Buffer ready to rumble

No doubt, New Zealand is coming into its own as a sports center in Oceania to rival Australia. I can personally attest to that, having spent a few days last week in Queenstown, an alpine resort south of Auckland.

Two days before Queenstown hosted the New Balance Marathon last Saturday, Samoa-born heavyweight David Tua stopped journeyman Talmadge (Two Guns) Criffis of Colorado at 2:45 of the 10th round at the Waitakere Trusts Stadium in Auckland. I watched the fight on live TV in my room at the Heritage Queenstown Hotel.

The show rivaled Las Vegas in glitz and style. Tua emerged from the dressing room in a cloud of smoke on an elevated podium that was lowered to ground level while a live orchestra performed dance music. The squat 5-9 1/2, 251-pound mastadon made his way to the ring surrounded by five shirtless Maori-looking escorts wearing a shell necklace like him.

No less than Michael Buffer was imported from the US to act as ring announcer. The word was his fee was a whopping $10,000 plus first-class air travel, hotel and expenses. He has a patent on his introductory war whoop "Let’s get ready to rumble."

Interviewed on TV, Buffer did his part in promoting the fight. "You fall in love with a guy like Tua," he said, jerking the New Zealand fans. "He’s got tremendous power and he’s a lovable guy."

Another import was Col. Bob Sheridan who did the TV commentary with local announcer Mike Avigone. Sheridan is usually heard on the international broadcast feeds of Don King’s fights.

Tua’s wife Robina, a beautiful mestiza, sat at ringside where ticket holders ate and drank around tables. Three national anthems were sung. Leon Wharekura did the "Star Spangled Banner" while Lemuel Misa, who looked Filipino, sang the Samoan and New Zealand anthems.

Buffer said 72 networks were tied in to Cedric Kushner’s promotion called "Tua of Duty." The fight was later shown on pay-per-view TV in the US. None of the officials was a familiar name in world boxing. Lance Revill was the referee while the judges were Jeff Belton, Bob Gibson and Pat Leonard.

Tua, 32, hadn’t fought since drawing with Hasim Rahman in March 2003. He took a leave of absence to disengage from his previous managers Kevin Barry and Martin Pugh in court. Because of the suit, 80% of Tua’s purse was withheld in case his managers’ case is upheld.

Tua has lost only thrice in his 13-year career–to Ike Ibeabuchi after a 27-0 start in 1997, to Lennox Lewis in a world heavyweight title fight and to Chris Byrd. All the losses were on points.

Two fighters who were knocked out in a single round by Tua were reigning World Boxing Association heavyweight titlist John Ruiz and former champion Michael Moorer.

One of Tua’s victims Krishna Wainwright showed up in Griffis’ corner in a bizarre twist.

Griffis, 30, was unbeaten in his first 11 fights but had lost four of his last five before facing Tua. He had an eight-inch reach advantage and a five-inch edge in height over Tua.

Griffis controlled the tempo in the first two rounds, sticking his left jab on Tua’s face and moving side-to-side to avoid the behemoth’s rushes. But as the fight progressed, it was clear Tua had too much power for Griffis. A furious barrage staggered Griffis who teetered on the verge of a knockdown late in the final round. With 15 seconds left in the bout, Revill halted the massacre.

Tua said he was relieved that "my brother wasn’t seriously hurt although he went down." He refused to call it a comeback but a continuation of his campaign to bring the world title to New Zealand.

Kushner said it was a good workout for Tua coming off a two-year hiatus and announced plans of another fight within 90 days. "David must be happy with the extra rounds," he noted.

Several New Zealand sports columnists, however, weren’t satisfied. They castigated Tua for failing to put Griffis to sleep and carrying too much weight. The writers said Tua’s performance was far from convincing for a world title contender.

Also booked at the Heritage Queenstown Hotel during my stay was former Mobiline basketball team manager Debbie Tan. She was on vacation with her sister and a friend from New York. They spent two weeks soaking in the New Zealand sights. Debbie said the visit to Queenstown was the highlight in the tour.

Debbie, a Smart executive, said although she is no longer involved in the Talk ‘N’ Text team, her interest remains high. She always watches the Phone Pals games on TV and occasionally, in the stadium.

"Would you believe, some people still recognize me from being our team manager," she said. "It’s been years since I sat on the bench but that’s how far-reaching the PBA’s reach is."

I asked Debbie which player she admires most and without hesitation, she singled out Jimmy Alapag. "He’s not only a great player but also a good person," she said.

Debbie is in the PBA history books as only the second female team manager after former Sen. Nikki Coseteng who used to take care of the Galerie Dominique squad under the Mariwasa franchise.