Tua has a title on his mind

Dean Juipe

Thursday, July 20, 2000 | 9:57 a.m.

His reputation as a big puncher is now so well established that the only action bettors can get on David Tua's Friday fight with Robert Daniels at the Regent Las Vegas is whether the bout goes past the 1:30 mark of the third round.

And as absurdly low as that round proposition is, most bettors don't expect Daniels to see the end of the third round. It's currently a minus 190 in the Regent sports book that the fight will not go past the halfway point of round three. It's a plus 150 that it will.

"This fight will present a lot of challenges," Daniels admitted Wednesday at the weigh-in where he came in at 219 pounds and Tua registered 243. "But it's not the challenge, it's how you deal with the challenge that counts."

Despite being a former cruiserweight world champion, Daniels is expected to become another victim in Tua's ongoing series of quick KOs. The mandatory challenger to Lennox Lewis for his IBF and WBC heavyweight titles has had only one of his eight most recent fights go beyond the third round.

"I give Daniels a lot of credit but he's in for a few surprises," Tua said. "It's my destiny to become the world champion and I'm looking at this fight accordingly."

Tua, 27, is 36-1 with 31 knockouts and may be fighting Lewis as soon as November. Negotiations for that fight are under way.

"We're sort of at an impasse," Tua's promoter, Dan Goossen, said of his talks with Lewis' representatives. "If we haven't gotten anywhere by next week, the fight may go to purse bid."

If Goossen's America Presents wins the purse bid, the Tua vs. Lewis fight will be in Las Vegas. If Lewis' promoter, Panos Eliades, wins the purse bid, the fight appears as if it will go to Toronto.

"The only thing standing in the way is Friday night," Goossen said, plugging Tua's match with Daniels. "If David wins, the stage will be set."

Daniels, 31, is 39-4-1 with 32 knockouts and is taking part in his biggest fight in a decade. He's coming off a loss to Lawrence Clay-Bey in January.

Also scheduled: Lance Whitaker, 20-1, vs. Dave Dixon, 21-3-2, 10 rounds, heavyweights; Rocky Gannon, 29-9, vs. Wolfgramm Pia, 18-2, eight rounds, heavyweights; Fai Falamoe, 5-0, vs. Willie Chapman, 7-8-1, four rounds, heavyweights; Maselino Masoe, 15-1, vs. David Lopez, 14-7, eight rounds, middleweights; and a four-round women's super middleweight bout between Maria Johansson, 0-1, and Karein Bill, 1-5. First bell is 6 p.m. in the 2,000-seat Regent ballroom that's allegedly all but sold out.

Of local note on the undercard is Gannon's return after a 20-month retirement.

"I'm back to doing what I was born to do," he said. "I'm revitalized and I'm on the same quest that Tua's on."

After initially leaving boxing, Gannon took a stab at pro wrestling, produced a radio talk show and is now a security guard at the Regent who hopes to become a Las Vegas Metro policeman. As a light heavyweight during his earlier boxing career, Gannon was known for his aggressiveness -- and spilling a lot of his own blood.

"The difference now is that I've learned some things in the ring that no one ever taught me before," he said. "I never had any defense before and I was always getting cut. You'll see a different fighter."

He's 30 years old and weighs 225 pounds.

"No offense to Tua, but Wolfgramm and I will have the most exciting fight on the card," he predicted.