Lewis Retains His Title as Tua Is Stopped Short

David Tua traveled thousands of miles, all the way from Samoa to Las Vegas, in search of the heavyweight title.

But he came up seven inches short.

Lennox Lewis, at 6 feet 5 towering over the 5-10 Tua, put on a masterful boxing clinic Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center to cruise to a unanimous decision over Tua, who later said he reinjured a rib in the second round.

Lewis was dominant from the opening bell to the close in retaining his World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation titles in front of 12,500.

The judges scored it as follows: Dave Moretti, 119-109; Chuck Giampa, 118-110; and Jerry Roth, 117-111. The Times scored it 118-110 for Lewis.

This wasn’t the Lewis who finished off his most recent opponents--Michael Grant and Francois Botha--in two rounds. It was more like the Lewis who played it safe and sure in two fights against Evander Holyfield.

But make no mistake about it, Lewis is clearly the best heavyweight in the world, a smart, multidimensional fighter with a solid chin and a vast array of weapons who can gear his fight plans to his opponents.

Tua came as advertised, a one-punch fighter whose only chance for victory was to overcome the height disadvantage, a 15-inch reach disadvantage and land his deadly left hook.

But that never happened.

As the fight wore on, Tua, who had never been stopped, knocked down or even cut, clearly looked like a beaten fighter, his face swollen and redness showing under his left eye from Lewis’ unrelenting left jab.

Even Tua’s renowned stamina seemed to desert him as the rounds piled up, his breathing appearing labored.

“It’s boxingology,” Lewis said. “If you come to war, you have to bring your whole arsenal. It’s not just a left hook and a haircut. I didn’t think there was much power behind the left hook, but he’s pretty durable and can take a punch.”

Although Tua claimed in the week before the fight that he was in perfect shape, it was revealed after the fight by his promoter, Dan Goossen, that Tua had suffered torn cartilage in a rib on his left side two months ago. Tua said he thought it had healed.

“I make no excuses,” he said. “I did the best I could. Lennox Lewis is a great champion. I just kept trying.”

And failing.

Once or twice each round, Tua reached back and delivered a roundhouse left that caught only air as the smiling, confident Lewis backed up.

And then Lewis would resume his attack, landing crisp combinations and sneaky rights.

As the fight reached its final rounds and Lewis realized that Tua wasn’t going to be able to hurt him, he started dancing around his determined but outclassed foe, landing punches at will.

“He has never seen a boxer like Lennox Lewis,” said the champion. “I was doing all the work in the fight. Say what you want, but you have to bring it to the ring. Lennox Lewis is the best.”

The numbers certainly bear that out. Lewis, who is 38-1-1 with 29 knockouts, connected on 45% of his punches to only 27% for Tua (37-2, 32). The jabs were even more one-sided, Lewis connecting on 40%, Tua on only 18%.

“He just kept waiting around, trying to land that left hook,” Lewis said.

Tua could barely contain himself as the promoters and a television cameraman and hangers-on made their way out of the ring at the start of the fight. He was like a bull waiting to charge.

But once referee Joe Cortez turned him loose, Tua found an elusive matador in Lewis--slick, smooth and shifty.

Tua was still trying to reach Lewis at the end. As the final bell sounded, he swung so awkwardly that he wound up tangled up in the ropes, Lewis long since gone from that spot.

How fitting.

And what now for Lewis?

“I will take on all comers,” he said. “But first, I will take a rest for awhile.”

Lewis agrees with those who say that, at 35, he’s better than ever.

“I’m like fine wine,” he said. “I get better with age.”

Will he now fight Mike Tyson, the one opponent everyone wants to see him matched up against?

“If Tyson wants to come to the test,” Lewis said, “I will put him to rest. Lennox Lewis is the best.”

In the semi-main event, featuring a battle of unbeaten heavyweights, Clifford Etienne remained unbeaten, pushing his record to 19-0 with 13 knockouts, via a unanimous 10-round decision over Lawrence Clay-Bey (12-1, nine knockouts).

Former WBC super featherweight champion “Jesse” James Leija (41-5-2, 16) won a unanimous decision over former North American Boxing Federation lightweight champion Ivan Robinson (29-5-1, 11) in another 10-rounder.

Robinson went down at the end of the eighth round, but managed to get to his feet and finish the final two rounds.

In another 10-round preliminary match, former two-time IBF junior lightweight champion John-John Molina (52-6, 33) of Puerto Rico won a split decision over Ben Tackie (21-2, 13) of Ghana.