Boxing: Tua's KO clears the cobwebs

David Tua knocked out Edward Gutierrez in the fourth round of his third comeback fight in New York yesterday.

The Auckland heavyweight decked the American journeyman with one of his trademark powerful left hooks to the body, taking another step toward his goal of a landing another title fight.

In his third fight in two years dominated by a legal court battle with his former management, Tua ended the scheduled 10-rounder in 2m 59s of the fourth round at the Manhattan Centre.

Tua, 111.13kg, used a short chopping right hook for another knock down in the second round and went on to register his 39th knockout, boosting his record to 45-3-1.

Gutierrez, 102.96kg, of Illinois, was never a threat to Tua.

Roger Bloodworth, who is now handling Tua, said it would take a few more fights before the Aucklander would come into title contention.

"We're trying to turn him from a puncher into a boxer. You can have power, but you need a system to deliver it. He's improved 100 per cent since the first fight of his comeback," Bloodworth said.

"I was happy with his performance but it's going to take anywhere from three to seven fights before he goes for a title.

"There's no rush for a big payday, we're going to do this the right way."

Tua said he felt a little rusty.

"I definitely accomplished what I wanted to. There was some ring rust, but I wasn't looking for a first round KO. I wanted the work to try and establish my jab," he said.

The 33-year-old Tua fought for a title in 2000, losing a 12 round points decision to champion Lennox Lewis.

His career stalled because of a legal battle with his former managers, Kevin Barry and Martin Pugh.

- NZPA