David Tua
| David Tua | |||||||||||||
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Tua in 2014
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| Real name | Mafaufau Tavita Lio Mafaufau Sanerivi Talimatasi | ||||||||||||
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| Rated at | Heavyweight | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||
| Reach | 178 cm (70 in) | ||||||||||||
| Nationality |
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| Born |
21 November 1972 Faleatiu, Samoa |
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| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||||||
| Boxing record | |||||||||||||
| Total fights | 59 | ||||||||||||
| Wins | 52 | ||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 43 | ||||||||||||
| Losses | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Draws | 2 | ||||||||||||
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Medal record
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David Tua (born Mafaufau Tavita Lio Mafaufau Sanerivi Talimatasi; 21 November 1972) is a Samoan-New Zealander former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. A highly ranked contender for most of his career, Tua was known for his brutal punching power, especially in his left hook; he scored sixteen knockout wins inside of the first round, which included knockouts of world heavyweight champions John Ruiz and Michael Moorer within thirty seconds of the first round, as well as late stoppages of other world champions Oleg Maskaev and Hasim Rahman. In a 2003 article by The Ring magazine, Tua was ranked 48th on a list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
Nicknamed the "Tuamanator", his fast-paced bob and weave pressure fighting style has often drawn comparisons to Mike Tyson. Tua fought many of the best fighters of his era and challenged for the WBC, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles. In his five losses he was never subject to a technical knockout, and possessed one of the best chins of his time.
Tua said that he lived with four brothers, four sisters and ten other relatives while growing up. Tua said that his mother worked three jobs, and Tua said that his father worked long hours. Tua said that his father forced him to start boxing when he was seven years old, and Tua said that he is grateful to his father for introducing him to boxing.
In his early career, Tua trained three days a week at a small gym in Mangere Bridge, under boxing trainer Gerry Preston. Tua became New Zealand national heavyweight champion in 1988 at age 15.
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Wikipedia