There is NO REASON why David Tua...

[Beanflicker]

Tua shit the bed against Lennox, largely due to Lennox being smart and boxing from the outside in a very boring fight.


For obvious reasons, Ruiz was never gonna give him a shot.


And Tua shit the bed against Chris Byrd.


He was powerful and very sturdy, but not quite active or consistent enough.

Yeah well said. I'm a big fan of Tua, but he looked like shit when he got chances against Lennox and Byrd.

[Spicoli]

In fairness to Cooper...compared to Tua didn't he actually prove he was prepared and brought the champs to the brink of hell when he got his chance And he was a sub for a sub vs Holyfield

[Master]

So there are plenty of reasons why he got only 1 shot.

[ykdadamaja]

lololol...

[mikeeod]

Tua's fight with Ike Ibeabuchi was one of the greatest fights in heavyweight history. Both of those guys had great potential and the fact that Tua was a fringe contender (at best) shows the depth of that heavyweight class. Contrast Tua with some of title holders and "contenders" in recent heavyweight history. I think the main points have been hit sufficiently, but I think it's interesting to look at it from the context of how deep the talent pool was back then.

[Master]

So the real question is why did Ike Ibeabuchi not get a single title shot when he beat both Byrd and Tua?

[mikeeod]

The rape conviction killed his career (as it should have). As much as I would have LOVED to have seen Bowe vs Lewis, I think I would've preferred Lewis vs Ibeabuchi. I would make Lewis the favorite, but I give Ike a VERY good chance of stopping Lennox. It would've either brought the best out in Lewis and been a spectacular win, or he would've broken Lennoxs spirit and been a great win. Too bad the guy was a sociopath and overall degenerate.