in this era what do people really have to do? knocking out barret is far more of an achievement then what briggs, harrison or chisora have done recently.
This is great news for me. Since its in New Zealand ill be able to attend the fight. I really hope Tua gets his **** together this time around.
win loose or draw i hope both fighters retire after this! barrett to fight tua in his nz sure takes some balls! He has to stop tua to win!
David Tua won the fight, he put a beating on Monte Barrett....who was just surviving for 90% of the fight.......and fighting in burst.
I enjoyed the first fight. I think people are going overboard with critisizing Tua, he had a bad nights work but Monte Barrett is an experienced and underrated boxer, he'd always give a slugger like Tua a close fight. It could be different in the rematch, Tua is an animal when he gets in his stride.
Maybe this is something Tua has to do for himself? Maybe he can't stomach the thought of him having a draw with Monte, and needs to show himself that when healthy, Monte is no match for him, even at 37. I'd give him one more fight like this, and only a Monte rematch, to get this out of his system, and then if he doesn't step up after that....
:goodTua, if he wins, won't be setback ranking wise. Unfortunately, b/c of his name he was already almost in line for a shot. Barrett looked better than he had in a few fights and a convincing win for Tua will help his confiendence and he'll still be in line. Hopefully he is just trying to prove himself (it was an off night, he was injured, etc) rather than trying to have another decent payday and milk money out of his fading career. Obviously, it would be nicer to see him step up and beat a top 20 guy but the same may not be easily made
The first fight was good, and Barrett was definitely robbed, so I do not see why a rematch should be a problem. Some say Tua should forget this fight and aim higher, possibly at Klitschkos, but I'm afraid they are stuck in 90's. Shoulder injury or not, winning rematch with Barrett is at least realistic, while Wlad/Vitali are clearly beyond his reach. If he wins with Barrett, he can still get a titleshot, as we had currently a lot of examples of 40-ish fighters getting a chance based on what they had done in 90's. I think if he wants to get a belt it may be in fact a good idea to fight Barrett (or anyone else) in hope of Vitali retiring for good and vacating his belt
Tua was seriously underestimating Barret, in that fight. It's obvious to me that he expected to blow Monte out before the scorecards. In the Friday fight, he wasn't as aggressive, and seemed to do better by boxing rather than slugging against Ahunanya...