He's had a couple years off but hasn't lost a fight in eight years; in a few short days David Tua will be back, fighting in New Zealand in perhaps the biggest boxing match that country has hosted.
Tua, one of the hardest punchers (and one of the strongest-jawed fighters of modern times) has been in limbo most of the decade, fighting only a few journeymen between two 2-year layoffs: the first for most of 2003 and 2004, the most recent encompassing the majority of 2008 and 2009. Before that Tua made his name with brutal knockouts, victimizing high-profile fighters such as John Ruiz, Hasim Rahman, and Oleg Maskaev. His three losses were all one-sided decisions to Ike Ibeabuchi, Lennox Lewis, and Chris Byrd. He later fought to a draw with Rahman.
His opponent is #117 Shane Cameron, a New Zealand native. Cameron (23-1-0) is 7-1 against registered fighters, but his KO loss against Friday Ahunanya stalled the momentum of his career. Cameron was winning on the cards before he got into trouble in the final round.
Here is Cameron's relevant record:
Date Result rank (now) Opponent Rank (then)
12/2004: Win by KO over #390 SHANE WIJOHN (#253)
03/2005: Win by KO over #343 AUKLAND AUIMATAGI (#245)
04/2005: Win by KO over #181 COLIN WILSON (#198)
07/2006: Win by KO over #243 ROGER IZONRITEI (#117)
03/2007: Win by KO over #377 BOB MIROVIC (#245)
11/2007: LOSS by KO to # 50 FRIDAY AHUNANYA (#152)
06/2008: Win by KO over #344 KEVIN MONTIY (#316)
09/2008: Win by Wu over #285 TERRY SMITH (#245)
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Cameron debuted at #97 after beating Wijohn, and subsequent wins over Aukland Auimatagi and Colin Wilson moved him up to #71. He won three inconsequential fights before defeating Roger Izonritei in 2006. His next major fight was a win over Bob Mirovic. Cameron made the top 50 at #50, but it was to be his highest ranking.
The loss to Ahunanya dropped Cameron out of the top 100, and his two wins since then have done little to bolster his rating. None of the fighters he has faced have been ranked in the top 100 at the time, though two of them—Ahunanya and #84 Osborne Machimana, whom he KOed before Machimana was a ranked fighter—are currently in the top 100. The vast majority of his opponents have been from the Australia/New Zealand circuit, in contrast to Tua who has faced some of the best boxers in the world.
Cameron's near-win against Ahunanya shows that he can take on a good fighter and win rounds on points. Tua isn't the greatest boxer by any means, so Cameron can be expected to win rounds throughout the fight. But as he showed in the same battle, he can be knocked out be a decent foe, and Tua has power beyond anyone he's faced. Regardless of any lead he builds during the fight, it's never safe. The question is, can he hold off Tua's left for 12 full rounds? If he can, he likely wins on points, and would make a huge leap into the Top 20, while Tua would fall to nearly out of the top 40, as he's currently a very weak #7. But all Tua has to do is catch Cameron once, and it's probably over.
I expect Tua to win by KO and keep his lofty ranking. What he does with it after this fight no one knows; twice now he's taken over two years off from the ring, and recently had blown up to 300 pounds before cutting down to 235 for this fight. If he prevails over Cameron the 36-year-old should use that momentum for one last run at the heavyweight title; ideally he could take on the Haye-Valuev winner, as either opponent would make an appealing match. More likely he will have to take whatever he can get against other fighters hoping to rebound. And if Cameron, no fledgling at 31 himself, should win he ought to try to get outside of his home country/continent for some more diversified competition.
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