David Tua is to meet Hasim Rahman this coming weekend in a rematch of their controversial first meeting of 1998, so why is this rematch happening so long after the first meeting? My answer is... since the first fight Tua has become often avoided and Rahman has very few options left, it is a natural fight but it has nothing like the setting of the first one, nonetheless it still has a fistful of curiosity value.

In 1997 David "The Terminator" Tua had a record of 27-0 with 23 KOs and had just completed his 99th professional round. His hundredth round was to be fought against the ferocious Nigerian Ike Ibeabuchi in Sacramento for the WBC International title. David lost via split points against the supposed future king, in a high octane punch out that many thought Tua had a valid case for a share of the spoils. A lot of water has traveled under the bridge since then and we still talk about how much promise Ike had or romance about how much potential he may still have. If we all seem to think Ibeabuchi is so great, then we must hold Tua in very high esteem because he -until this day- came closest to toppling the fistic schitzo legend.

Once rehabilitated, David was matched with another unbeaten rising star, Hasim "The Rock" Rahman, a Baltimore based power puncher who was making some noise himself in the chase for heavyweight honors. This on-off battle was first due to be contested in the giant tent in Uncasville on the undercard of the Lewis v Mavrovic shootout at the Mohegan Sun, but due to one bad circumstance or another it was called off and Tua's Fight 34 eventually took place in Miami, Florida. Cutting the long story short, Rahman seemingly leading on points, was hit hard after the bell rang at the end of a session and was unable to regain his senses correctly for the following stanza and was overwhelmed by the ruthless Samoan, leaving the third man no option but to step in and save "The Rock," this result 'till this day has become a taboo issue among some boxing circles and more prominently within camp Rahman; when I interviewed Hasim prior to his fight with Evander Holyfield in New Jersey I mentioned in passing the loss to Tua, Rahman stopped my questioning dead in its tracks barked "Never in my life did I lose a fight to no Tua! Aight..!" Oops, at this I changed my angle of interrogation to an alternative area to diffuse the stressful Karma.

Five fights after R-T-1 Tua was rewarded with his first and only championship chance, and in the opinion of most he became submissive when placed in the headlights of an oncoming Lennox Lewis. Governor Lewis out boxed and safely out maneuvered a hapless Tuaman in Las Vegas over 12 by a total of 24 points on the judges scorecards. In the immortal words of Lewis himself "David Tua is just a left hook and a hairdo."

 Tua is in many ways limited, he is very good in every aspect, but only great in some areas, the quality of opposition has been questionable, yet varied, but is this just because he is often avoided and has had to accept challenges of an inferior nature. In his run towards Lewis he sharpened his tools on some less than fabulously skilled pugs, the names Gary Bell, Obed Sullivan, Shane Suttcliffe and Robert Daniels are not going to supplement your fistic diet for a plateful of Lennox, but in defence of Tua only the sharpest of the current heavyweight crop has possessed the necessary weaponry it takes to hand David his head. (Only Byrd, Ibeabuchi and Lewis have honorary membership to that Elite club who have had that rare privilege).

Tua does have to be favoured on current form, but recent weeks have shown, it takes two to tango. The second half of this dance partnership is Hasim Rahman, and the best case that I can put forward for his chance of victory is 'a desperate man is a dangerous man,' and Hasim is most definitely desperate to salvage something from the ever decreasing options to reinvent himself; in short, he needs this victory to keep the flag flying with any conviction. Hasim is very likeable and I am always charmed by his challenging personality whenever we meet, and I put that down to him being very human in every way, almost vulnerable in his mannerisms. He is very approachable and engaging which is why his popularity is such amongst many young hip followers of the sport to familiarize with. Hasim is 'tell it how it is,' tenacious, yet humble and when he rose from have a go hopeful in Carnival City, to Heavyweight champion of the world he never seemed overawed by the transition.

Hasim rose to his place as Challenger to the Lewis Dynasty out of preference to his being vulnerable and less threatening due to Lennox's pre occupation towards a meeting with Mike Tyson down the rails. Rahman saw his chance and grasped the crown from the lofty head of a dreamy and unfocused Champion. But when he is unmotivated he possesses nothing like the devil that released its wrath on Lennox's whiskers in Africa. He has a tendency to lapse and lose concentration and show signs of ridiculous inconsistency (the ding dong battle with Corrie Sanders is a prime example) and since losing his slippery grasp on LL's Title he has found it hard to regain the ability to elevate his focus to the same dizzy heights that won him his place in history.

Tua v Rahman 1 was controversial and I agree he did get a raw deal but the difference between the two since their flash at World Championship level is quite obvious. Tua has taken his stuff to another gear and has become a better fighter, in contrast to Rahman who has since struggled and the nearest he may come to picking up a trophy at top level was that mammoth Elephantine Forehead Hickey he obtained courtesy of Commander 'Vander.

Hasim Rahman has made some contradictory statements to me that have been quite revealing over the last few years; before the Lewis fight he revealed how important it is to be loyal and have high morals towards those who put you where you are in life, then when he was presented with Don King's fistful of cash. He did a quick grab and dash from his loyalties to long time promoter Cedric Kushner (Exit Morals) and even more recently he kept a very straight face and explained "If I can't beat Evander Holyfield, then I have no place competing in that kind of company any longer!" Rahman makes bold statements and slips up occasionally but his absolute last stanza has to be this weekend's shootout.

I stated earlier that Hasim Rahman is by nature very human, but he may need a superhuman effort to overcome Tuaman in this rematch and I think he will find himself in an uphill struggle if he thinks that he is sharing the ring with the same David Tua as he faced in Miami all those rounds ago. David has become a more knowledgeable fighter and knows what he is up against since Lennox Lewis gave him some valuable corporal punishment, admittedly David may have nothing more than a left hook and a hairdo and he knows that it is going to take a hell of a lot more than that to beat Lennox in any rematch. In this one though, if the hairdo doesn't get you the left hook definitely will, ask Michael Moorer and John Ruiz.