1. How was Tua not successful in any of his various comebacks? Regardless of whether or not you think he could have beaten a Klitschko brother or not, surely there were some other belt holders over the years that he could have taken. And with his popularity/drawing power, you would think it would have been relatively easy to make those fights happen. Was this just bad management not making those fights happen? 2. I personally thought he looked great in the Shane Cameron fight. I thought for sure he was back in a big way. Yet there seemed to be a very sharp decline in subsequent fights. Was the Cameron fight a fluke, and it was Cameron’s level that made Tua look good? Or did he really decline that drastically in a short amount of time? 3. After Lennox Lewis retired, what timeframe/which belt holder should Tua have pursued for the best chance of winning a title?
He did not have a promoter who matched him against the best guys. He came back and destroyed Moorer. But King kept Ruiz away from him. Otherwise, Tua would have wrecked him again. Give Tua a fight with Ruiz, RJJ that beat Ruiz, or even Brewster, he wins. Give Tua anything except tall rangy fighters or slicksters like Byrd and there is a good chance he wins.
I don't have much to add but did Tua hurt his left arm before the Cameron fight? It seems as though his management and matchmaking were subpar. A lot of years in limbo. Lewis put on a masterclass in the Tua fight.
Multiple things with Tua. First and foremost, Cedric Kushner promoted him during his comeback and he didn't have that much footing in the heavyweight division. Lennox was the real champ and cleanly beat Tua, Don King controlled the rest of the belt holders like Byrd, Ruiz and Rahman and he was happy to have those guys fight other guys in his stable like Golota or Monte Barrett. Another thing about Tua and his come back is his weight really ballooned. He just wasn't the same guy and didn't throw combo's like he did in the late 90's. He became way to dependent on the left hook and everyone knew to stay outside against him because of his short reach. He became very one dimensional when he got heavy.
Byrd beat in-shape Tua comfortably in title eliminator. So it's not like Tua didn't get any chances after Lewis. He got it, and it was just 9 months after Lewis loss. But he lost to Byrd despite being in his best shape since 1998
Yes. I'd say Byrd beat Tua as clearly as Lewis (no controversy about the winner at all), but Tua was 12 lbs lighter in the Byrd fight.
For some reason, I remember him being out of shape for that fight. I guess I'm wrong. Tua really had two comebacks. He was able to beat Oquendo and Moorer after losing to Byrd but just never looked the same again.
Of all of the belt holders that held a title from the time Lewis retired to the time Tua retired, who should David have pursued the most? Who are the title holders he could/would have been successful against?
Tua after Ike was not such a good boxer and he was always a bit limited. He would have lost against Klitschkos even more clearly than against Byrd and Lewis. He was unlucky because in his only fight for the belt he got Lewis, who was a style nightmare for him and he himself was not in good shape.
You might be remembering him as "out of shape" b/c some people questioned whether shedding that weight actually helped him or not. It seemed to me that it took the power off his punches. This content is protected
Tua never seemed to me like he liked being a fighter. You had to **** him off to get the best out of him.