David Tua's win should open doors

Tua-Cameron Fight of the Century

1 of 25

LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff.co.nz Zoom

BLEEDING AND BEATEN: Blood trickles down the right cheek of Shane Cameron after his second round knockout loss to David Tua at Mystery Creek.

Relevant offers

David Tua has revived interest in the lucrative United States market with American boxing writers heaping praise on him following his crushing comeback win against Shane Cameron.

There was little attention overseas in the buildup to Saturday night's fight but no lack of it following Tua's second-round knockout. In fact, there were rave reviews.

The general theme from leading American websites is that Tua is back in a big way and there appears to be validity to his promoter's claims of a title fight not too far down the line.

"It was a great performance from Tua, and showed that he is definitely back.

"His speed, power and aggressiveness reminded me of his early form in the late 90s when Tua was battling fighters like Ike Ibeabuchi and Oleg Maskaev, and being compared to Mike Tyson," wrote Jim Dower on BoxingNews24.com

"Although the win was a good one, Tua needs to follow it up by being more active and fighting better fighters than this. There was mention of him fighting Hasim Rahman next.

"That would be a good choice if Tua can make the fight happen soon. If not, he needs to go after another top contender and try to stay as busy as possible. He turns 37 in November, and he needs to make a quick move if he wants to get a title shot before he gets much older.

"The important thing is Tua needs to stay at around the weight he fought [at] tonight and attack his opponents like he attacked Cameron.

"This is how Tua used to fight early in his career before he became overweight and more of a plodding type heavyweight.

"The way Tua fought tonight, I could see him beating most of the top contenders and possibly a champion or two if he attacked them like he did Cameron."

Geoffrey Ciani, of Eastside Boxing, said Tua was a rare fighter in that he was a fascinating knockout artist whose power and chin give him a chance against anyone.

"David Tua is back!" implored Ciani before adding a bit of perspective and analysis.

"His victory over Shane Cameron is not all that impressive in itself. That was expected.

"It was the way Tua won that was impressive.

"He has not had a performance like that where he looked this explosive in years. The way he clobbered Cameron reminded me of the way he bludgeoned John Ruiz back on HBO's Night of the Young Heavyweights over 13 years ago.

"His power was explosive, his punches seemed as fast [if not faster] than ever, and he still exhibited that relentless desire to press forward and chop down his opponent.

"More impressive was the fact that he was using elusive head movement and was throwing good powerful combinations, some of which were even started by powerful right hands.

"His trademark left hook looked as vicious as ever, and before long, Cameron had no idea what hit him and probably had no idea where he was."

Ciani then offered advice: "Can Tuaman make waves? If today was any indication, it appears he can.

"He will always be susceptible to fighters with a good jab who have a height and reach advantage, but regardless, he remains a dangerous foe for anyone out there.

"If he can continue doing the little things he did against Cameron – moving his head, throwing combinations, and being effective with his right hand, he can once again become a force in the heavyweight division.

"It was an impressive victory for Tua and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. Hopefully, he will remain active and we will see him back in the ring again sometime soon."

Mark Vester continued the theme on boxingscene.com, writing: "Some were afraid the fight might turn into a mismatch and that's exactly what they got.

"Tua came out with a fury – he was in shape and looked the Tua of old. He wants a title shot in 2010."

- © Fairfax NZ News