David Tua has taken on the planet's baddest men ... but says being inducted is scarier.
"I will accept this award for all of us. David Tua will always be a champion to Kiwis, in and out of the boxing ring. I do not accept it for myself. "The research the boxing writers have come up with is that I was the greatest heavyweight to have never won the belt." "The two fights that stand out for me were my first professional fight because that allowed me to put a deposit on a house for my parents, and the second fight was the one that allowed me to put the final payment on their house in Mฤngere," Tua said. Tua is humbled by the acknowledgement and said the recognition alone to the Boxing Hall of Fame with the world's greatest pugilists has far exceeded his wildest dreams.
On Sunday (NZ time), Tua will join Sugar Ray Loenard and Laila Ali in the 2022 Hall of Fame class.
David Tua sat down with Breakfast's Jenny-May Clarkson at his gym in Auckland before he heads to the US for his induction.
But with a pen and paper, it's the best thing - you can get those feelings off." "There were tougher fights out of the ring than in the ring. "I wish my parents were here... "We've got a lot of young people coming through the gym so we put them through a mentoring and leadership programme... "Do I regret it? "If kids tend to give up in training then they're going to give up in life as well, so we try to implement a lot of values that happen out in the real world with what we do in here."
New Zealand heavyweight great David Tua is set to join one of boxing's most elite clubs.
He was also the bronze medallist at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. While he came up short at the final hurdle, the proud Samoan-Kiwi lit up the sport's blue-ribband division on his way to that title shot. The 49-year-old was set to be inducted into the sport's Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday (NZ time).