Mike Tyson Could've Been Beaten By KO Artist In Early 2000s

A heavyweight KO artist could have beaten Mike Tyson in early 2000s, but the fight never happened.

New Zealand’s David Tua was once viewed as a perfect match for Tyson during the late 90s to the early 2000s. After his win over Fres Oquendo, Tua is a top-five fighter, with the North American Boxing Federation title.

According to NZ Herald, the two heavy-hitters were both signed with promoter America Presents and Tyson once said he has the measure of Tua. The fight could have been a hit and Kevin Barry, Tua’s former manager, stated that a Tyson fight had been "a dream through Tua’s 10-year career and it was almost a reality back then. However, Tua suddenly went missing in action for some unknown reason.

Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach looked back at the said blockbuster fight in 2012. According to Roach, it was during the early 2000's when he was asked to train Tua for the Tyson fight but the Samoan boxer “never showed up.”

"I was actually asked to train Tua one time and I was looking forward to working with him but he never showed up," Roach said in a phone interview with Stuff in 2012.

Roach then revealed that based on his assessment, both Tua and Tyson are powerful but Tua had a “better chin,” an advantage which he could have utilized against “Iron Mike.”

"Tua, to me, was like…well, I trained Mike Tyson and he and Tua both had good qualities – both were great punchers and were short, stocky, bob and weave type guys. But Tua had a better chin than Tyson and I thought he could have outlasted Tyson,” Roach revealed.

In the years following his heavyweight title loss to Lennox Lewis, Tua still undoubtedly had the fire in his belly. But in 2003, after drawing with arch-rival Hasim Rahman, Tua went stepped away from boxing and wasn't seen again for two long years.

As per Roach, Tua still had a career in boxing and could have been an “all-time great” before he decided to walk away from the sport.

"He slowly went away. I know he's had some fights in the last couple of years. But Tua, I think, could have been all-time great,"

In the end, Roach believed that Tua was the closest thing to Tyson in terms of KO power. However, he insisted that Tua having a better chin made him a bit better than Tyson.

"I think he could have been in the same league as Mike Tyson. He had as good a punch as Tyson and a better chin," Roach said.