Another look back at a heavyweight punching legend.
David Tua never won a major heavyweight title, but he was a damn good fighter and must-see television just because of his fearsome knockout power.
On August 17th, 2002, Tua took on former champion Michael Moorer in an HBO main event. Tua had just stopped Fres Oquendo after being well behind in the fight, and Moorer had a handful of wins and a draw on his comeback trail after retiring in 1997 when he was thrashed by Evander Holyfield.
Moorer did pretty much the worst possible thing and got himself cornered against the ropes with Tua ready to fire. There was a hook to the body that landed but a right hand upstairs is what did the damage. That two more punches landed on Moorer’s way down were really just for good measure as he fell halfway out of the ring. Over and out in 30 seconds and in front of Moorer’s cornerman too!
Watch the video at the top of the page.
I’ve made this the Sunday Punch because Tua was in the news recently for helping a stranded mother and her child by fixing their flat tire. Tua (52-5-2, 43 KOs) retired in 2013 and while I’ve touted his power, his chin was absurd — he wasn’t even knocked down until Monte Barrett decked him in 2010. Moorer (52-4-1, 40 KOs) had a quality win over Vassiliy Jirov in 2004 but then just rode off into the sunset with wins over middling to lower level opposition until he retired for good in 2008.