Boxing: Tyson camp keep close eye on Tua

By PETER JESSUP

LAS VEGAS - At the back of the crowd that gathered for David Tua's public workout at the heavyweight fight venue, the Mandalay Bay casino, yesterday was Mike Tyson's trainer, Stacy McKinley.

McKinley rates Tua. "Tua has every chance of upsetting Lennox Lewis," McKinley said of Sunday's bout.

"He's young, he's strong. He has a lot of power. It's a dangerous fight for Lewis. I think Lewis will win, but I can see an upset, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Tua wins."

Tyson has telephoned Tua's promoter, Dan Goosen of America Presents. He asked in a very quiet, high-pitched voice if he could come out to the Prince Ranch training camp where Tua has been in hard work for the past two months. The request was politely declined.

Yesterday, McKinley was trying to keep a low profile while Tua went through defensive routines with his trainer, Ronnie Shields. A couple of hundred fans, plenty of Samoans and Kiwis among them, watched as he familiarised himself with the fight ring.

McKinley trained Tony Tucker for his 1993 shot at the WBC belt that Lewis had retrieved from the rubbish bin where Riddick Bowe threw it. Tucker lost a 12-round decision.

"I studied Lewis on video. He has problems with shorter fighters. Ray Mercer gave him problems.

"Lewis has to punch down - it's an advantage for Tua to be as low as possible," McKinley said.

Asked about Tyson's retirement announcement after the Andrew Golota fight, McKinley said he had to take Tyson at his word.

But asked if Tyson would be in the stands on Sunday, McKinley said "Sure." He left, with the parting words: "If Tua wins the title I'm sure Mike will fight him. And they're the same size. They'll stand there eye to eye and toe to toe."

Tua remains calm while heavyweight chaos reigns in Las Vegas.

Wrapping Tua's hands before the show yesterday, Shields dropped the bandage four times, something he never does.

"Aw, come on man," Tua said to him. "Drop it again and I'll have to do it myself."

Tua admitted the scene was finally sinking in - that this is the world title fight he has worked towards for eight years.

Is he nervous at all? "Yeah, a little bit."

Would he watch Lewis' training, which was two hours later in the same ring. "What for?" he asked.

When Tua stripped down and danced around the ring, manager Kevin Barry told the world's media, "As you can see, he's really overweight - he's not ready for this."

It was a sarcastic retort to Lewis and other critics who have queried the proportions of Tua's waistline.

When the crowd chanted Tua's name, he acknowledged them with a roll of his fists and salute. They loved it, so he threw back his head and let out a bloodletting roar. They liked that better, so he jumped up on the ropes and punched the air, then pointed upwards - to God - to signal he was on the way up.

After throwing his wraps to the fans, Tua donned a new leather jacket, lavalava and ula fala necklace and sat down to give interviews.

Fight fans who watched Tua, then Lewis, train were asked to predict the outcome of the match. Of the 1202 votes cast, 998 were for Lewis and 204 for Tua.

Herald Online feature: Tua v Lewis

The Herald Online is ringside for the countdown to David Tua's tilt at the world heavyweight boxing title. Reporter Peter Jessup and photographer Kenny Rodger bring you all the news, inside information and pictures, leading up to this Sunday afternoon's showdown in Las Vegas.

* Be sure to get your full-colour poster of the two fighters in the print edition of the Herald on Friday November 10.