Tua Camp Makes No Secret
About Fight Plan Against Lewis!
Fightnews had the opportunity to talk to David Tua and Ronnie Shields, his head trainer, about preparations
for the upcoming bout against Lennox Lewis for the WBC and IBF Heavyweight championship of the world.
Lennox Lewis has had outstanding success in recent bouts against Frans Botha and Michael Grant by picking them
apart from the outside and then going for the kill. Tua's camp made no secret in Tua's strategy against Lewis.
"I'm not going to stand out and let him punch me," Tua said. Shields added, "Our fight plan is
so obvious. We have a fighter, David, who's 5 foot, 10 inches versus an opponent who is 6 foot, 5 inches. If
we fight on the outside, we'd have to be crazy. We're going after him. No jabs. Just power punches. We're going
for the knockout."
Tua's weight is always the topic of conversation.
He fought against Obed Sullivan at a weight over 250 pounds and was a little lighter for his fight against Robert
Daniels, but he did not go many rounds at those weights as he knocked out both fighters early in the bouts. Shields
said Tua would fight Lewis at a weight between 230 and 250 pounds. "We're not worried about it," Shields
said. "David's going to fight where he's comfortable at. His chef is cooking some good meals for him. He's
training very hard but is not going to starve himself to satisfy anyone." Tua said he would be in top shape
to go the distance if necessary.
In addition to the weight issue, another topic of conversation about Tua is whether he will fold under the intense
spotlight that is associated with a heavyweight title bout. Tua has obviously never been in this situation, whereas
it is becoming old hat for Lewis who has defended the title in one form or another for years. Tua said he would
not change how he approaches this fight just because it is for the heavyweight title. "There's no difference
right now with the way I feel. It's important for me to remain calm and patient each day and learn something each
day." Tua said he would not melt under the pressure. "I'm a unique individual inside and out. I am
very blessed. I'm mentally tough. I've seen fighters where they have opportunities to win the heavyweight title
of the world, and they're somewhere else. They're overwhelmed by the title. That won't happen to me."
In preparing for Lewis, Shields said he is showing Tua certain rounds of Lewis' prior fights. "Particular
rounds I analyze with David and then he gets up in the ring. We talk about what Lewis did and then we do it the
next day too." Shields also said he analyzes Lewis trainer, Emanuel Steward. Lewis's fight against Ray Mercer
in 1996 has been especially examined by Tua's camp.
Shields has brought in tall sparring partners to help Tua prepare for the 6 foot, 5 inch Lennox Lewis. The sparring
partners stand 6 foot, 7 inches, 6 foot, 6 inches and 6 foot, 5 inches and all give Tua something different in
their fighting styles. A sparring partner who is 6 foot, 3 inches was expected to be brought in to camp for speed.
Tua's camp is not making any secrets about how it will approach Lewis in the squared ring. They know Lewis is
most comfortable when he keeps his distance from his opponent, and they believe he has a suspect chin. (I do not
believe I have seen any boxer land a good punch on Lewis in years). Their plan is simple: keep it inside and throw
power punches. "We're going to throw left hooks all night long," Shields said. If they stick to their
game plan and the 3rd, 5th and 7th rounds come and go, it should be an interesting night.
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Top Ten richest sportsmen
Lennox Lewis is the undoubted heavyweight king among Britain’s richest sportsmen. The double reigning WBC and IBF champ weighs in way ahead of his rivals with a cool £60million, according to the sporting rich list published in Business Age this month. Lewis, who defends his belts against David Tua live on Sky Sports next month, is a massive £20million ahead of his nearest rival, golfer Nick Faldo, and earns around £17million a year. And there is more money on its way, with an estimated £30million pot awaiting should he finally climb in the ring with Iron Mike Tyson next year in a bout said to be worth £70million alone. But, while Chris Eubank always insisted that boxing was just a way to pay the bills, Lewis insists that flooring opponents rather than filling his pockets has been the motivation behind his rise to the top. He said: “Money has never been my target, but I still don’t reckon I’ve earned all that much, not compared to the likes of Tyson and Holyfield. “The big difference is, I’ve kept mine. Bad managers, bad promoters, bad women, drugs – I’ve kept away from all that.” Behind £40million Faldo, Prince Naseem Hamed is ranked third in the hit list, with £25million to his name. The WBO world featherweight champion is undefeated in his five-year career and his explosion on to the world boxing scene and subsequent £10million sponsorship package with Adidas, have taken his annual earnings to £8.7million. Another golfer, Ian Woosnam, is fourth on the list with £18.5million, while former England skipper Alan Shearer is in fifth place with £18million – the highest earnings of 14 footballers who made it into the top 50.
Britain's Top 10 richest sportsmen 1 Lennox Lewis Boxing £60m 2 Nick Faldo Golf £40m 3 Naseem Hamed Boxing £25m 4 Ian Woosnam Golf £18.5m 5 Alan Shearer Football £18m 6 Eddie Irvine Motor racing £16m 7 Colin Montgomerie Golf £13.5m 8 David Beckham Football £10.5m 9 Paul Gascoigne Football £10.5m 10 Steve Davis Snooker £9.5m |