$1.5m Tua court shock

By JOHN MATHESON

The bitter legal battle beween David Tua and his former managers Kevin Barry and Martin Pugh has now blown out to $1.5 million in court costs.


Pugh's lawyer last night made an impassioned plea for an end to the court row.

"For Christ's sake, it's got to (come to an end)," Justin Toebes told Sunday News.

"It's my guess that between them the parties have spent $1.5 million in legal fees, which is just absolutely wrong."

Tua has been locked in a three-year High Court battle over cash with Pugh and Barry.

Sunday News has learned that Barry is asking to be paid $250,000 from Tuaman Inc Ltd's court-frozen funds so he can support his family.

And Toebes confirmed he has petitioned the High Court for a hearing date so the case can be finalised as soon as possible.

"Whatever claims people want to make, make them. Get on with it.

"Let's get on with life," Toebes said.

Tua started proceedings against Barry and Pugh in 2003 - over the fight purse of the world heavyweight title contender.

It has been estimated Tua earned about $20 million over his 11-year, 46-bout career -including a $6 million payday for his 2000 title tilt against Lennox Lewis.

Sunday News has been told Barrywants some funds to be unfrozen so he can support his family.

Barry is now rebuilding his life as a fight trainer based in Las Vegas.

Tua expressed sympathy for Barry if he was struggling financially, but said the court battle had also been tough on his family.

"It's been a tough challenging road for me and my family," Tua told Sunday News last night from his Arizona training base, where he is preparing for a November fight.

"Fortunately for me I can get back in the ring and have another go at fulfilling my destiny."

Barry and Pugh left New Zealand in the wake of their bitter bust-up with Tua.

Barry said when the Tua partnership broke up in 2003 that his children had come home from school asking if Tua - who Barry had regarded as "a brother" - still loved them.

"It was gut-wrenching stuff," he said in an earlier interview.

His father-in-law paid for him to relocate his family to the US.

Pugh moved to Australia.

"I love New Zealand, it is my home, and always will be my home," Pugh said last year before moving across the Tasman.

"It is like my family - but I say to people, my family has turned on me.

"There are four million people in New Zealand - two million of them hate my guts and the other two million dislike me."

Neither Barry nor Pugh returned messages left for them by Sunday News yesterday.

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