Tua was looking to fight Barrett, Holy, Rahman, etc. in NZ in June. But I doubt if any of those three will be his opponent now. Rahman said no, Barrett drew with Davis and not as attractive anymore, and Holy would probably want huge money. I look for him to fight an Aussie, maybe Leipai or Meehan, in June. Regarding King: Yes, he hits harder than Barrett, but Tua won't be troubled by his movement, like he was with Barrett. And not only does King gas early, but his defense is suspect, as he doesn't cover well after he throws. Look for Tua to outbox him for several rounds, finding openings, and then KO him in 4. Tua has been in training for 11 weeks now, and is ready.
That was never officially signed, but the suggestion of it is what brought Barrett out of "retirement".
Barrett signed the rematch contract, but Tua said there were a few things that needed to be ironed out. Then Barrett drew with Davis, saying he had the flu before the fight. Then Barrett started calling out Tua, saying he had his number. Tua doesn't respond to trash talking, so it probably turned him off. And yes, the Aruba fight was to hype the rematch, but Tua was recovering from his shoulder injury. BTW, it's going to be a hard sell just to fill up the 3000 seat Pacific Event Centre. There's a huge rugby game in Auckland that nite (Auckland Blues), plus the Warrior league game is at 9:30 that nite on TV. The Warriors have a huge South Auckland Polynesian following. So many punters may opt to see the fight on free to air Maori TV, and then watch the Warrior game afterwards. But hopefully, we'll have a full arena. Haven't heard boo from Demetrice King over here in NZ. Hope he's getting on the plane. A little over two weeks to go.
I don't care what Barett says, Tua got a gift draw in the first fight, he should WANT to atone for that
I think he did, in the beginning. But like most fighters, he fights for money, not revenge. The draw with Davis didn't help, plus, I don't know what was in the contract that Barrett signed that was the issue. For all I know, Barrett may have insisted that Tua fight on his knees with his eyes closed while eating a Burger King hamburger. And Tua would never sign for that clause.
Could have been a double whopper. After he beat Friday, he took his family and team to a Burger King for his son's birthday. They got party hats and all. And probably a double whopper.
I like Tua but he is an awful lazy *******. I dont think he wants to box at al, he is doing it for the money. Anyway if he cant beat Monte Barrett then he wont pick up a world title. Simple as that.
Tua used to be lazy. But he's been in camp now for 11 weeks. Unfortunately, he will not have fought in 8 months since the Barrett fight due to shoulder rehab. When he fights King, it'll be to test his shoulder with "lighter" competitiion. He makes about $50,000 for that fight, which Maori TV is paying him. So no, this fight is not for the money. It's to get rid of the third and final MTV contractual fight, and to test his shoulder. In June, he's doing it for the money. He owes the IRS equivalent in NZ 2.2 million, and his layers about the same amount. BTW jonnytightlips, when you work, do you not do it for the money?
because cameron was a new zealand hype-job, people down there cared about this fight. no-one cares about demetrius king