Tua a home boy – for now
REALISM AND boxing promotion are rarely close bedfellows, but those responsible for plotting David Tua’s socalled ‘‘Tua of Duty’’ have made some cold, hard decisions that still leave him well-placed for another world title shot.
After the hype of Hamilton, Tua’s longtime promoter Cedric Kushner outlined an outlandish plan: New Jersey in February, New Zealand in March, Hawaii in May, next stop the world.
New Jersey quietly slid away and the Sunday Star-Times can now reveal the Hawaii trip is also off. Tua’s next three fights will all be in New Zealand – and it’s thought his camp, should Tua ever fight for and win a world strap, would also like to mount at least one defence at home as well.
As Tua readies himself for his March 31 fight in Auckland against Friday Ahununya, negotiations have begun over a bout in Wellington in July, likely to be against another mid-ranking American import, and then perhaps a third back in Auckland later in the year.
Kushner said the Hawaii fight was cancelled because it was intended as a co-promotion with the IBF lightflyweight champion Brian Viloria. However, Viloria lost his title last month, ending the deal.
‘‘Naturally, that impacts the business model,’’ said Kushner. ‘‘So I think I am better off doing another fight in New Zealand, for which I certainly make no excuses or find myself in a defensive position, for who in New Zealand is going to complain if David Tua has another fight in New Zealand?’’
As a programme, it’s less ambitious but more achievable than Tua’s original plans, conceived in the heady days which followed his brutal knock out of Shane Cameron.
The often-mentioned millstone of Tua’s domestic broadcast deal with Maori TV is one reason for the reshuffle, but there are others.
Would Tua turn down a world title fight if he were offered one now? Financially, it might actually make sense to. He’ll likely get only one shot, and if he loses, his career is over. So he needs to make that fight pay. And to make it pay, he needs two things: decent New Zealand TV revenue and drawcard status.
We’re back to the Maori TV as the big bad wolf scenario which Tua’s promoters have merrily pushed. It’s not that black and white, but the encumbrance of that contract means Tua cannot sell the domestic pay per view rights, which would normally be his alone, to a world title show. And, he simply isn’t in the category which demands pay per view sales in the United States.
When Vitali Klitschko defended his WBC title against Chris Arreola in Los Angeles last September, that didn’t make PPV either. And its worth remembering purses for title challengers have declined dramatically so Tua wouldn’t, after tax, training expenses and staff salaries, make much money.
Given that equation, there’s little point in taking Tua offshore at present when he has shown a marked reluctance to go, and the economics don’t stack up. A trip to Hawaii, hardly a boxing heartland, would neither make a dent on the US public conscious or be a big earner.
It’s clear promoter Duco is also finding the Ahununya fight a hard sell, but it’s a much safer bet. Duco’s corporate salesman, Dean Lonergan, is talking about a soft market. Tua’s unofficial handler, Greg McCalman, has been tasked with finding commercial deals for Tua but it’s been difficult to find any in a weak advertising market beyond a recent cameo on a Rebel Sport ad.
But Duco still reckons on 100 corporate table sales and around 3000 general admissions, which is a healthy return without a profile opponent. Pumping up ticket sales for that bout was the obvious motivation behind a rare open sparring session last week between Tua and Israel Garcia, which was pitched as an ‘‘invitation only’’ event for key media.
But the heaving throng inside Tua’s backstreet gym, however, included sponsors, hangers-on, the Hamilton stripper Lisa Lewis (wearing a strategically-placed towel) and a besuited John Campbell, looking as much at home as a dog in a catfood factory.
The conclusion was clear: Tua is still world famous in New Zealand. So forget Hawaii – Wellington may not quite offer the scenery, surfing or climate, but it’s much better suited as the next stop on the ‘‘Tua of Duty’’.