Boxing: Tua v Rahman declared a draw

David Tua came up just short of making Hasim Rahman eat his words when their International Boxing Federation (IBF) elimination bout was declared a draw in the United States today.

The three judges were unable to separate the fighters at the end of the 12-round contest in Philadelphia.

Judge Bill Clancy had it 116-112 for Rahman, while Bob Grasso had it 116-112 in Tua's favour and George Hill scored the bout 114-114.

Former world champion Rahman, still bitter after he lost his previous bout to Tua on a technical knockout in late 1998, had belittled the New Zealander ahead of today's contest, dismissing him as a "fat midget".

The midget roared at times today, particularly during the middle stages of the fight when he struck Rahman a series of heavy blows without going in for the kill when the American was at his most vulnerable.

With a significant reach advantage of 33cm, the much taller Rahman peppered Tua with jabs in the opening rounds, leading to swelling around the Aucklander's right eye.

But Tua slowly warmed to his work and had much the better of the sixth, seventh and eighth rounds when he began putting combinations together.

In each of these rounds Rahman looked decidedly shaky but Tua was unable to land a decisive blow.

Tua later acknowledged he held back when he should have unleashed his full power.

"I was concentrating more on getting off one big shot instead of putting punches together, which is what I've been shown by Kevin (trainer/manager Kevin Barry) in the gym.

"I had him gone but it looked like I was admiring my work. It is a thing I have to get away from. I have to step forward and put more punches together."

Barry was left frustrated with both the result and his charge's inability to knock down his 30-year-old opponent.

"I was trying to tell him he wasn't going to do it with one shot," Barry said.

"He needed to put two or three shots together and forget about the hook. He probably tried to throw his left hook too many times.

"Rahman was out on about four different occasions. All David had to do was put those couple of punches together and it was night over."

Despite appearing to land considerably more heavy punches than Rahman, Tua evidently did not do enough to sway the judges, whose decision left both fighters feeling short-changed.

"I thought I landed the bigger shots and the more effective blows," Tua said.

"At the end of the day, as you heard from the fans, they didn't go with the flow of what the judges had in mind."

Rahman was convinced he was the better boxer, decrying the decision and saying a rematch - the most likely scenario after today's truce - was on, providing the money was right.

His promoter Don King, a notorious figure in heavyweight boxing and linked to some of the sport's biggest scandals, will probably see a rematch as a convenient money-making exercise as both Rahman and Tua work to earn themselves a challenge against IBF champion Chris Byrd.

Tua signalled he was happy for a rematch, a prospect which hardly left Rahman beaming.

"I out-boxed this man, I out-punched this man, I made him bleed and I knocked him down (with a push after the bell to end 12th round)," Rahman boasted.

"What else can I do? How can you get a victory in this country? There is no way you can justify it (decision) but I've seen worse."

The draw left Tua's career record at 42 wins, 37 by knockout, three losses and one draw, while Rahman's record stood at 35 wins, 29 by knockout, four losses and one draw.

- NZPA