Few fighters sparked fear in the hearts of the 1990s heavyweight elite quite like David Tua.
Samoan-New Zealand slugger Tua was one of the most underrated heavyweights at the time when Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, and Evander Holyfield stole the headlines. ‘Tuaman’ knocked out over 80 percent of his 52 professional victories and tasted the canvas just once in 59 fights. He also won bronze in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
Despite this, Tua never lost by knockout, and even though his prime lined up with some of the heavyweight greats from his era, he never touched undisputed world gold.
David Tua was ducked by other heavyweights in his era
Tua only had one undisputed title fight in his lengthy career, a mandatory challenge against peak Lennox Lewis in 2000. He lost the fight by lopsided decision as Lewis kept him at bay with a busy lead hand. This was Tua’s only opportunity for world gold despite knocking out many former or future champions.
In 1996, Tua decimated a prime John Ruiz in 20 seconds. Ruiz would retire 27 fights later with 12 undisputed title opportunities. Being knocked out like Ruiz was against Tua could have been a career-ender, but Ruiz went on to have a trilogy with Evander Holyfield, among other opportunities.
Tua also handed Hasim Rahman his first loss, again, inside of one round. Rahman would defeat Lennox Lewis and fight in eight world title fights.
Whether due to boxing politics or untimely matchmaking, Tua never gained traction like his peers in America and retired in 2013 after back-to-back losses. All in all, the ‘Tuaminator’ maintained a 52-5-2 record, with 43 knockouts.
David Tua took part in a record-setting heavyweight brawl
In 1997, Tua came up against Ike Ibeabuchi, a fellow heavyweight powerhouse, this time hailing from Nigeria. The two sluggers brawled it out for 12 rounds, breaking records for punches thrown in a heavyweight fight at 1,730 punches.
Tua set the record for punches thrown by a heavyweight, which would go unbroken for three more years.