David Tua

Faumuina To'aletai Mafaufau David Tua (born 21 November 1972), best known as David Tua, is a Samoan-New Zealand former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013.

A highly ranked heavyweight contender for most of his career, Tua was known for his formidable punching power, especially in his devastating left hook.

He scored sixteen wins by knockout in 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 world champions Oleg Maskaev and Hasim Rahman.

at the 1986 New Zealand Juniors Championships (Juniormiddleweight)

Tua became New Zealand national heavyweight champion in 1988 at age 15.

at the 1989 New Zealand Championships (Heavyweight)

1990 Junior World Championships, Lima, Peru (Heavyweight)

at the 1990 Oceanian Championships, Nukuʻalofa, Tonga (Heavyweight)

at the 1990 New Zealand Championships (Heavyweight)

at the 1991 World Championships, Sydney, Australia (Heavyweight)

at the 1991 New Zealand Championships (Heavyweight)

At the age of 19 Tua won a bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

He lost his semi-final to David Izonritei, whom he would later knock out as a professional.

Tua turned professional later the same year.

Amateur career breakdown:

at the 1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona, Spain (Heavyweight (– 91 kg))

Qualified at the 1992 National Olympic Trials, Apia, Samoa (Heavyweight)

Tua debuted in December 1992.

Of his first 27 fights, 23 were won by knockout.

He was ranked by BoxRec in the world's top 10 heavyweights from 1996 to 2003, reaching his highest ranking of No.3 in 1998.

Tua ended his career with a knockout-to-win ratio of 82.6%.

In Tua's 1997 fight against Ike Ibeabuchi, the two fighters combined to set the record for most punches thrown in a heavyweight fight on record.

Ibeabuchi won the decision, handing Tua his first professional loss.

Tua fought many of the best boxers of his era and challenged once for the unified world heavyweight title against Lennox Lewis in 2000.

In his five professional losses, Tua was never subject to a stoppage and is considered one of the most durable chins of his time.

Tua said that he lived with four brothers, four sisters and ten other relatives while growing up, and that his mother worked three jobs, and 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.

He ballooned up to 253 pounds when he defeated Obed Sullivan in 2000 by KO.

Later that year, he weighed 245 pounds in the loss to Lennox Lewis.

Tua was disappointing in the fight, with both fighters avoiding each other and Tua not throwing combinations.

Tua lost a clear-cut decision.

The fight with Lewis was for the WBC, IBF, & IBO heavyweight titles and took place in November 2000.

Tua lost on points by a wide margin.

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.

After the loss to Ibeabuchi, Tua took on future champ Hasim Rahman and TKO'd Rahman in the 10th round.

The victory over Rahman marked the beginning of Tua's struggles with his weight.

Prior to this, Tua had scored devastating knockouts against future titlist John Ruiz (via 1st-round KO, in only 19 seconds) and Darroll Wilson.

Tua also beat David Izon and future champion Oleg Maskaev to set up the fight with Ibeabuchi.