Tua has a bead on heavyweight title

Dean Juipe

Monday, Nov. 6, 2000 | 10:55 a.m.

If this were Samoa, by the prime minister's decree we'd all be wearing our sacred beads today.

It's David Tua Week on the island, and, to commemorate, the inhabitants have been asked not only to show their support for their native son outwardly but to say a daily prayer for him.

Should Tua defeat Lennox Lewis when they fight Saturday at Mandalay Bay, Tua Week in Samoa may go on ad infinitum. The man's popularity will know no bounds.

The native of Faleatiu, Western Samoa, is riding high as it is. He says he'll not only defeat Lewis and win the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council heavyweight championships, he'll do it by knockout.

He says he has to.

"It'll be difficult for me to win a decision," Tua admits. "I don't want the fight to go to the judges' scorecards, regardless. That's why I've trained so hard, so it doesn't have to go to the judges.

"For me, the only way to win the fight is to knock him out. I'm a knockout fighter and I won't win by decision."

No offense to the judges (Chuck Giampa, Jerry Roth and Dave Moretti) assigned to the fight by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, but a previous experience in California has left Tua distrustful. Back on June 7, 1997, Tua was handed his only loss, a decision setback in Sacramento at the hands of Ike Ibeabuchi that could have gone either way.

That loss is the only blemish on Tua's record, as he's 37-1 with 32 knockouts in a pro career that dates from 1992.

"Points don't mean a thing," Tua said, when asked what he learned from the loss to the since-incarcerated Ibeabuchi. "I learned not to leave it to the judges."

Few of his besieged opponents see the end of the fight anyway and Tua has knocked out nine of the 10 men he has faced since losing to Ibeabuchi. Included in that KO string are three straight fights in Las Vegas, as Tua has spent most of the past year living and training here in preparation for the inevitable fight with Lewis.

Tua, who turns 28 Nov. 21, has been the IBF's mandatory heavyweight challenger for two years.

"Realistically, I'm a boxer who rarely wins on points," he said and his KO record -- even if it came against suspect opposition -- supports that claim. "I'm not going to counterpunch or box. There's no secret to my style."

And therein lies his appeal, of course.

"David Tua is going to do more for boxing than any fighter in the next 10 years," his promoter, America Presents' Dan Goossen, optimistically maintains. "He's special. He relates to everyone.

"Fans love rough and tumble fights and that's what David's going to do. He's not going to be out there hugging Lennox Lewis, he's going to be out there throwing punches.

"He has a killer instinct."

Journeymen such as Robert Daniels, Obed Sullivan and Shane Sutcliffe -- each of whom has faced Tua in the past 13 months -- can attest. None saw the end of the third round, let alone the scheduled 12th.

Possessor of the minor United States Boxing Association title, Tua goes for the grand prize Saturday in the Mandalay Bay Events Center. His fight with Lewis tops a pay-per-view card that will bring him a $3.5 million dividend.

"David's become a student of the game," notes his trainer, Ronnie Shields. "When I first saw him he didn't know how to fight and he only got by on his instincts. Now he's learned the game of boxing and he understands what it takes to be the champion of the world."

Tua is salivating at the possibility.

"I can't wait," he said. "Nothing is easy, but I will seize the moment when it arrives. I earned the opportunity to have this fight and I'm confident I'll win it.

"Lennox is a great fighter, a big fighter, but I'm better than him. Saturday is going to be a beautiful night for David Tua."

Training (and living) at the Prince Ranch in the shadow of Mount Charleston, Tua, who frequently speaks in the third person, says Lewis won't present any surprises.

"David Tua has done everything David Tua could do to be ready for Lennox Lewis," he said. "I made sure every base was covered, from top to bottom. I trained hard.

"Lewis is going to have to pay for this."

At a squat 5-foot-10 and 240 pounds, Tua is a fire hydrant of a slugger.

"Mike Tyson's name popped into my head right away when I first saw him," Shields recollects. "He has that same build -- and that same left hook."

With his disdain for a points victory, Tua will almost certainly bore in on Lewis from the opening bell. But the strategy has its built-in conundrum, as Lewis -- at 6-foot-5 -- will tower over the Samoan and perhaps use that advantage to keep him at bay.

"Lennox has a lot of ability," Tua muses. "But I'm ready and willing to go toe to toe with him. What I've decided is to be physically tough and mentally strong.

"I'm not going to be mentally destroyed by Lewis the way some others have. I'm confident, I've got nothing but positive thoughts, and I'm coming to win."

He was coming to win as a 13-year-old novice when, in 1986, he traveled eight hours to New Zealand for the national boxing finals only to find there were no other middleweights in the field. Not satisfied with earning a championship without having a fight, Tua -- in a well-worn if revealing story -- planted a small tool box under his trunks and weighed in as a heavyweight.

He won that championship as well, knocking out his opponent in the opening round.

"I discovered that I had something special at an early age," said Tua, whose given name is Mafaufau Tavita Lio Mafaufau Saneriui Talimatasi. "It's a God-given talent to be able to knock people out."

It's with that sense of foreboding doom that he'll approach Lewis.

"It's not going to be hard to find me," Tua said. "I'll be right there in front of him. I'm more mature. I believe in my style now.

"I'll be in there to take him out."

Lewis, 37-1-1 with 29 KOs, has been knocked out only once, losing to Oliver McCall in 1997 to break what otherwise has been a seven-year championship reign. At 35 years old, the champion may be in his prime after excellent outings with Evander Holyfield, Michael Grant and Frans Botha in the past year.

"But the 240, 245 or 250 pounds David Tua will bring into the ring gives him an asset and makes him a man the likes of which Lennox Lewis has never faced," Goossen suggests. "I think it's David who has the size advantage in this fight."

But, in the event such things matter, those in Tua's camp are apt to have their sacred beads on today. They may even say a daily prayer, you know, just in case.