No slingshot for David - SPORTING CHANCE by Joaquin M. Henson

In what seemed like a rehearsal for Mike Tyson, World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis essayed his best impersonation of Muhammad Ali to turn outsized challenger David Tua into a human punching bag at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas last Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

Lewis, 35, didn’t take chances against the hard-hitting Samoan and put on a dazzling display of boxing virtuosity to pound out a lopsided unanimous decision. The London-born Jamaican was on his toes from the opening bell – circling Tua, striking from long range, and staying away from harm’s way.

Tua, known as the Terminator, just couldn’t detonate because Lewis, enjoying a 15-inch reach advantage, wouldn’t allow it. The hapless Samoan lunged at Lewis – seven inches taller – but couldn’t reach him. He threw his fearsome left hook but found no target. Poor Tua looked like a David without a slingshot, reduced to a mindless plaything by a merciless Goliath. Tua didn’t belong in the same ring as Lewis.

Lewis did what he had to do to win. Critics might castigate him for refusing to brawl with Tua – fans, after all, expected a war. Lewis turned a potentially explosive encounter into an unexciting, one-sided affair. He’s too smart to risk a slugfest with a power puncher. Lewis never strayed from his fight plan–he jabbed and jabbed and jabbed some more. He hardly threw power shots–what for? The jab was the weapon he used to keep Tua safely at a distance and the Samoan didn’t know how to get around it. Lewis wound up landing 213 jabs of 300 punches connected.

While Lewis mimicked Ali, he was far from reincarnating the legendary Louisville Lip. Ali would’ve danced around Tua in the early going, plastered him with jarring one-twos, then moved in for the kill in the late rounds–like what he did to George Foreman. Sure, Ali never floored Joe Frazier in their three battles but in the Thrilla in Manila, Smokin’ Joe was so badly busted up his trainer Eddie Futch refused to send him out for the 14th round.

In a sense, Tua is like Frazier. He boasts a crippling left hook like the Philadelphia steamroller and is a slugger, too. But Frazier showed more guts in his heyday–he ate up punches to throw a big one. Frazier just didn’t stick out his chin to get hit, he charged in with reckless abandon for the chance to nail the sucker with a haymaker. Against Lewis, Tua showed no resolve to advance–he was a sitting duck and all he did was waddle. It wasn’t a lack of heart on Tua’s part–it was more a lack of brains.

If Tua fought Tyson instead, would he have done better? For sure, they would’ve torn each other apart. And Tyson would’ve overpowered Tua in the end.

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Lewis, a 3-1 favorite, disappointed the fans by not mowing down Tua. A great champion would’ve ended it with a flourish. Still, a win is a win and for Lewis, it guaranteed a mammoth payday against Tyson next year.

Tua, 27, will linger on as a contender but unless he figures out how to fight bigger opponents, the Terminator won’t ever ascend the throne.

As for Lewis’ future, there is talk of a third meeting with Holyfield, the World Boxing Association (WBA) titlist, to unify the championship aside from the inevitable Tyson showdown.

Lewis hasn’t convinced the pundits that he belongs in the ranks of the greatest heavyweights ever. He’ll get his chance to prove his worth against Tyson.