Lots of guys seem to want to match up Tua with ATG's all the time and seems odd to me as Tua never really seemed to achieve that much. But this is an interesting one. Tua may be the right idea for Rocky. He's really strong and he can really bang. What this would mean in the normal course of events as that a swarmer/banger might want to readjust just a tiny bit. But we know that this is impossible for Rocky. He's going to do pretty much what he always does, no? Tua has a very good chance here. But I think I'm going to go with Marciano. Tua looked a bit reluctant v Lewis to me in the later stages, like he didn't want to get hit any more (though he has the chin for it as we know). I see something similair here. If Tua connects early then Rocky may have to drag himself up and look out but I think he would manage and then drive Tua into a quasi shell in the 8th/9th with workrate and power to take a clear but hard earned decision.
Tua wasn't half the fighter Marciano was, but goddamn I find it hard for Marciano to win this one, unless he outworks Tua. Tua stands a chance against all sluggers because of his punch and chin. A shitty state of affairs when you think about it, but that's boxing. :twisted:
I think it's not an unreasonable pick, but I think the envisioned two round destruction is a little strange...factoring in what is going to be coming back at him you have to ask if it's a war that Tua can win at all. I haven't seen every Rocky fight, but i've never ever seen him look like he doesn't like being hit - he's still fighting regardless.
15 Round fight? Marciano stops him late. They both have good chins, so it's not unreasonable that it goes to late rounds. However, Rocky's punch carried with him into the late rounds because he was so tremendously fit. He stops Tua late.
I think a two round stoppage is one of the least likely outcomes although I think it's more likely that Rocky gets stopped than stops Tua (certainly over 12). Maybe you should throw up a poll?
Tua has a chin that was tested against big hard-hitting super heavyweights. Marciano's chin has not been tested that way, and he was dropped twice by fighters with a lot lesser punching power than Tua's. Marciano gets hit plenty, in every single fight of some duration. Nobody won a fight with Tua by trying to slug it out with him. People who tried this style always ended up on the canvas, counted out or referee stopping to save them.
.At his best, Daves weight was in the 220's and Marciano had handled guys that big before.Marciano could go fifteen fast paced rounds, and although Tua never did that, Dave did go 12 hard fought rounds with Ike , so we will give Tua the benifet of the doubt here, and a long drawn out brawl is the most likely scenerio.Tua was no Fred Astaire, thus the fight would be on the inside, Marciano's turf.Of course Tua is no slouch infighting, and with both guys chins as solid as they were, both would absorb huge shots all night.The difference would ultimately be Marciano's tactic of weaving low and coming up slugging away with hooks, uppercuts, and that big overhand right of his.Marciano would get cut, maybe even floored, but Rocky never got discouraged.Down the stretch the all time great workhorse would out work the best workhorse of recent times, and a bloodied Rocky Marciano would win a close but unanimous decision over David Tua.
He only handled two tomato cans with that weight (I'm not even counting Jerry Humphrey Jackson as a boxer). Shkor and Big Bill Wilson (the latter stopped on cuts in the very first round, in no time at all to test Marciano's chin). Tua's defense was at least as good as Marciano, although neither was a master of defense. Basically both will be landing just as often, with the difference being Tua had quite possibly the hardest left hook in history of boxing, much harder than Marciano's best punch. Plus right hook to the body which made many people writhe in pain after they tasted it. Tua was a KO artist. Marciano wore people down with tens or hundreds of punches. Rocky will fall first. No other way is possible in this matchup.
