Boxing: Friday - the man on Tua's mind

Heavyweight boxer Friday 'The 13th' Ahunanya has had a stop-start career, winning 20 of his first 22 professional fights, but the Nigerian-born fighter hasn't fought since 2008. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Every boxer has a story to tell, although in Friday "The 13th" Ahunanya's case, his trainer Luis Tapia tells it more colourfully.

The 38-year-old Ahunanya, who fights David Tua in West Auckland on Wednesday, is a model of modesty and charm after sparring at a downtown gym. He'll supply a few plotlines, but it is the Chilean Tapia who flamboyantly joins the dots.

"Whatever he is now, I have made him. We work together," says Tapia, his trainer of 10 years in Las Vegas. "It is hard to train heavyweights. They like to eat, like the good times, stuff like that - but Friday was very special.

"He came to the United States from Nigeria with a mission, to become the world champion ... unfortunately there have been promotional problems and about four or five years of Friday's fighting time have been wasted.

"We couldn't get out of a contract, so we just didn't fight.

"But he comes to the gym every day, fight or no fight. He does more than he is supposed to. I tell him to run five miles, he runs six. We aim to work 20 rounds, he works 25."

Even when tragedy struck, Tapia says Ahunanya stayed focused in the gym.

Five years ago, a Nigerian middleweight boxer named Vincent Moses was stabbed to death in a Las Vegas convenience store altercation over a woman.

"Vincent was like Friday's little brother," says Tapia. "He lost his best friend, but he overcame that. He stays focused in the gym."

While Ahunanya - the man who ended Shane Cameron's undefeated record - politely declares he thought that Tua would beat Cameron in their Hamilton showdown, Tapia offers an altogether more colourful line.

"Friday had already killed Cameron, so David Tua fought a dead man," says Tapia. "It was easy, no big deal. Tua waited until Cameron was on the way down, after he lost to Friday."

Tapia happily admits to calling Tua "chicken" after delays in nailing down next week's fight.

On a temperature scale, the likeable, pony-tailed Tapia might be said to reside in the red-hot corner. Ahunanya is chilled out in the blue.

In Nigeria, he lived the "laidback life of a national athlete" before heading to the United States in his mid-20s.

Profiles describe Ahunanya as a journeyman. He started impressively in the pro ranks, with 20 wins and a draw in his first 22 fights. Despite the TKO victory in Auckland over Cameron, his record since mid-2004 is not so impressive.

He last fought in June 2008, a hometown win in Nevada, and has been sidelined since because of those dreaded "promotional issues".

During that time he has diligently kept training and sparring, but also drove a cab.

"I think driving cabs helped me a great deal in terms of communication skills," says Ahunanya, who is married, and has two kids, boys aged 10 and 3. "I used to be real laidback, a shy kind of guy who didn't talk much, but meeting people from all walks of life helped me. It was an interesting job. Las Vegas is full of characters."

He expects Tua to launch another early assault.

"David has always had that power. I don't care what people say - as a man gets older, he gets more powerful," says Ahunanya. "Reflexes might slow down, but I know that I am stronger now than I was five or six years ago."

This will be Ahunanya's first boxing wage for nearly two years.

The Herald understands Tua will earn $200,000, with $50,000 of that from Maori TV, while Ahunanya's guarantee is US$35,000 ($50,000).

Ahunanya's ultimate aim remains to fight for the world title.

Despite that history of "promotional issues", Tapia believes his charge is on the verge of fighting one of the world champion Klitschkos.

Tapia says: "This is just business. The big payday is to win the world title. If you can be the champ for three years, you might make $100 million, at least.

"I'm very confident we will beat Tua - 200 per cent confident. Friday has more speed, he is a better boxer, and Friday really wants this. I don't know how bad David wants it.

"Friday is a very nice guy ... most fighters have two personalities. Friday would help you anyway he can, but when he fights, you don't want to be in the ring. He is the worst person you have ever seen in your life. He just wants to cut your head off.

"We will try to knock Tua out. We don't want to go to the scorecard. Friday's left jab is like his right hand - he is quick. We'll see if David can deal with that jab."

Back to the blue corner. Ahunanya is not in head-cutting mode over Tua.

"I'm not the kind of man that predicts," he says.