By Mark Vester
Trainer Kevin Barry has issued a warning to David Tua. He wants his former protege to step his game up because Friday Ahunanya is the first "real" opponent he's facing since 2003. Tua faces Ahunanya in Auckland on March 31. Ahunanya tried to retain Barry's services for the fight.
Barry told the Sunday Star Times that Tua has not been preparing well in the gym, he looks to have gained back the weight he dropped for last October's win over Shane Cameron and his sparring partners have been third-level at best. He took some shots at an open sparring session between Tua and Israel Garcia, where Barry says the New Zealand star looked terrible.
"It was put on to show David in menacing fashion [but it looked] absolutely terrible. I looked at it and said `you're kidding me'. He looked like he had ballooned up again: he looked every bit of 120 to 122kg [Tua was 103kg when he fought Shane Cameron]. He is sparring with a third-rate guy like Israel Garcia, and Friday is sparring with Hasim Rahman and Samuel Peter," Barry said.
The last time Friday was in a major fight, he upset the previously undefeated Shane Cameron by knocking him out in 2007. Friday has been inactive, not having a fight since June 2008, but his last defeat came to Alexander Povetkin by decision in 2006. Barry expects a very tough fight for Tua.
"Friday will give him a lot of angles, he has got fast hands and a good jab and he is the first real fighter David has fought since Rahman in 2003. The other eight names on his list in the last seven years – none of them are real fighters," Barry said.
"Friday has been to the big dance before, he knows what he is getting himself into, he is very, very experienced guy and he has sparred hundreds of rounds with very decent guys."
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