David Tua connects with a left jab to Friday Ahunanya during their 12 round fight at The Trusts Centre, Waitakere, Auckland, New Zealand on 31st March, 2010. David Tua won the fight by a unanimous points decision. Andy Conlan/FIGHTSHOTS
I’ve never in 18 yearsof going to fight events experienced a spectacle like the one leading up to David Tua’s fight against Friday Ahunanya, or the feeling that came over the stadium when a special version of Nessun Dorma drifted across the crowd, as a contrast to the energy of the Nigerian supporters at ringside. What an atmosphere that was, truly one of those ones that you had to be at live. Earlier, Jordan Luck and Peter Urlich gave the crowd a taste of nostalgia with a couple of local classics too, which were very welcome additions to the evening. 30 Pictures from David Tua’s fight after the jump, with more to come from the under card bouts at a later date …
The packed crowd at The Trusts Stadium was so hyped up they even sang along with the United States National Anthem when it was being sung. The American adoration wasn’t restricted to The Star Spangled Banner. One of Tua’s sparring partners and an integral part of his training camp, Israel Carlos Garcia, won a fight against the Australian Brett Smith, after which he called out Shane Cameron again. When he said that this was a fight that New Zealanders would love to see, the arena erupted into applause. This is definitely an athlete who’s won the hearts and minds of New Zealand, and they cheer him as one of their own now. He was right though, Garcia vs. Cameron is a fight I can imagine us supporting – strangely enough, both of these men have won their last fights againt Australians by disqualification, so that’s one of the things they have in common … I don’t think there was anyone in the whole stadium who wouldn’t have wanted to adopt Garcia as a New Zealander.
Duco Promotions put on an incredible event, let’s hope that if and when Tua does fight for a World Heavyweight Boxing Title, that they do it down here, because they know how to put on a boxing show.
