Boxing: Tua needs convincing victory to keep himself in heavyweight frontline

By PETER JESSUP

David Tua is reckoned to be in the best shape of his eight-year professional career as he shapes for his Sunday must-win fight against Chris Byrd for the right to a world heavyweight title shot.

The difference between winning and losing is multi-million dollar purses as opposed to pushing for hundreds of thousands. Tua will bank a minimum of $US600,000 from this fight, but should he lose to the 32-year-old southpaw from Michigan, he will be struggling to command that again. The winner is promised a bout for the IBF title before the end of April.

Weigh-in is tomorrow (NZ time). Tua will apparently come in the lightest he has for the past four years, which means somewhere in the mid-104kg (230lb) range. Based on weight, his best fights have been against John Ruiz (round 1 KO in 1996) 102kg; David Izon (R12 KO, 1996) 101kg; Oleg Maskaev (R11 KO, 1997) 101kg; Ike Ibeabuchi (lost 12-round decision 1997) 102.7kg; Hasim Rahman (R10 KO, 1998) 106.6kg; He was 110.9kg when he lost to Lennox Lewis in November last year.

"His work-rate and his hand-speed weren't as good with the weight," Barry said. "He's lost the weight, and the work-rate and hand-speed are back."

He admitted Tua needed to win and win well to regain fans and put himself in a payday position.

"The right result transfers to millions. We have to win, and the better the win, the more convincing it is, the better."

Tua has sparred 110 rounds, much of it against southpaws. He has beaten three, including Jeff Wooden, so is not unfamiliar with the style.

But Barry wants his charge to use his power.

"We can't let [Byrd] settle and dictate the fight."

Byrd admitted this week that he did not think he would knock Tua out. Given the Samoan Aucklander's record of taking a punch, that is a good assessment.

What Tua has to prove is that he can deliver one with the menace of the Mike Tyson of the late 1980s.

When Tua enters the ring at the Thomas and Mack Centre in Las Vegas, where all the 3200 seats have been sold, he will have no nagging doubt that anything more could have been done, Barry said.

"In nine years together I've never seen him this good," Barry said.

"It's a shame he wasn't like this in November last year [against Lewis]."

Tua, whose win-loss record is 38-2, with 33 knockouts, had to blast Byrd, 33-2 and 19 knockouts out of the ring, he said.

Byrd is 1.88m to Tua's 1.78m.

As with the fight against Lewis, it is not what Tua can deliver - it is whether he gets inside to deliver it.

Byrd has a propensity to lay on the ropes then come back counterpunching.

He has been beaten by Ike Ibeabuchi, a fifth-round knockout in 1999, and Wladimir Klitschko, a 12-round decision last October.

His last fight was a unanimous decision over over Maurice Harris, who was not highly rated by the major organisations.