Boxing: Lewis vs Tua - round by round

By PETER JESSUP

Round one: Tua cops plenty of Lewis' left jab to eye and nose. He throws three huge left hooks that find nothing but air. By the end of first three minutes the champ is ahead on points and already starting to look comfortable. Lewis 30-27.

Round two: Lewis' trainer Emanuel Steward keeps shouting at Lewis to throw the right more. When he goes to the body he's lucky enough to collect the same rib Tua damaged in sparring six weeks before the fight. He takes points again, despite warning for low blow, and already Tua's face is reddening from damage Lewis is doing. Lewis 29-27.

Round three: Lewis keeps landing jab. Tua lands couple of hooks, but does not hurt champ. It is only one of 12 rounds scored for Tua by all three judges. And by end of it he surpasses the time previous contenders Michael Grant and Frans Botha spent in ring with Lewis. Tua 30-28.

Round four: Tua comes out fast, cutting off ring to keep Lewis near ropes and reduce room he has to run, but cannot get inside defence. His face is reddened more and his eyes are puffed up by the end, requiring treatment from cuts man Lou Souza. Two judges score for Tua.Tua 29 Lewis 28.

Round five: Lewis keeps on landing punches. You feel the pain at ringside of blows that would have felled almost anyone else. But Tua keeps going in for more punishment in hope of finding opening he needs, and again it does not happen for him. Lewis 30-27.

Round six: Round starts with fighters waiting in neutral corners as repairs are made to the ropes in Tua's corner. They stare at each other unblinking. When it starts Lewis simply holds his right in Tua's face, sometimes right on his nose, like a policeman on points duty holding up the traffic. Lewis 30-27.

Round seven: Tua again shows willingness to mix it. No way is he scared and despite the huge number of punches he is taking, he never retreats. Lewis 30-27.

Round eight: Tua is warned for low blow. It's clear early on that it's another round to Lewis, but that produces boos from crowd because both avoid brawl everyone wants to see. Lewis 30-27.

Round nine: Tua has to keep his right up constantly to defend as Lewis uses height and reach advantage, which prevents Tua being able to throw right uppercut that would have distracted Lewis' attention from left hook that he needs to deliver. Lewis 30-27.

Round 10: Lewis goes seriously on attack for first time, stirring the crowd. Then he starts to hold, trying to push Tua away, slowing him down. The bettors in the crowd start calling for the champ. Lewis 30-27.

Round 11: Tua is still looking mean and determined, but Lewis isn't worried and starts moving to centre of ring to fight. Lewis 30-27.

Round 12: It ends the way it started, with Lewis walking away and Tua unable to get to him. Tua's left eye, in particular, is well puffed. He looks hurt but doesn't stop trying and fight ends with him throwing his whole body at the champ, to no avail. Lewis 30-27.

All-up score 355 - 329.

Herald Online feature: the Tua fight