Tua A True Warrior: Fighting with a Torn Shoulder Muscle

By Boxing News - 07/25/2010 - Comments

Image: Tua A True Warrior: Fighting with a Torn Shoulder MuscleBy David S Patterson: After the draw against Monte Barrett on the 17th July 2010 I have been puzzled why Tua had such a bad performance. I am definitely not taking anything away from Barrett he came in ready to fight and fight he did.

So I’ve watched the fight tape to see where Tua went wrong and the obvious sign was he had gained weight and did not look as conditioned as he was in the Shane Cameron and Friday Anunanya fight and after the fist 5 rounds he seemed hesitant in finishing Barrett off. As a boxing trainer I immediately knew something was either wrong with Tua physically or mentally going into this fight. I had no evidence so I just thought he just had a bad night.

Today’s news confirmed everything I believed. Tua going to the Barrett fight Tua was carrying a torn shoulder muscle. Tua also skipped sparring sessions in the lead up to the fight because of pain in the shoulder but assured his camp he would be alright to carry on with the fight, which proved to be a bad call on Tua’s behalf. Tua did not go into this camp with a fitness coach and that would have definitely put a stop to the fight if the trainer could see Tua was not able to do his job 100%. Tua made the injury worse in the fight (unsure of what round) but continued to fight on.

Meeting Tua twice and seeing him in sparring sessions you would know straight away Tua is that type of person that would go to war, even if he was not ready or even injured. To me this was very unwise and maybe he felt pressure to fight this fight to keep on track for a title shot but I believe he should have canceled this fight because it almost cost him.

David Tua should of let the fans know what was wrong with him before and after the fight but I guess he didn’t want to use excuses and let what happens… happen.

I am satisfied now and believe once Tua recovers the next fighter will be in trouble and also now we know why Tua wanted a rematch with Barrett. Doctor has said Tua needs 6 weeks to rest and then he will probably be reassessed.



Comments are closed.