David Tua scored sixteen wins by knockout in the first round, which included knockouts of world heavyweight champions John Ruiz and Michael Moorer within thirty seconds of the first round, as well as late stoppages of world champions Oleg Maskaev and Hasim Rahman.
33 Facts About David Tua
2.
David Tua was ranked by BoxRec in the world's top 10 heavyweights from 1996 to 2003, reaching his highest ranking of No 3 in 1998.
3.
David Tua fought many of the best boxers of his era and challenged once for the unified world heavyweight title against Lennox Lewis in 2000.
4.
David Tua said that he lived with four brothers, four sisters and ten other relatives while growing up, and that his mother worked three jobs, and that his father worked long hours.
5.
David Tua said that his father forced him to start boxing when he was seven years old, and David Tua said that he is grateful to his father for introducing him to boxing.
6.
David Tua became New Zealand national heavyweight champion in 1988 at age 15.
7.
At the age of 19 David Tua won a bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
8.
David Tua lost his semi-final to David Izonritei, whom he would later knock out as a professional.
9.
In David Tua's 1997 fight against Ike Ibeabuchi, the two fighters combined to set the record for most punches thrown in a heavyweight fight on record.
10.
David Tua ballooned up to 253 pounds when he defeated Obed Sullivan in 2000 by KO.
11.
David Tua was disappointing in the fight, with both fighters avoiding each other and David Tua not throwing combinations.
12.
David Tua defeated Edward Gutierrez by knockout in the fourth round of a scheduled 10-rounder on 26 July 2006.
13.
David Tua started slowly, scored a knockdown with his famous left hook in the second round, and put Gutierrez down for the count in the fourth round with a combination of two left hooks, one to the head and the decisive one to the body.
14.
In November 2006 David Tua defeated Maurice Wheeler in the seventh round of a scheduled 10-rounder by knockout.
15.
David Tua ended the bout with a solid left uppercut to the body which immediately sent the howling Wheeler to the canvas.
16.
David Tua continued his comeback in February 2007 with a unanimous decision over Robert Hawkins in a 10-round bout.
17.
David Tua ended the match being the aggressor and hurt Hawkins in both the ninth and tenth rounds with body punches, but was unable to end the match with a knockout.
18.
David Tua threw two powerful left hooks to the head that sent Montana sprawling to the canvas giving David Tua his sixth win in a row.
19.
David Tua made short work of his over matched opponent ending the bout at 1:41 of the second round.
20.
David Tua fought fellow New Zealander Shane Cameron at Mystery Creek, Hamilton on 3 October 2009 with David Tua knocking Cameron out seven seconds into the second round to pick up the WBO Asia Pacific and Oriental Heavyweight titles.
21.
On 31 March 2010 David Tua fought Friday Ahunanya, winning on points after 12 rounds.
22.
The match was a controversial draw with David Tua being knocked down for the first time in his professional career late in the 12th round.
23.
In June 2013 it was confirmed that David Tua was getting back into the ring.
24.
On 10 October 1992 David Tua appeared on the New Zealand version of the gameshow Wheel of Fortune.
25.
David Tua had asked for an "O for Olsen" but this was heard by some as "O for awesome".
26.
David Tua requested "P" when buying a vowel on the same episode.
27.
David Tua was heard to ask if he could buy a "constonant" during the same show.
28.
From 1992 to 2003, David Tua was managed by former boxer Kevin Barry, who trained him from 2001.
29.
In 2005 David Tua took Kevin Barry and Martin Pugh to court over their business arrangements.
30.
Barry and Pugh accused David Tua of manipulating them to collect revenue, yet David Tua maintained that he knew little of the men's affairs and did what they told him to do out of trust.
31.
The dispute gave both sides legal victories: over the issue of the coastal land property, the court ruled in favor of Barry and Pugh, since David Tua failed to properly clarify his ownership over the land; on the issue of the terminated 2003 contract, the court ruled in David Tua's favour, concluding he clearly owed no expenses to his former management from that contract.
32.
In September 2009, David Tua's aunt was killed in the Samoa tsunami.
33.
In 1996, David Tua was honored by the country of Tuvalu, with a stamp commemorating the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States bearing David Tua's likeness and name on it.