David Tua’s back, but will he deliver?
By Peter Chhim (October 20, 2005) 
David Tua
This Friday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, David Tua returns to the ring against Cisse Salif, in what will be only his second outing in the past two years. For the hard slugging Samoan, this second stage in his career will likely be his last shot at heavyweight glory. And for a man that was once lauded as the Heavyweight Savior of the division, it’s a grim reminder of how the highest hopes may come crashing down.

During David Tua’s 43-3-1 (38) championship runs in the late 90’s and early millennium, he showed evidence of how dominant and destructive he could be. Knockouts of Hasim Rahman, Fres Oquendo, John Ruiz, and Michael Moorer, along with an unforgettable, albeit losing effort against irresistible force, Ike Ibeabuchi proved that Tua not only had the ability to beat good fighters, but championship level ones as well.

Unfortunately though, sandwiched in between these bouts were painful affairs with Lennox Lewis, Chris Byrd and a second bout with Hasim Rahman. In watching these contests you got the feeling that Tua, although blessed with great heavyweight attributes, lacked the insatiable will to win that’s absolutely necessary for propel any athlete to victory. He was performing similar to a great basketball player who can’t make the clutch shots that it takes to win close games. David Tua, meet Karl Malone.

In the subsequent years following his draw against Hasim Rahman, Tua got tangled in a legal web with his former promoter and trainer, and has just recently been able to return to the ring.

Such that this Friday night will mark only Tua’s second contest in over 2 years. And following what was admittedly a rusty performance in March, he believes his opponent, Cisse Salif (17-4-2) will force him to tap the wells of his intermittent best, "I think Cisse will bring the best out of me," Tua said.

What’s more is that Tua believes he’s finally developing his all around skills. A credit that he applies to his new trainer, Roger Bloodworth, "(Now) I'm doing a lot of things I always knew I was capable of. I'm well prepared for (the fight) and I'm very much looking forward to it."

We’ll see. I’ve followed Tua’s career since his early days as a heavyweight, and the only things that I can confirm with certainty is that his weight has consistently soared, his activity in the ring as declined, and he has developed an increasing propensity to loading up big shots. Long gone is the 210-220lb fighting machine who was able to throw sustained combinations, and who drew apt comparisons to a young Mike Tyson.

Well, with all that said, Tua’s back and a victory this weekend will help to determine is he’s been able to make some of the necessary improvements he needs to, to get back into championship contention.

But, at the end of the day, even with as much as David Tua has been able to accomplish thus far, I can’t help but compare his career to that of basketball great Karl Malone’s. Malone never won a championship, and although he’s considered one of the best of his era, in the final analysis we discovered that there were just some days; the, “mailman” couldn’t deliver. If you are a David Tua fan, take note.

Can Mayweather be beat?

I feel inclined to comment on this topic since it has been headlining the pages at the Doghouse during the past few days.

For my money, Jose Luis Castillo already beat Mayweather during their first encounter. He couldn’t beat the judges though, who someone found Mayweather the unanimous winner that night. But to Floyd’s credit, in the rematch he was able to make the necessary adjustments that only the few with his boxing mind can make, and decidedly won the contest. But once again, for my money, Mayweather has already been beaten as a professional.

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