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No 1. Ranked Heavyweight contender David Tua faces Obed Sullivan for the IBF Intercontinental Title on Showtime Boxing
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00:00back to you thank you very much uh jim well they do hope to reschedule the fight in early august
00:06holyfield said he he would have gone ahead and fought ruiz if he were younger but at age 37
00:10he didn't want to risk it this is as the doctor said the first time holyfield has pulled out of a
00:15fight with an injury although he says he was hurt before fights with riddick bow and michael mora
00:20and was sick before the first lennox lewis fight back with our doctor the fight doctor
00:25ferdy pacheco every splendid in his red there now you heard what the doctor said what's your take
00:31on the the injury situation he'll be out of action for uh several weeks could he be back as soon as
00:37early august i think so or or late july i i completely uh i'm in accord uh with flip uh
00:43dr i'm asking it depends of course on the severity and when any injury can either be severe moderate
00:49or mild and uh if if this kept him from going from continuing it's because it's severe because you
00:56know holy holy feel holy feel you can run him over with a truck he'll he'll get up and fight again
01:01i think that uh the conservative estimate would be the beginning of august but knowing holy field uh
01:07anytime after the uh the end of july i think he would be ready to go the problem is of course that
01:14you have to first heal the the uh injury and then train it's not like he's training all along he can't
01:20train so given that i would think modestly and uh and conservatively end of july beginning of august
01:27is uh is a possibility and a tough break for uh john ruiz whose title hopes of course have to remain
01:34on hold so june 10th is out but still a very busy month here on showtime coming up in june let's tell
01:39you more about it okay heavy hitters month continues in less than two weeks on friday june 16th the
01:44hard-hitting andrew galata makes his second appearance on showtime as he faces former world
01:49champion orlin norris then of the co-feature the vacant nabf lightweight championship is on the
01:54line as three-time world champion wilfredo vasquez takes on the challenge of juan lascano
01:59that's friday june 16th at 11 p.m eastern and pacific finally we close out the month with the biggest
02:05name in boxing mike tyson on saturday june 24th the former undisputed heavyweight champion returns to
02:10the united kingdom to face lou sabores in glasgow scotland in the co-feature the charismatic ibf
02:16junior welterweight champion zap judah defends his title against british champ jason roland that's
02:21saturday june 24th 9 p.m eastern and pacific june is heavy hitters month some of the most exciting
02:27fighters in the heavyweight division only on showtime
02:30well that's what's in store for the near future here on showtime but right now we return to the
02:37business at hand as we close in on our main event we come to you tonight from the city of entertainment
02:44the luxurious and spacious mgm grand of the heart of the world famous las vegas strip
02:52coming up next from the mgm grand gardner marquee matchup ibf number one heavyweight contender david
02:58tour is set to meet obed sullivan in a contrast of styles the hard slugging tour likes to brawl on
03:04the inside the more technical sullivan prefers to box from the outside
03:12well when lennox lewis recently demolished michael grant had dramatically changed the landscape of the
03:17heavyweight division in many eyes grant represented the future but now the door is wide open enter david
03:23tour who suddenly becomes very intriguing david tour is ready to take on the world
03:36i've got uh strength you know i've got power in both hands well i truly believe me personally
03:42something that i'm born with something that i'm blessed with believe it's a god-given talent
03:47i taste blood i taste fear and uh really there's no hold back you know uh once i get the guy hurt
04:03i have to get him out of there my height is an advantage for me because i know it works
04:08and it has worked throughout my life i've been fighting taller and bigger opponents
04:12and uh at times things might not work out in the first two rounds but eventually will kick in later
04:16on the rounds what other names out there you know that you can say and you can talk boxing anybody
04:21they can mention it to tyson muhammad ali who else and uh you know i'm excited for him to come back into
04:27the into the scene again because uh regardless of who he's been fighting since he's been back still you
04:33know it keeps boxing out there obed sullivan's a warrior he means a soldier he comes to fight
04:39and he comes to give it his best whoever they put in front of me regardless of who it is i i go out
04:44with the same respect and uh the same focus and the same hunger as well so this is a this is a
04:51entire fight for me
05:00yeah the fight that really lifted to it a major prominence in 1996 when he knocked out current
05:05number one wba contender john ruiz in just 19 seconds then his stock went up in defeat against
05:11ike abeibuchi it seems the only thing left now for tua is his shot at the title back here with my
05:17other partner bobby chez now with grant losing to lewis and abeibuchi out of commission with legal
05:23problems is tua now really the future of the heavyweight division well steve you know the fan i am of
05:28ike abeibuchi and his boxing ability he's being he's the only man to beat tua so i always thought he was
05:33the top gun and is the top gun but he has serious legal problems he may not be fighting anymore at
05:38all having said that two has beaten some of the top guys hasim raqman david aizon oleg maskev and the
05:4419th second blowout of john ruiz that makes him top gun and i'll be honest with you i don't think lennox
05:49lewis or the winner of holyfield ruiz wants any part of david tua too soon and not to forget a man by
05:54the name of mike tyson who may have something to say about this before it's all over let's get your keys to
05:58victory for tonight's main event all right let's start with david tua he has to close the gap the
06:04shorter arm short height also the left hooks to the head and body he's got a vicious power and uppercuts
06:09on the inside he is brutal with his power two here on the right is going to jump in against wooden with
06:14a right hook and the left hook he's going to close that gap and shut it down and get inside but what
06:18happens is both of those shots are blocked so what does he do he adjusts he unloads the left hook to the
06:23body that hurts wooden badly there's the left hook to the body now he's on the inside he's still
06:30working the right hook and left hooks but they're being blocked so what does he do he has to make
06:33another adjustment left uppercut up the middle then a right uppercut again staggering wooden this is how
06:38he was effective in destroying wooden through 10 rounds
06:45and as he pulls out that whipping left hook looking to put the lights out
06:49his counterpart has to establish a jab he has to set the pace with that jab
06:53box smart from the outside keep the gap wide and sharp counter punching you can't get it done
06:58without sharp counter punching here's sullivan on the left is fighting a guy named hampton
07:02hampton's a smaller shorter guy comes in he throws a right counter then a one two again
07:07hampton comes in with his hands low from the outside keeping the distance where he has the range and
07:11the power that's what sullivan has to do and he has to make to a pay on his way in or he cannot win
07:19and here is obet sullivan perhaps uncertain about his future in the ring taking cooking courses to
07:24become a chef eight years of the marines on the u.s marine boxing team highly ranked amateur
07:29after breaking the world rankings in 97 lost a majority
07:40effort against grant last year but worn down by the size and strength of michael grant he got a shot at
07:47then wbo heavyweight champion vitale klitschko in december but lost by ninth round tko comes off a third
07:53round technical knockout over journeyman jeff lolly his best wins over levi billups and keith mcknight
08:01my question to you he's looked good against b-level fighters but not when he has stepped up the
08:07level of opposition is he out of his league tonight against tua i believe so i believe this
08:12is a fighter that's in the upper level of what you call the opposition or the fighter that you bring in
08:17to beat to step on up and over at one point he looked like he could in his career going he got
08:23up to number four but his class didn't bear the weight of that responsibility number four and he fell
08:30before fighters who uh who were just better than he is and i think that's what you got now i think
08:36you've got a much better fighter and uh he will be back in his ovens and his cooking class shorter than
08:41he believes back to the pots and pans yeah the general feeling is that two will be able to get
08:46inside the taller sullivan and dictate the fight we are set for the what we are told to be a very
08:58colorful entrance by david tour right in a march to the rhythms of these native lands
09:04traditional samoan drums are a form of communication among the samoan people so we cue the drums
09:15they are used in times of peace times of war tonight they signify the war that is to come
09:23and the blowing of the horn signifies a warning of danger to come sure obet sullivan thrilled to see this
09:34the fire folks we've just about seen it all now
10:04well we are in vegas
10:28forget open solomon it's more like ed solomon
10:34oh a two instrument man that's the same horn man that blew the uh shuffle
10:39i don't know how many people got up and went to shore very good
10:47there he is waiting for his cue
10:52it is the longest period of inactivity in his career
10:55the fifth puncher named david chua and he's big i mean 253 253 bigger than he's ever been i mean
11:08he's almost as big as the island of samoa he is broad big guy tremendous left hook terrific
11:14chin just one blemish and 36 fights happened almost exactly three years ago the close but unanimous decision
11:21to aiko bayabuchi what an excellent fight many feel it could have gone either way he's shown early and
11:26late power knocking out ruiz in 19 seconds gary bell is 79 seconds of the first stopping david
11:33eyes on in 12 oleg muskie of 11. hasim rahman in 10. bobby we've indicated two his strengths in the ring
11:40how about his weaknesses what are two his particular faults that sullivan could capitalize on well steve he
11:45doesn't have any glaring faults or weaknesses he can be out box and sometimes you can be at work
11:50which is exactly how ibibu beat him but to do it for 10 or 12 rounds you're going to need great
11:54stamina good power and a chin because tua comes the fight he comes in shape and he's a phenomenal puncher
11:59his lack of height weakness from the outside but on the inside he turns it into his at an asset and he's
12:04250 pounds plus speed times mass equals destructive power this guy gets inside he can hurt you bad his
12:11weaknesses are very very few all right we're set for the numbers bobby as we go to the tail of the tape
12:20two is five years younger two gives away five inches in height a whopping ten and a half inch
12:26reach advantage for sullivan don't let that fool you to his arms are short but they're powerful
12:30to his heaviest weight ever up 15 pounds from his last fight sullivan down 14 pounds from his last fight
12:37we'll give you the fight time weights in a second here are the key rules no standing eight no
12:41three knockdown fight it cannot be saved by the bell any round accidental headbutt occurs before
12:45the end of the fourth no contest after the end of the fourth we go to the cards fight time weights
12:49to it the same 253 didn't gain or lose sullivan 238 a plus six so here at the mgm grand garden getting
12:57set for the main event to a sullivan let's get the official introductions from our ring announcer the
13:01classy jimmy lennon jr ladies and gentlemen from the city of entertainment the mgm grand
13:11and in las vegas nevada we welcome you to our featured bout of the evening brought to you by
13:16america presents matchmaker thomas brown in association with showtime championship boxing
13:22the mgm grand and buttweiser the undisputed king of beers this now coming away is sanctioned by the
13:29international boxing federation along with the nevada state athletic commission the chairman is dr elias
13:36garnham commissioners amy aub glenn carano lorenzo pertida and dr luther mack the executive director
13:43is mark ratner introducing to you our three judges scoring the bat from ringside all from las vegas
13:49nevada chuck jumper bill graham and patricia jarman manning and introducing to you the third man in the
13:57ring our referee in charge of the action joe cortez all right fans here we go with the main event of
14:06the evening 12 rounds of boxing for the ibf intercontinental heavyweight championship and now
14:12ladies and gentlemen in attendance and boxing fans joining us around the world live from the mgm grand in
14:20las vegas it's showtime introducing to you first on my left fighting out of the blue corner is the
14:32challenger entering the ring wearing gold trunks with red trim fighting out of phoenix arizona by way of
14:40gulfport mississippi he weighed in at 232 pounds his record stands at 35 wins six losses one draw one
14:49no decision and one no contest with 25 of his wins coming by way of knockout ladies and gentlemen
14:56tonight's challenger please welcome the former ibf intercontinental heavyweight champion obed sullivan
15:09and his opponent across the ring is the defending champion on my right fighting out of the red corner
15:15entering the ring wearing black trunks with white trim hailing from south auckland in new zealand by way
15:22of samoa his weight 253 pounds his record stands at 35 wins one loss with 30 big wins coming by way of
15:33knockout ladies and gentlemen here is the explosive usba heavyweight champion and the ibf intercontinental
15:40heavyweight champion currently ranked the ibf number one heavyweight in the world introducing the tua man david
15:59once again a referee in charge of this ballot joe cortez now to get instructions
16:03all right all right all right gentlemen we went with the rules in the dressing room i expect a good clean
16:13fight keep those punches up i wanted a hitting after the bell give me good sports mental like conduct
16:19understand these are still good these punches are still good right here all right give me a good clean
16:24fight remember guys don't care but i'm firm understand all right touch him up
16:28all right david tua as you can see tyson-esque in build muscular strong straight ahead the fighter
16:38busy swarming heavy-handed puncher very aggressive hooking style with that explosive left hook
16:43exceptional power with a good chin pretty good qualities known to jump on his opponents early 13 of
16:48his 30 ko's in the first obed sullivan went on his game he's smart well schooled major assets of boxing
16:55ability defense has a pretty good chin but lacks the big time speed and quickness one punch power
17:00stamina and he cuts obeys gonna have to establish that jab immediately and get at least a small pound
17:06of pleasure get two off hit him with the right hand stuff something there and make him worried and tua
17:11looking to make a major statement here he just doesn't want to win he wants to win impressively i don't
17:16think i've ever seen legs on a fighter that big that looks like the foundations for the golden gate bridge
17:22i've never seen anything that big on a fight bobby's got big legs but nothing like that no and i'll
17:26tell you what they are really big i see still turning this small three steps and here comes david
17:31to a wing it away left right oh that's in trouble and down he goes left uppercut on the inside steve
17:38oh look lifted him off his feet and he's not getting up eight he comes down about 19 or 20 seconds in and he may have
17:48matched the john louise knockout he's done it again an early evening at the mgm maybe he could fight next week
17:55maybe he knew something we didn't know i'm not sure john louise wants to do that again i don't think so
18:00i'd have to see that display that was murdered boy that was so fast so quick what the quick hands
18:08and what powerful hands for a big man can you imagine a fight with tyson and two what would that generate
18:13oh that would be an atom bomb exploding in the middle of the ring i think that would that would break all
18:17records i mean i think that is a fight that people now got a hole two guys in the middle of the ring
18:23will be a huge huge uh an unmerciful barrage by that man david toa who just came out and did the job
18:36within second i just got a new bottle of water to sip through this fight i didn't even get it open my goodness
18:42david toa makes quick work of old bed selvin he comes inside and selvin gets caught on the inside
18:52right under here there's a left hook left uppercut almost lifts him off his feet it's a rising left
18:57hook or left uppercut and two look you see the legs we've talked about that's the power that's the
19:02foundation you know he's driving with those legs bobby looks like he was already gone when he got the
19:06uppercut because look look see that's the first one there's the second one see the upper two there were two
19:11there were two it looked like he didn't need the second he was already going down what power what
19:16power what what's the ones where he just drops his his glove now right there he's through he's through
19:22the next one wasn't necessary you know i've talked about it many times speed times mass
19:26equals destructive power a bullet kills you because it's not it's mass but how fast it's going if a
19:31cannonball could fly at the speed of a bullet it would go through about 30 buildings these fighters mike tyson
19:36david two of the generate that kind of speed a guy like i'd be a bucci big and strong
19:41generate that kind of speed are brutal and i'm not powerful i'll tell you lennox lewis and holy
19:48field and the bunch better take a warning they're in for trouble when again with this guy it's going
19:53to be an interesting year for this man i think it's safe to say that two have made a statement tonight
19:59they throw in samoa the terminator whatever you want to call him he terminated matters tonight
20:05rather briefly telling the heavyweight division that he is a major player we call that
20:12extreme prejudice well he uh announces to the world he's ready for a a world title shot
20:18he says he's lined up on his next fight already july 29th versus that great fighter known as tbd
20:25he has made it abundantly clear that he wants lennox lewis that could happen uh in november assuming lewis
20:32gets by both of them i was just slightly concerned for two at 253 they might be carrying just a little
20:36extra weight if sullivan got in a little bit of a groove and got him past rounds three or four or five
20:41but i also knew the power was there and i wasn't really worried about that for that part of well
20:45he put all that weight behind those punches and let's go up to jimmy lennon jr for the official work
20:54ladies and gentlemen we have the time of 51 seconds in round number one
20:59a referee in charge joe cortez reaches the count of ten he's the winner by way of knockout and still
21:05champion the tua man david tua
21:10well not quite as fast as the john ruiz fight but awfully close two and now goes to 36 and one with
21:2131 knockouts remains the ibm intercontinental heavyweight champion just for the record meanwhile
21:25obed sullivan drops to 35 and seven and one with a no contest and a no decision he has now dropped two of
21:32his last three but it was all about david tua here today let's go up to jim gray in the ring jim all
21:41right thank you very much steve well david that was uh probably much easier than you had anticipated
21:48correct well uh first of all for taylor to uh when we need talonga samaya that's why i hear him and
21:53worldu for taylor what's up why well that's late please well it's basically i just thank god for this
21:58great victory uh all glories and victories are his and uh i knew basically that uh he's a
22:02soldier he's a warrior i knew he was going to come out and fight but um i had down in my mind
22:07i tried two uppercuts like that you couldn't have anticipated right i mean i mean i knew that uh
22:11the minute i was going to hit him you know it's going to be all over so uh you know i just had to
22:15come out here and just play um here it is we can basically show the whole thing tell us what's going
22:20on well i set him up with the overhand i knew it was going to come in and try to uh uh throw the jab
22:25because i think everybody looks at the rockman fight you know that's the thing but you can't see
22:29what's behind you know you got to look at the president does this does this really prove
22:33anything i mean you've been inactive for 223 days and some would say maybe 224 after this little
22:39sparring session you know there's a lot of talk about david two is going to be rusty and all that
22:43but you know the only thing about that is that uh david two is david two and whatever you know makes
22:47david two feel comfortable and works for him you know i got to do it but uh all i can say is that um
22:51i'm ready for johnny reese next week whoever you've offered both the uh promoter and and showtime to come
22:59fight and holyfield's place haven't you i mean it's a pleasure to be on showtime once again and
23:02america presents is doing a great job ronny shield uh kevin barry the rest of the crew you know everybody's
23:07work hard you know uh lennox i'm here let's do it and i'll fight will you have another fight between
23:13now and november if nothing else just to try and collect the payday and try and get into some kind
23:18of ring shape because you really can't base anything off of this can you will you take another fight
23:22before lewis in november the mandatory sure i'd love to ronnie kevin dan let's get together and you know
23:27just get somebody you know like who whoever you obviously don't want to put yourself in a position
23:32and risk your wish your title shot but give us an idea we are going to fight in july and quite
23:38frankly with obed sullivan got to remember no one's done this to obed sullivan so i mean you saw that
23:42beautiful left right there he knocked him out he's ready to take on anybody we're going to take on
23:47anybody in july whoever wants to take the fight he's ready to fight next week seriously i called up jay larkin
23:52today uh david said he wanted to fight next week he wanted to make quick work of obed to be able to
23:58work with on the rules of jay tell me in my ear is there any shot at that it's never been done before
24:04jim we want to do it if not we'll go in july i don't think he's well receiving that that offer but
24:10we appreciate it congratulations david we hope to see you fight again soon and we hope it's much more
24:15of a fight thank you very much and i'd like to thank all the fans out there thank you very much and god
24:18bless all right back to you steve all right thank you very much uh jim gray very exciting uh night
24:24very explosive uh fight there for uh david to it but we want to just switch for one second to a somber
24:30note and uh mention the passing uh today of publicist irving rutto passed away at the age of 82 uh one of
24:37the real great guys of boxing uh public relations man for many many years and a nicer person you couldn't
24:44meet uh in the world of boxing uh he was uh he set the tone for all all the people that came along
24:50it was a pleasure dealing with him and also i would be remiss of that we didn't say tito puente the great
24:55hispanic band leader who set he set the mark for uh salsa music and he was a professor of hispanic music
25:03he passed away too so rudd and tito puente two great men go off together condolences to all the family
25:10members all right back to the business at hand here as we wrap things up from the mgm grand david to
25:16it without question even though it was up against a journeyman type fighter a guy who doesn't rise to
25:21the occasion against a level opposition talking about obed sullivan who went down fast here in the first
25:26round 51 seconds in david to uh uh solidifies cements uh his way as a number one fighter without a
25:34question i mean um obed figured to last more than a one minute egg and he didn't he he just was
25:41overwhelmed well you know when he said well so what he wasn't fighting anybody but still you got to knock
25:46out somebody you got to render him unconscious the blow that he got hit was so strong and and his uh
25:52his um uh aggression is so harsh it reminds me of when tyson was on his his his best when tyson used to
25:59come in and just obliterate guys that's what this guy reminds me of that's why i can't wait to see he
26:04and and tyson i hope nothing gets in between them because when they're both on their top form
26:09that fight should go through the roof rating wise and it should be the most exciting night in boxing
26:14all right we turn back to our other partner here bobby chez well he's made it very clear as we've
26:19mentioned uh talking about david to that he wants uh lennox lewis you uh mentioned uh earlier i think
26:24that you thought he could handle lewis what about now well i mean what he just did a picture's worth
26:29a thousand words that was worth a couple of million books he came in and did something to a fighter who
26:34albeit may be considered a journeyman now but who stayed in there and given at least a fight
26:38to top talent including some of the former world champions so this wasn't a fight this was not a
26:42sparring session this was a slaughter unfortunately for sullivan he had nothing to stand up to what
26:46david tua possessed while it did look very impressive we have to remember it was against
26:51an obed sullivan this was not mike tyson he was fighting here tonight do we have to put it in
26:55perspective well put it in perspective john ruiz went less time john ruiz is the number one contender
27:00fighting holyfield for wba i believe well a lot of people think that's a manufactured fight
27:07fight but david tua deserves a shot he deserves one now and if none of the world champions will face
27:11him they have no honor and no integrity all right as we wind things down let's take a look at
27:16tonight's results from the mgm grand god has been tacky scored a major victory beating former junior
27:25lightweight champion roberto garcia and inches closer to a world title shot with a thunderous come
27:30from behind left hook in round 10 to knock out the former champion garcia moved up to lightweight
27:37couldn't rebound from his first defeat and at our main event number one ibf contender david tua
27:44solidified his standing and continued his quest for a shot at the coveted heavyweight crown by disposing
27:49of obed sullivan don't forget more heavy hitters coming your way in less than two weeks friday june
27:5616th andrew galata makes his second appearance on showtime as he is pitted against former world
28:01champion orlin norris in the co-feature wilfredo vasquez faces juan lascano for the vacant napf
28:08lightweight championship that's friday june 16th at 11 p.m eastern and pacific and on saturday june 24th
28:16the former undisputed heavyweight champion mike tyson returns to the united kingdom
28:20to face lou savarese in glasgow scotland in the co-feature the exciting ibf junior welterweight champ
28:26zab judah defends his title against british champ jason roland that's saturday june 24th 9 p.m eastern
28:32and pacific so that'll do it for another edition of showtime championship boxing we saw a little bit
28:39of everything here tonight we hope you enjoy it see you again this very soon for the fight doctor
28:43freddie pacheco bobby ches jim gray our entire crew steve albert saying so long from las vegas
28:57is
28:59is
29:01this
29:03is
29:07is
29:11is
29:15is
30:49Coming June 26th, Showtime presents an original series every weeknight at 10 sharp.
30:55Monday, Resurrection.
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