Tua vs. Meehan in January? – Boxing News

By Jim Dower: Heavyweight David Tua (50-3-1, 43 KO’s) could be facing 6′5″ heavyweight contender Kali Meehan (35-3, 29 KO’s) in January 2010, according to the Nzherald. Tua, 36, recently came off of an impressive 2nd round knockout of Shane Cameron earlier this month on October 3rd in New Zealand. This was Tua’s first fight in two years and he looked very impressive like he had gone back into a time warp to 2000 when Tua was at the top of his game and challenging for the heavyweight world title against champion Lennox Lewis.

Tua’s promoter Cedric Kushner is also considering a fight against Friday Ahunanya, a fight that would be a good tune-up for Tua but not likely as much as a fight against the top #3 rated World Boxing Association contender Meehan. If Tua’s management wants to put him in the fast lane, then a fight against Meehan is the way to go. Not only is it a winnable fight for Tua due to Meehan’s weak chin, but it’s one that will give Tua a huge surge in the heavyweight rankings and put him within a stone’s throw against a title shot against one of the Klitschko brothers, if that’s what Tua’s goal is.

A fight against Meehan would get a lot of attention in the U.S. and do a lot to rebuild Tua’s image with the American public. Tua has done little since losing a title shot to Lewis in November 2000. Tua fought continuously after that fight against mostly B level fighters and had problems with his weight. Instead of fighting in the mid 230s, which was clearly Tua’s best weight during his career, he began to fight in the upper 240s and looking much slower.

At the same time, Tua’s explosive combinations went away and he became a one punch at a time fighter. Tua always had great power, but he got by in the earlier part of his career by his ability to throw blazing fast combinations. This was how he got many of his knockouts. For whatever reason, that went away at the same time that Tua began to come into his fights at a heavier weight.

Tua’s next fight will be in one of the following locations: Hawaii, Brazil, New York or Berlin, Germany. It’s unclear why Tua’s management would want for him to fight in Germany, but perhaps it would be an option to take advantage of the huge crowds that are generated over there for boxing matches. It would be a great opportunity for Tua if WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev was able to beat David Haye on November 7th. Who knows? Tua could find himself as a potential opponent for the big 7-foot Valuev.

At only 5′10″, the size differences between Tua and the huge 320 pound German based Valuev would be astronomical. However, it would be a great fight and one in which Tua would have an excellent chance of winning if he could somehow reach Valuev’s chin with his big punches.

11 Responses to “Tua vs. Meehan in January? – Boxing News”