King ready to give David Tua his best shot

[WelshDevilRob]

King ready to give David Tua his best shot

 

Demetrice King sees David Tua as a gateway to bigger things in his boxing career and believes he has the power to beat the New Zealand heavyweight.

 

The American goes toe-to-toe with Tua over 10 rounds in Manukau on Saturday.

 

It's a crucial fight for Tua as he tries to get his career back on track after his lacklustre draw with Monte Barrett eight months ago.

 

But King, who has world title aspirations of his own, says it's just as big a fight for him. While others have shunned Tua because of his famed left hook, King welcomes this chance and says he never hesitated to take the fight.

 

"Why not? I'm the type of guy that when life does deliver you tough situations I'm not going to say why me, I'm going to say try me. It's another hurdle in my life I have to overcome," King told TV3.

 

"It's an opportunity for me against a fighter of that calibre. I want to get to that spot where he once was at. To get to the top, you have to beat some of these lead players. It's about me proving myself."

 

King, who comes from Flint, Michigan, says he has seen little of Tua's career because of the Kiwi-Samoan's inactivity in recent years. But he has viewed the Barrett fight where Tua was floored for the first time in his 56-fight career.

 

And he sounds a warning to Tua.

 

"I've got way more power than Monte Barrett has and that's what gives me confidence. I have a credible left hook myself. I'm not worried, I know the power I possess.

 

"David has a good record and I take my hat off to his accomplishment. But this is boxing – you can't give too much praise to the man you are taking to the ring."

 

Tua won't lack for a target. King is slightly taller than him but weighs about 120kg. Tua was 102kg for his last fight.

 

The 26-year-old King has 15 wins, 13 coming by knockout. He's had 19 losses too, although he has only been knocked out twice.

 

He has durability to go with his punch and represents a danger to Tua.

 

King defends his record, believing that as a young, unknown heavyweight he has been marked hard by judges in many of his points losses. He has been the distance with Michael Grant and Kevin Johnson and one of his two losses by knockout was a classic to the respected Shannon Briggs.

 

"I'm able to compete with that league. I have proven that and I can go toe-to-toe. I haven't been knocked out much and having those losses on my record ... some are very controversial.

 

"But I'm still young, I'm still learning. I know my time is coming, I know I can get a world title shot."

 

His last win was in August 2009, when he handed the promising Bowie Tupou his first loss in 18 fights with a second-round knockout.

 

Source:

http://www.stuff.co.nz

[londoner]

It's hard to take Tua seriously.

[WelshDevilRob]

King has a bad record but he does pull off the odd surprise. After Tua's poor performance last time, this fight makes sense.