More boxing in the new year is good news for fans

OPINION: I'll be upfront with you here, I enjoy rugby and do have a special spot for cricket, a sport that has prompted me to meet many of the good mates, writes Logan Savory in this week's Sav's Say.

I am also fond of American Football and Rugby League and do find the last round of a golf major intriguing viewing.

Anything with a competitive edge to it generally holds some interest to me.

But there's one sport which wins hands down when I pick out the father of all sports.

Boxing simply fascinates me.

Few sports include everything that boxing does – endurance, speed, power, courage, tactical nouse and a heap of hype, even though much of it is manufactured. The reason I`m divulging my fascination for boxing at this point is I think we are about to hear plenty more on this sport in New Zealand in the coming year.

Tomorrow morning we will wake up to a brand spanking new year, some will own a slight headache to bring in the year while others will be content to quietly ponder what 2010 might bring.

I've already done some pondering on the sporting front and if everything runs to plan, this time next year I think we can be looking back on one of New Zealand's greatest sporting achievements.

David Tua, I believe, is about to start his run towards a world heavyweight boxing title.

Tua impressed me a lot during the mismatch with Shane Cameron this year.

Little of it had to do with what he produced in the ring. His power was impressive, but it was more the way he conducted himself before and after the fight that had me convinced he still remains a genuine shot at world glory.

At 37 Tua looks to have matured to the point he is ready to take the next step in boxing, a step he couldn't make in 2000 when he lost his title fight against Lennox Lewis.

Let's be brutally honest in this assessment, Lewis is one of the smartest boxers to ever grace the ring and there is no-one of his calibre doing the rounds now.

Tua has a prime opportunity to blast himself on to the world stage at the moment, as the sport of boxing is lacking any real top quality heavyweights.

British boxer David Haye and Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko hold the major belts in the world heavyweight division and must be respected.

However, even with my Kiwi eyepatch off, I know where my money would head when Tua gets to line one of them up later this year.

Tua will take on Friday Ahunanya in New Zealand on March 27 and will then head to Honolulu for a fight against a yet-to-be-named opponent on May 1.

That will give Tua some more time back in the ring as a title shot looms.

By all accounts a matchup with either Haye or Klitschko is touted for late i next year after those two complete their current commitments.

» Logan Savory is a former Southland cricket representative who was named New Zealand junior sportswriter of the year at the 2007 TP McLean journalism awards. His main rounds are cricket and rugby.

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