Cedric Kusher has agreed to drop lawsuit against Shelly Finkel if Tua gets titleshot at Klitschko.
In November of 2006, Shannon Briggs was supposed to get a title shot against Wladimir Klitschko at Madison Square Garden. Supposedly, Klitschko pulled out of his contracted defense against Briggs and opted to face Calvin Brock instead. Kusher sited a breach of contract on Klitschko's part and proceeded to sue his manager Shelley Finkel. Kusher, who also promotes David Tua, has agreed to drop the lawsuit if Klitschko gives Tua a title shot.
The fight is not yet made, but it could happen in Spring of 2008. It could be an interesting match up and chance for David Tua to re-surge as a viable heavyweight contender. Tua as of late appears to be in much better physical shape than he had been for fights against Lennox Lewis, Hasim Rahman, and the opponents he had faced after those fights. Perhaps he's finally starting to take this sport, his profession, more seriously now. In the event that Tua upset Klitschko, he would not only emerge as a contender, but as the number heavyweight in the world. Klitschko is currently the most established fighter in the heavyweight division, with wins over Peter, Byrd, Brock, Austin, and Brewster.
When you sit back and and analyze that level opposition, Austin (the weakest name in that list) drew with Ibragimov - also a current titlist - prior to his shot against Klitschko. As we all know, Klitschko destroyed him in two rounds. Can Tua seriously derail the Klitschko express? Let's talk about the match up.
Klitschko has been knocked on his rear end by all the big punchers he's faced. However, he's gradually adapting to those big punchers and he has improved significantly as a boxer. While he was embarrassed by Corrie Sanders (March 2003) and Lamon Brewster (April 2004), the fact remains that Klitschko is getting up and winning his fights against these big punchers now (Williamson, Peter), whereas he wasn't a few years ago, because he was not as developed or fundamentally sound at that time as he is now.
His boxing skills, through the teachings of Manny Steward, have improved immensely. As he gets better, his boxing ability will make up for the inability to take a good punch on the chin. Klitschko possesses all the same tools that Lennox Lewis had when he was champion. I remind you all that Lewis, a great fighter and the last Undisputed Champion that this sport has seen, has never gotten up from a knockdown. Everytime he was put down, he stayed down. The fact that Klitschko has gotten up off the canvas to win fights says something about his durability and heart during those fights.
Klitschko isn't exactly a light puncher himself and Tua was unofficially knocked down by Rahman in the closing seconds of the final round of their rematch. It took almost 11.5 rounds to do it, but Klitschko also managed to hurt and wobble Peter who is also known for having a rock-solid chin.
Anything is possible, but this spectator currently believes that Tua is in for a one-sided boxing lesson and MAYBE a late stoppage, if his durability has slipped at all with age.
Are we going to see Wladimir Klitschko -vs- David Tua?
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2 comments:
To answer your question: "God, I hope not."
I'm getting impatient for Klitschko to match his words about wanting to unify the title with his deeds. He's been talking about it for a long time, and maybe some of it is out of his control (like, say, a lawsuit) but...
God I hope such a fight never make it to fruition. Tua has looked spectacular as of late by fighting D-List heavyweights. While I finally believe he is serious about his comeback (his drop in weight is a good sign) I just don't think he is ready for a Wladimir Klitschko. As he proved in his fight with Lennox Lewis, Tua has a hard time with tall heavies that use their reach. Klitschko needs to do what he has often spoke of and start unifying the titles. It would go a long way in bringing boxing back to some mainstream publicity.
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