Tua vs. The Greats

[jbills69]

Prime Tua was a murderous puncher, and he COULD knock out pretty much any man on the planet. But WOULD he against most of the guys listed here? I doubt it. Guys get to be all time greats by fighting smart. Even at his best, Tua was very one-dimensional. Marciano and Tyson might have traded with him, but most of the others would outfox him and take wide decisions, or knock him out when he ran out of gas.

[young_robbed]

really , ithink he loses to all of them , this is a guy that struggled with chris byrd, got his ass whooped by ibeabuchi, and lost to rahman. prime tua is going to have a punchers chance of course with all that power but that's all it is, is a punchers chance. hes really not that good

[mickey malone]

Prime Tua was a murderous puncher, and he COULD knock out pretty much any man on the planet. But WOULD he against most of the guys listed here? I doubt it. Guys get to be all time greats by fighting smart. Even at his best, Tua was very one-dimensional. Marciano and Tyson might have traded with him, but most of the others would outfox him and take wide decisions, or knock him out when he ran out of gas.

Fine post.. 'One-dimensional' totally sums it up.

Very much the modern day Earnie Shavers, and has the proverbial punchers chance against anyone.

[CarlosG815]

really , ithink he loses to all of them , this is a guy that struggled with chris byrd, got his ass whooped by ibeabuchi, and lost to rahman. prime tua is going to have a punchers chance of course with all that power but that's all it is, is a punchers chance. hes really not that good

Tremendous puncher, but guys like Louis, Patterson, Tyson and Ali are just on a totally different level in terms of skill. Tua wasn't a very skilled boxer but he was extremely powerful and had a great chin.

That isn't enough to beat guys who are all around better than you. I agree, punchers chance is all he has and that's a slim one.

[Left Hook Tua]

I don't think size is that important in boxing. I can think of lots of small and mid size heavyweights who hit hard and can take a punch. And lots of big heavyweights that don't hit that hard or take that good of punch. Tua was good, but I never saw anything in him that made me think he could beat some of the best fighters ever. Guys like Patterson and Marciano had loads of skill on Tua which would help them beat him I think.

If it's true what Rahman said post fight then even his best attribute does not stack up very high all time.

size is very important in boxing. does size decide everything? of course not. size can be overcome. but there's a reason why boxing is one of the few sports that has weight divisions.

with size advantages , you have to take into account styles and attributes.

with a super quick boxer like ali or someone as well rounded as larry holmes , size will not be much of a factor. they can find ways to overcome it.

but if you're talking about a slugger/brawler type or someone not very strong or someone not very quickfooted , a size advantage will have more affect.

[Left Hook Tua]

Tua is out of league against the all time great technical boxers but i think the prime, in shape, consistent combination punching version of Tua makes even fights with Patterson, Marciano, Louis and maybe even Bowe (who loved to get into shootouts). I think people forget how dangerous he was when he was in shape in his earlier days.

tua was no technical boxing maestro by any means but i think some people automatically assume he has no skills.

is it because they maybe only saw the 250 lb. tua who threw one punch at a time?

for a 5'10 man with a short reach to be able to get to guys 4-5 inches taller and with considerable reach advantage shows good skills.

he was knocking out guys much taller and bigger who were boxing him and willingly not engaging as much. that shows some skill.

[Left Hook Tua]

Fine post.. 'One-dimensional' totally sums it up.

Very much the modern day Earnie Shavers, and has the proverbial punchers chance against anyone.

that would apply to power.

but shavers didn't have the greatest of chins.

shavers was prone to cuts.

shavers did not have the best stamina.

tua as you know has a top notch chin , very durable and had very good stamina.

[RubenSonny]

Tua was a good contender but everytime he stepped up in class he lost, those guys are simply on another level and he'd be reduced to a punchers chance.

[Left Hook Tua]

really , ithink he loses to all of them , this is a guy that struggled with chris byrd, got his ass whooped by ibeabuchi, and lost to rahman. prime tua is going to have a punchers chance of course with all that power but that's all it is, is a punchers chance. hes really not that good

he didn't just struggle with byrd. byrd schooled him.

byrd was a slick , quick , southpaw. understandable.

think of all the guys that had big height and reach advantages over byrd that byrd gave trouble. now think about how byrd actually has the height and reach edge on tua.


tua got his ass whooped to ibeabuchi? really? that was an ass whooping?


rahman lost the 1st fight. controversy or not. early stoppage or not. he did.

2nd fight was a draw but rahman probably deserved it.

[Left Hook Tua]

Tua was a good contender but everytime he stepped up in class he lost, those guys are simply on another level and he'd be reduced to a punchers chance.

everytime he stepped up in class he lost huh?

byrd beat him. lennox beat him.

ibeabuchi is disputable and i (along with a lot of people) thought he won that one.


who else? you do realize how many top 10 contenders and future belt holders tua beat right?

oleg maskaev , hasim rahman , fres oquendo , john ruiz........