Boxing: Floored effort - Tua's first taste of pro canvas

Tua hits the canvas in the final round after Monte Barrett clubbed him with a left to the ear. Photo / Getty Images

A final-round meltdown when he was docked a point for a foul then knocked down for the first time in his professional boxing career saw David Tua's dream of a second world heavyweight title fight come within a whisper of disappearing in Atlantic City yesterday.

Tua staggered plucky opponent Monte "Two Gunz" Barrett in the second round and almost finished the 39-year-old American with a flurry of heavy punches in the fourth.

However Barrett defied predictions that he would wilt under Tua's power, boxing his way back through the middle rounds and then felling Tua with a clubbing left to the ear in the closing seconds of the final round.

Tua regained his feet but was a spent force and, with the Samoan-born Kiwi having already lost a point for a throw earlier in the round, it appeared his comeback had been halted.

Tua, though, threw much the heavier punches throughout and also scored consistently to the body of his taller opponent. That work was rewarded when one judge scored the bout 115-111 in his favour, while the other two marked the fight 113-113 for a majority draw result that saw Tua retain his WBO Asia Pacific and Oriental titles.

In the wash-up, what was almost certainly a 7-10 final round cost Tua what would have been a clear points victory.

Barrett certainly did not see it that way, saying the unfair result was typical of boxing and one of the main reasons he had chosen to retire.

"These are the things that cause a man to retire," Barrett said. "The sport of boxing is not pure like the fight is. I fought with all my heart. I gave it my all. There were times I felt I was on my last breath - but I came out here, I picked myself up and I did it."

In the curious world of professional boxing the result was both a step backwards and a step forward for Tua. While the debatable result means he can't expect to be promoted as a mandatory challenger, the fallibility he displayed won't have scared off too many potential opponents.

Tua started most of the rounds well, but faded as they wore on. He troubled Barrett frequently but lacked either the will or ability to press home his advantage. Age, it seems, is finally catching up with the 37-year-old.

"It was one of those nights, I did the best I could," Tua said. "Things didn't go our way but I'm glad [the decision] went our way.

"I was trying to get it going. I was trying to work on my speed, the things I worked on the gym, but it seemed like nothing was going our way."

Barrett has pledged to retire but the unsatisfactory result - and the entertaining nature of the fight - make a rematch a possibility.

"If it is what it is, so be it," Tua said. "Monte is a warrior and I am a warrior. We leave everything in the ring."