His Knockouts Were Scarier Than Tyson’s! David Tua – an Underrated KO Machine 

In the early 90s, a thunderous rumble of David Tua’s devastating hammers announced the emergence of a new threat in boxing’s most prestigious weight class. Today we look back on the Tuamanator’s road to the pinnacle of fisticuffs, littered with dozens of unconscious bodies.

Is David Tua One of Heavyweight Boxing’s All-Time Greats?

It is over a year since David Tua announced his retirement from boxing. After a promising start, his final comeback yielded underwhelming results and ended with consecutive losses for the first time in his career.

While perhaps not the finish many were hoping for, Tua’s career certainly had its high points. But did he do enough to class himself as an all-time great of the heavyweight division?

The short answer is no.

Certainly he was a dangerous, hard-hitting fighter. In his prime he was among the best in the world. But his lack of both a world title and wins against genuinely good opposition mean that he will likely be remembered as a good heavyweight in his era but not on an all-time scale.

His two best features were his devastating left hook and a strong chin, which saw him never be stopped in 59 professional fights while going down just once.

It was his power that made him such a dangerous opponent though. Standing at just 5’10”, he struggled to box against bigger opponents, but his heavy punch allowed him to remain competitive with anyone at any time.

His Knockouts Were Scarier Than Tyson’s! David Tua – an Underrated KO Machine. WATCH VIDEO BELOW:

Against better opponents, he often employed the tactic of waiting for an opening and pouncing on it, either knocking his opponent over or sending a barrage of punches to earn a TKO. While some claim many of these wins came against the run of play, the fact that he was still capable of winning from these situations is exactly what made him such a dangerous fighter.

His most notable wins using this tactic came against Hasim Rahman and Fres Oquendo, both fights in which he was outboxed but capitalized on the chances he sensed in the 10th and ninth rounds respectively.

However, while the tactic had its successes, it also had its shortcomings.

Undoubtedly his biggest fight was his title shot against Lennox Lewis. Lewis used his superior reach to methodically pick apart Tua’s plan. Tua was content to wait for the opening that never came. Lewis was too crafty and too intelligent to give him an opportunity.

The result was an overwhelming victory for the champ, as Tua seemed to refuse to throw punches.

It provided the blueprint for how to beat Tua. You could not afford to give him an opening, while boxing intelligently to rack up points.

Nine months later Chris Byrd utilized his quickness to avoid Tua’s bombs. It was perhaps the defining moment in Tua’s career. Had he won that fight he may have made another run at the title. At the least a win against Byrd would have been another quality win on his record.

Instead he beat a handful of solid contenders before emerging with a lucky draw in a rematch with Rahman.

From there Tua’s days as a genuine contender were over. After two years in the boxing wilderness, he made a comeback in March of 2005. While he won all of his seven fights between then and September of 2007, it was really nothing to write home about.

It was not until his second comeback, in 2009, that he genuinely looked like he had a chance of making a late run for a world title. In what was billed as New Zealand’s “Fight of the Century,” Tua came out looking energetic, powerful and, most importantly, trim in a mauling of fellow Kiwi Shane Cameron.

But that was as good as it got.

He looked like he could put together another performance like the one against Cameron, with his final five fights resulting in two wins, two losses and draw which probably should have been a loss.

Those three fights he did not win were typical of Tua’s reluctance to throw a punch against bigger, better opponents. Most notably he hardly fired a shot in his last fight, a comprehensive loss to Alexander Ustinov.

It was these inconsistencies against top opponents which really held Tua back. His early record looks impressive, especially when you consider the knockouts he inflicted. But very few of these came against decent opponents.

The most impressive victories he claimed were undoubtedly against Rahman, John Ruiz, Oleg Maskaev and Michael Moorer. But they were too rare, and much of that had to do with the likes of Lewis and Byrd exposing his limitations.

That said, you would certainly give Tua a chance against anyone. His ability to pick an opening against a tiring opponent and launch a flurry of power punches would always give him a chance. However, the better fighters would beat him with intelligence and proficient defences, just as Lewis did.

It was something Tua never really had an answer for, and he was usually reduced to walking around the ring, bobbing his head and looking for a way inside.

Tua had a heavy punch and an impressive highlight reel. But his lack of adaptability means he will be remembered as one of the best contenders of his era rather than one of the best of all time.