Boxing: Forecasts of heavy reign for Tua

By PETER JESSUP

Boxing commentator Bob "The Colonel" Sheridan has called 656 world title fights, so when he says David Tua will win the heavyweight championship, his words carry plenty of weight

If Tua does not beat Lennox Lewis in Las Vegas on November 11 (November 12 New Zealand time), he will come back to take the title sometime in the future, Sheridan confidently predicts.

"Make no mistake about it, I'm a Tua fan. I hope he wins against Lennox. I want him to win."

Sheridan will be calling the fight for around 99 countries, including New Zealand. His job with Showtime precludes his commentating in the United States, where rival pay-per-view network HBO has the fight financially sewn up.

He rates this match-up among the top six fights of his career. Only the first bout between Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier and those between Ali and George Foreman in Zaire and Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield were better.

Sheridan first saw Tua when he called the Michael Acey KO in Auckland.

He stepped off the plane, was met by Tua's mother and father and taken straight to their church to meet the community the Samoan South Aucklander grew up in.

He was impressed. But he is more impressed now by Tua's progress and development.

"The difference between David and most others I've seen - and I've seen them all come and go - is he has a great family.

"His parents were asking me that day what I really thought of his chances. I told them he had the potential to go right to the top and it was a matter of how he handled the pressure, and his attitude to the work.

"There's plenty of pressure in this game. His whole life is coming down to one night in Las Vegas. But David is remarkably level-headed, he has his feet on the ground and that's thanks to his family."

Sheridan also rates manager Kevin Barry's work in making all this happen.

"Kevin has put David right where he needs to be. They've done all the work exactly as they should have. If he loses to Lennox, it won't make a difference. He'll be back.

"Lennox is at the very peak of his career, so it's not going to be easy. But if [Tua] loses this, it will make a financial impact right now, but I'm sure he will overcome it. A loss will not affect his career. I know all your readers want him to win, but if it doesn't happen now, it will happen one day."

Sheridan is so confident of a great fight he has invited many military friends from his Army reserve unit from all around the States to watch.

Of Tua's future, he said: "This is more than just sport. It's the world championship of sport. You're also talking millions and millions of dollars - $4 million [$NZ10 million] for this fight, and that's enough to set anyone up for life.

"But David is the most marketable heavyweight since Ali because of both his power in the ring and his personable nature out of it. When he wins the title he will make far more money out of the ring than he'll make in it."

The way Tua responded to his only loss as a professional also convinced Sheridan that the South Aucklander was different.

Mike Tyson had never recovered since losing his world title to Buster Douglas, he said.

But "David took that loss and used it for motivation."

Sheridan, a Catholic, recently had a religious medal blessed by the Pope. He has given it to Tua.

"Firstly, because I want him to stay safe, to come out of the fight healthy. Secondly, because I hope he uses everything God gave him in this fight. I know he's not a Catholic, but I know he's a God-fearing man.

"I would love to see David come up and dominate the division for a while. He's the sort of person we need after all the rubbish of recent years."

Sheridan is referring to the mismatches, corruption, drug-taking and the financial rip-offs that have plagued the boxing world.

He hopes its credibility will be restored by the combination of Tua's left hook and new legislation named after Mohammed Ali which aims to reform the boxing industry by making financial dealings more transparent and legislated.

"The public are not fools. They know the industry has put up a lot of trash. They know this fight is not trash and that's why it's selling."

Another big fan of Tua in Las Vegas is Paul Dapra, an officer with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department and a Swat team member.

Dapra is a regular at all Tua's training sessions and public appearances.

He met the South Aucklander through his friend Dan Goosen, who is vice-president of Tua's promoters, America Presents, and has taken to escorting the Tua team around town whenever he has time off.

The New Zealanders supply their own security but are not allowed to carry weapons. Dapra is.

For someone whose normal work day seldom goes by without an armed call-out, the policeman is enjoying the break.

"These Kiwis are great guys; it's all been fun," he said.

His advice to visitors to the city: "Don't go two streets off the Strip (Las Vegas Boulevard). That's where you'll meet the bad people. Stay on the Strip with the crowds."

The David Tua/Lennox Lewis fight has been dubbed "The Royal Rampage."

The HBO network has already filmed Tua and Lewis for advertisements on its pay channel and on free-to-air TV, urging fans to part with $49.95 for pay-per-view.

Tua stunned the TV crew when, after completing his piece to camera, he threw his head back and let out an almighty roar. It makes the hair on the back of your neck prickle. Now, on the ad and posters, Tua's image has been superimposed over that of a tiger - in case the message of menace is not getting through.