Why did "Lewis-Tua" of '00 fizzle in heat / action over its 12 rd limit? Your words.

tua's heart wasnt in it thats why he was overweight and didnt leave it all in the ring

 

Lennox did exactly what somebody with his physical advantages should have done against somebody with the stature and reputation for power Tua had. Lennox had McCall behind him, knew how dangerous Tua was, and properly utilized his 84 inch reach and 6'5" height against somebody just 5'10" with a 70 inch reach.

I don't think it mattered what kind of shape David was in, or how motivated he was. Lennox wasn't going to let him get close enough to do much of anything. Tua didn't have the element of surprise favoring McCall and Rahman, and he wasn't as defensively proactive as guys like Dempsey, Marciano, Frazier and peak Tyson.

 

Considering that Tua was 7 inches shorter and outreached by 14 inches yet packed serious power in his fists, the fight was pretty much what should have been expected. Lewis was not going to take too many chances, especially after putting Tua in a shell by knocking him around in the early rounds. It was up to Tua to leave it all in the ring in his only title attempt, and he didn't.

Tua may have been bulked up and slower, but he seemed to be in better shape than in his other 240+ pound efforts. His legs were like tree trunks.

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Picture of his pre-fight training session.

 

I think Tua would have beaten him if they fought years earlier (1994-1997) Tua threw more punches back then. He was more ferocious; which only increases his chances of landing that magic punch.

Tua followed Lewis looking to land one big left hook. That was his only strategy for this fight. No disrespect to Lewis, but Tua really beat himself. Add that to the fact that Tua had never fought an opponent the caliber of Lewis before.

 

LOL like four pounds was such a big difference in a man of Lewis' size.

The fight sucked because Tua fought like *****. And Lewis bought like a ***** with a big reach and height advantage (which was what he should have done). So, no, I dont blame Lewis. I blame Tua for getting a title shot and taking absolutely no chances whatsoever. Guys used to put their lives on the line for a title and Tua didnt even put being out of breath on the line. I remember when he lunged for Lewis in the last 10 seconds of the fight and thinking how pathetic it was that he was trying to make it look like he actually wanted to win that that late.

 

You really think he choked against Ike? I think he choked against Lennox. He fought a close fight against Ike. Despite the fact that he lost, I think it was Tua's best performance.

 

Lewis did what was easy: Outbox the slower, shorter, stubbier fighter at range, and smother him inside.

It'd have gone down this way 10 of 10 times.

 

Yep.

Hard to beat a bigger guy when you have such .a huge disadvantage in the footwork department. Watch out for the big calve guys when it comes to leg movement.

 

A good point. Tua also sits very heavy on his lead leg when he's getting set to throw. A guy with Lewis' view could have probably seen that, and knew whenever Dave wanted to attack.