secondsout.com
Tua comes out of nowhere to stop Oquendo
By Mike Nosky
Chester, West Virginia - One thing you can't teach in boxing is power. David Tua has it in abundance and, when he wakes up on Sunday, he has that power to thank for reviving his stalled career. In the main event from the Mountaineer Race Track, Tua stopped Fres Oquendo at 1:54 of the ninth round after being cleanly outboxed for the majority of the night and took home the NABF heavyweight title.
Oquendo's backers pointed to his speed, footwork and boxing ability as the keys to him being victorious. Throughout the first eight rounds, the Puerto Rican was able to avoid the telegraphed shots of the lumbering Tua and kept him at bay and off-balance with his long, right jabs.
Tua seemed to be falling into the same pattern as he did when he lost his only world title shot to Lennox Lewis a year-and-a-half ago. Unable to get inside his bigger opponent's defense, Tua was content to step to the side and follow Oquendo around the ring.
Ironically, at the end of the eighth round, Tua was able to land a hard shot and as Oquendo walked back into his corner, Felix Trinidad, Sr. - his trainer - told him, "Be careful with him."
The end came in the ninth with Tua light years behind on one of the official cards and still needing a knockout to pull out the other two. Finally throwing a serious combination, Tua landed a clubbing overhand right to the temple of Oquendo that left him needing to hang on to the stocky New Zealander. A flurry of hard shots followed but with only a few getting home.
The problem is that when Tua is able to land his power shots, he remains one of the hardest punchers in boxing today and his strength advantage showed once the "Big O" was rendered defenseless. A left hook pushed Oquendo into a neutral corner and a final looping right hand to the side of the head was enough for referee Dave Johnson and he pulled Tua away leaving Oquendo wobbling as he tried to find a place to fall down.
Tua has now won two fights in a row and raised his still impressive record to 40-3 (35). Oquendo, who received praise and criticism for taking such a risky fight, dropped to 22-1 (13).
On the undercard, Lance Whitaker and Ray Austin sleepwalked to a horrible 10-round split decision draw in a forgettable match.
Whitaker, another heavyweight trying to rebuild his career, was outworked by the late substitute Austin. However, one of the judges somehow gave Whitaker seven of the 10 rounds and Austin was deprived of a career best win. The official scores were 97-93 for Whitaker, 97-93 for Austin and 95-95.
Whitaker's record is now 24-2-1 (20) and Austin is 16-3-1 (12).