Well Tua was stopped as an amateur by a big right hand by Savon. But he did show a great chin as a pro. This doesn't mean he couldn't be stopped but its unlikely. IMO Wilder can't fight on the back foot. I think Tua pressures him, Wilder's hands held low means he eats a big left hook and gets battered and stopped early. Tua tko 4. Wilder has a punchers chance if he catches an incoming Tua at the right time.
The truth is Tua would probably taste Wilder's power early and settle into plodding his way to a decision loss. There's a lot of difference in risk and reach between Rahman and Masakaev and Wilder. I don't really even think the Stiverne who showed up for the first Wilder fight was any worse than Tua.
Sure. But he didn't face a big puncher for much of that. What are the odds he can stay on the back foot and not catch a big left hook?
This content is protected Just watch the highlights. Wilder could take a shot. Tua was a size smaller than Stiverne and didn't have the same kind of heart and technical ability. Stiverne was really trying to win the fight with counter left hooks and body work.
Tua is a considerably harder puncher than Stirverne with the unique aspect to his power being dangerous at any point in the fight early or late. Wilder isn't Lewis and even Rahman has better technical skills than Wilder. Stirverne isn't that good he looked like crap vs an ancient Ray Austin and his claim to fame is beating Arreola.
I'm going with Tua by ko inside the 10th round. The Samoan's pressure, his power and his ability to close the distance would have been enough in my opinion. Tua wasn't fast but Wilder was hurting by the old Ortiz, why shouldn't Tua have been able to do it? Besides, the Samoan had a steel chin, unlike Wilder.
I don't care for a post that attempts to completely rewrite history. Tua couldn't get full extension on his left hook against tall guys and didn't even do well against Rahman. He needed a foul to bail himself out and probably deserved an L in the rematch. Stiverne was better than Mercer for a short period. He could jab and was tough like Mercer, but he was way ahead with his counterpunching. A better question is how Tua would do against Areeola and Stiverne.
You don't care for it because it's a fact how am I rewriting history for stating factual history about Stirverne's career that doesn't make no logical sense. Did Stirverne look awful vs a 40 year old Ray Austin ? Yes. Is Stirverne's claim to fame beating Arreola ? Yes. Is Tua a considerably harder puncher than Stirverne ? Yes. Not to mention Stirverne lost to an opponent with 15-20 record and got a draw vs another opponent with a 19-23 record. I think it's you rewriting history trying to make Stirverne into something he wasn't.
I favour Tua in this match up but i wonder what his true height was. Seems he was more 5'9 than 5'11.
Using your logic, Wilder wins this fight because he hit considerably harder than Tua and Tua had a bunch of life and death fights with lesser opposition. If you want to fixate on Stiverne's chopiness as a prospect, maybe we should pretend that Tua from the Jeff Wooden fight was Tua's ceiling. Tua never even beat a highly regarded fighter without a bailout stoppage (green Ruiz and aging Moorer aren't valid). He wouldn't get it done against Wilder and it's totally obvious if you watch the video I put in this thread. Idk if Tua beats Arreola given that he was tougher than Rahman, Oquendo, and Maskaev.
Stirverne never had a ceiling he never had a prime he beat Arreola and that's his whole career in a nutshell. I'm not fixated on anything you said I'm rewriting history when infact everything I've said about Stirverne's career is factual. He lost to a journeyman got a draw vs another journeyman. Looked like crap vs an ancient Ray Austin. Won a vacated belt by beating the same opponent in Arreola and then that's his career basically over after losing to Wilder. No Tua doesn't have a great resume but he did beat multiple fighters who become world champions or were former world champions and has much more consistency and longevity to his career than Stirverne. And his losses to Ibeabuchi, Lewis, Byrd, who would rank as some of the better H2H fighters of their era is alot more forgivable than the very poor performances Stirverne had.
