David Tua

Mafaufau Tavita Lio Mafaufau Sanerivi Talimatasi (born 21 November 1972), known as David Tua, is a Samoan-New Zealand former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. A highly ranked heavyweight contender for most of his career, Tua is considered by some to be one of the greatest heavyweights to have never won a world title. He was ranked by BoxRec in the world's top 10 heavyweights from 1996 to 2003, reaching his highest BoxRec ranking of No.3 in 1998. He was also ranked the No.1 heavyweight contender in 2000 by the WBC and IBF, leading up to his bout with Lennox Lewis. Known for his formidable punching power, especially in his left hook, Tua scored sixteen wins by knockout in the first round, including knockouts of future and former world heavyweight champions John Ruiz and Michael Moorer within thirty seconds of the first round. He also scored stoppages of future world champions Oleg Maskaev and Hasim Rahman. Tua ended his career with a knockout-to-win rate of 82.6%. In a 2003 article by The Ring magazine, Tua was ranked 48th on a list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Nicknamed the "Tuamanator", his fast-paced bob and weave pressure fighting style has often drawn comparisons to Mike Tyson. Tua fought many of the best boxers of his era and challenged once for the unified world heavyweight title against Lennox Lewis in 2000. In his five professional losses, Tua was never subject to a stoppage and hit the canvas just once as a fighter, which occurred in the fourth-to-last fight of his career. He is thus considered to have one of the most durable chins of his time.