadcasting

HBO have a boxing telecast booked for that date but with problems besetting their feature fight between welterweights Joshua Clottey and Carlos Quintana they are looking for a new headline act.

ESPN's respected boxing writer Dan Rafael has tipped that Arreola and Tua could be the men for the job.

But Arreola could be a dangerous assignment for Tua.

The beefy 28-year-old suffered his first loss in 28 fights when he was beaten up in 10 of the scheduled 12 rounds of his fight with Klitschko in Los Angeles last month. He has 24 knockouts to his credit and his ranked No 4 by the WBC.

At 193cm Arreola is 15cm taller than Tua and has an 18cm reach advantage. He looked a pudgy 251lbs when he fought Klitschko but he has skills and a respected chin.

American website Boxingnews24.com has picked up the scent with Dave Lahr writing: "On paper, this would seem to be an exciting fight if they could somehow arrange it. Personally, I doubt that Tua would take on a dangerous fighter like Arreola at this point in his career, even though I think Tua would have a small chance of beating him. Arreola's chin is too good and he'd likely be able to stand up to Tua's mammoth shots and end up outworking him.

"Arreola was badly beaten in a one-sided 10th round stoppage loss to WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in September, but Arreola is a lot better than he showed in that fight. The problem for Arreola was that he was facing a heavyweight with much more talent than him. But Arreola has more tools than the average heavyweight and would be big trouble for the 36-year-old Tua.

"Tua had a perfect opponent to look good against in Shane Cameron and it's questionable whether Tua could duplicate that result against a good heavyweight contender at the top of the division. I see Arreola easily beating Tua by decision if they fight."