By Sam Ackerman
A draw with a 39-year-old in his last fight before retirement has been called a ‘body blow’ to David Tua's chances of a world title fight, but his advisors have a different view.
“The dream is still alive, there's no doubt in my mind that yesterday was not a set back, but in a paradoxical way it was a positive situation,” say Cedric Kushner, Tua’s promoter.
While the draw does nothing for his winning momentum, Kushner believes it may make him a less intimidating prospect for the current champions.
“The Klitchko's or David Haye may be so inclined to say, ‘wait a moment, this is someone we can definitely beat’ – that might not be the case of course,” says Kushner.
No amount of spin can hide the fact Tua was well short of his explosive best against Monte Barrett, many experts in the States claiming Barrett should have won.
The Tua camp is quick to point out the decision to dock Tua a point in the final round was all that stood between him and victory.
“He was disappointed the referee didn't warn him first, as opposed to taking the point away,” says Kushner.
Tua says it was just one of those things.
“That's just the way it goes sometimes, you've just got to keep your chin up and keep moving forward.”
As for who's next, Kushner is towing a familiar line mentioning Hasim Rachman or someone of a similar calibre.
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