By Jerram Watts and James Bennett
David Tua’s professional boxing career has taken a minor set back after drawing with veteran Monte Barrett in Atlantic City.
Tua was knocked to the ground late in the 12th round; Barrett capitalising on Tua’s frustration after the Kiwi was deemed to have thrown Barrett to the ground – losing a point.
Tua looked to have Barrett on the ropes late in the 12th, letting fly with a big right-left combo, but Barrett called on his reserves and landed a clean left hook to Tua’s head, and Tua stumbled backward to the floor.
One judge called it 114-111 to Tua, the other two judges called the match 113-each.
The opening rounds had Tua written all over them, landing some big left hooks and getting the upper hand early on.
However, the Tuamanator seemed to lack the killer instinct to land the knockout blow and put Barrett to sleep.
The slight reprieve saw Barrett gain his legs and work his way back into the fight; winning a number of rounds after some good footwork made it hard for Tua to corner him.
"I was trying to work on my speed... it seemed like nothing was going my way," Tua said.
Barrett fought smart, keeping away from Tua's devastating left hook; slipping left and right so Tua didn't have a platform to spring from.
Barrett always instigated the clinch when Tua was on top; breaking the Samoan powerhouse's momentum.
Huge body shots throughout the match saw Barrett's arms come down later in the bout, but the 39-year-old veteran from New York called on all his experience to hold out against the Tuamanator.
A key moment in the fight was in the 12th when Tua threw Barrett to the ground - losing a crucial point. Frustration seemed to boil over for Tua who just couldn't land the punches that saw him flatten Shane Cameron and win each round against Friday Ahunanya.
Tua said it was just "one of those nights" but that he gave it his all.
The final round looked to go Barrett's way when he knocked Tua to the ground for the first time in his career, but the judges saw it differently and refused to give Barrett the win.
A loss would have been devastating to Tua's career; a draw isn't ideal but it isn't all bad news as he looks to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
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