How would David Tua do on today's heavyweight scene?

He'd be right in it. He would not beat Uysk but anyone else is within reach, some more likely than others.

 

Tua by murder.

 

Hit or miss. Just like his own generation. But, if the question is: could he have starched Fury, Usyk, or AJ, the answer is : Yes. Of the three, Usyk (because of his intelligence) has the best chance of not letting that happen.

 

I think he does well. Usyk would be a clear favourite but the Tua who fought Ike could give him a hard fight. Fury would be favoured but if he got caught ala Wilder, he wouldn't be able to recover as Tua is a better finisher. Joshua would also be a slight favourite as long as he didn't get caught.

Tua would stop both Dubois and Kabayel IMO. I think prime Tua outworks Parker. Parker would just get hurt too much and he isn't fast enough to escape him.

Tua-Zhang is an absolutely fascinating match up. IMO Tua would be reluctant to come in vs Zhang but if the fight goes past 6, Tua's body attack would take over and he would floor Zhang late and win a decision.

Hrgovic is far too hittable and anyone ranked below Hrgovic, Tua beats

So he is a big underdog vs Usyk, slight underdog vs Fury and Joshua. Clear favourite over Parker, Zhang, Dubois, Kabayel, Hrgovic and anyone ranked below.

 

Parker would outbox him.

 

This.

He’d be the same fighter now as then — sometimes determined and motivated, sometimes not. He’d be inconsistent.

Now if we say ‘would prime Tua if he fought his entire career at his peak (whatever you determine that to be) be a better fighter in today’s heavyweight scene than he was in his time’ … the answer is yes. Because he would have been a better fighter in his own time if he was at his peak for every fight.

So would every other fighter who ever lived.

 

Today in the Top 10 for sure, but not the champion.
I would favor Usyk and Fury over Tua, but not AJ.
Tua Vs. Andy Ruiz (AJ 1 fight) I would like to watch.
Personally, I would also like to hear your thoughts on Tua Vs. Jalolov.

 

I can't favour Jalolov over Tua yet. On paper, Jalolov should do very well vs a short fighter. But Jalolov has only faced cans as a pro. We haven't seen him go 12 rounds. Could he keep Tua at bay for 6-7 rounds with his height and reach? Sure. What happens when he slows down? He would start getting caught. He doesn't like pressure and i think Tua stops him late.

 

The bruising kind, on the faces of most of today's HWs.

 

Let's look at the 3 guys who beat prime Tua:

Ibeabuchi - incredibly durable, powerful and could maintain an extremely high work rate. There is virtually no top 10 heavy today that has both the durability, physical strength, power and work rate of Ibeabuchi except Usyk.

Lewis - legit ATG with height, an exceptional jab and a massive right hand. Plus Lewis had good footwork vs guys with big lefts. No top heavy today except maybe Joshua has that combination of size, jab and power.

Byrd - a slippery highly defensively skilled fighter with relatively light power. Better defensively than most heavies today except Usyk.

People are talking about Tua being inconsistent. The issue here is that he only ever lost to 3 guys in his prime. No top heavy today can stand infront of him and slug it out with him who has the work rate of Ibeabuchi.

No one except Joshua and maybe Fury could replicate what Lewis did to him.

And most of the top heavies today do not have the defensive skills of a Byrd to exploit Tua.

Parker, for example, does not have the power or work rate to stand infront of Tua. He could try and move and fight defensively but he is 250 lbs and far too hittable to outbox Tua without getting caught.

Although the division today is strong, the top heavies except Usyk, Joshua and maybe Fury do not have the attributes that made Ibeabuchi, Lewis and Byrd beat Tua.

 

I’ll agree, with the consensus. Tua would be number 2 based on the tremendous success he had in his own era.

He even managed a win over 1 top ten ranked fighter, in his entire career!

 

Rahman & Oquendo were both ranked at the time Tua beat them, + Izon & Maskaev went on to be ranked shortly after Tua beat them.