"It's fantastic and it's a great feeling. It's a peace of mind that I need as a fighter going into any and every fight from here on, knowing that that's out of the way. From here on, I'm trying to have another serious go without all of those distractions coming up...It's fantastic. Rugby was my thing and New Zealand was the place to be for that. I wanted to be the best rugby player that I can be. For the sport of boxing, this is where it's at. This is the Mecca of boxing and I need to be here in the States," stated hard-hitting heavyweight contender David Tua as he talked about his return to the United States. Focused and ready to make another run for the title, The Tuamanator talked about his upcoming July 17 clash with Monte Barrett and much more. Check it out!
PC: It's an honor to speak to you David. How is everything going?
DT: Thanks for the opportunity. Everything is going well; so far so good. God gave us another beautiful day to let us do what we do and we just gotta take one day at a time I guess.
PC: How is it for you now that all of the legal troubles you went through a few years back are behind you and you can become an active fighter again? What is that like for you?
DT: It's fantastic and it's a great feeling. It's a peace of mind that I need as a fighter going into any and every fight from here on, knowing that that's out of the way. From here on, I'm trying to have another serious go without all of those distractions coming up.
PC: You fought a couple of fights over in your native New Zealand. What is it like for you to come back to the States and fight again?
DT: It's fantastic. Rugby was my thing and New Zealand was the place to be for that. I wanted to be the best rugby player that I can be. For the sport of boxing, this is where it's at. This is the Mecca of boxing and I need to be here in the States. And plus, it seems like I've been in the wilderness for quite some time; exile rather. It wasn't by choice, but it's been fantastic though because it was important to take care of other important things before moving forward. The time that I spent away, even though I was going through that legal mess, allowed me to put that in it's right perspective. And now, to come back here and fight in the United States is very important to familiarize myself with the surroundings. You know, I tell you, it was just one of those weird feelings when I got off of the plane arriving back here in the United States and I landed in LA. I felt lost. I literally felt like that 19-year-old kid that came over in 1992. It's quite a humbling experience. I'm very grateful and very happy to still be doing what I love.
PC: What do you think of Monte Barrett at this stage of his career?
DT: Monte is a fighter. I appreciate him for giving me the opportunity to do what I love doing. For me, we're not overlooking nothing. The most important thing is to be prepared all the way and to go out and give our all and adjust to whatever Monte does. It's very important for me to concentrate on what I'm going to do as opposed to what he's going to do.
PC: I know you haven't been the most active fighter, but you still haven't loss a fight in 9 years. How many wins do you feel you are away from getting a title shot?
DT: I don't know brother. I'm taking it one fight at a time. Everything that I went through allowed me to look at things a little bit differently. With that in mind, if this fight brings us closer, so be it. I'm aware of getting another shot at a world title. I'm obviously thinking about it and dreaming about it, but that's not going to do me any good if I can't win the fight in front of me. It's one fight at a time for me and if that brings me closer, fantastic and if not, I will just keep fighting and keep winning and that's it.
PC: You went into your last fight against Friday with 3 consecutive knockouts. Was it a good thing, in so many ways, that you went 12 rounds against Friday to get the rounds in?
DT: It was fantastic. It's important to display other tools that I had other than the left hook and right hand. Friday had a different approach to what he had said. He said he was going to come in and knock me out and respectfully, it seems like he got himself into good shape to run. With that in mind, it was important to adjust rather than to get frustrated and go back to boxing. I think for me, more importantly, I got a lot out of that fight than the fans or other people would say. I can box. I think that was the first 12-round fight that I can say that I won. Every other 12-round fight, I lost. There was a lot of great things came out of that fight. I'm very happy about how it came out.
PC: The Klitschkos are the king of the mountain right now, in most eyes, with David Haye trailing right behind them. I know you're taking it one fight at a time, but which champion do you feel you would match up better against and do you think your chin, your experience and punching power could be the difference-maker?
DT: I believe that the time that I have spent away and all that I have been through, and I guess with the age that I'm at right now, I approach life differently. I approach boxing differently than what I did. I don't know who came up with this saying or who wrote it, but they said, "If you do the same things and expect a different result, I think that's the first sign that you are going crazy!" so it is important for me to do things differently than I done them before. I don't know, if given the opportunity, I would be very very honored and not only grab the opportunity with both hands, both legs and my whole being; I would take advantage of the opportunity. I would really make the most out of it. And that's the only thing that I can think of and feel I would need to do.
PC: Thanks for your time champ. Good luck on July 17th against Barrett. Whenever you come out with a DVD to get my calves and quads like yours, let me know so I can go get it (laughing).
DT: (Laughing) I got you brother. I got you (laughing). Thank you very much. The same goes for me. It's always a respect and honor to be given the opportunity to talk about this great sport.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]