The most terrifying tandem in junior league history

2 years ago 72

Rugby league successful South Auckland is simply a rugged arena astatine the champion of times.

But it would person been a peculiarly terrifying acquisition for immoderate unlucky souls successful the 1980s erstwhile they looked crossed astatine a squad featuring the names Mark Hunt and David Tua.

"I went to schoolhouse with Mark and we played league together," Tua, 1 of New Zealand's top boxers, told Wide World of Sports.

Sonny Bill Williams volition look Mark Hunt successful a titanic heavyweight clash connected November 5. Watch unrecorded and exclusive connected Stan

"Otahuhu College, the champion schoolhouse of all."

MMA fable Hunt told WWOS helium played successful the centres arsenic a youngster but Tua confirmed helium was not of the ball-playing variety.

"Run it straight, tally it straight! No sidestep, conscionable tally it straight," the 49-year-old laughed.

Instead of the NRL, the power-packed youngsters took their sporting talents into the combat crippled and became an inspiration to the Polynesian assemblage successful particular.

Both listed astatine 1.78m, they are 2 of the hardest hitting athletes ever.

Tua, Hunt's "waterboy" for Saturday's combat against Sonny Bill Williams, humbly defers to his person erstwhile asked who has the knockout edge.

"I'll springiness that to Mark," helium said.

"The lone past we person is we utilized to play a punching instrumentality crippled backmost home. I won a mates of times but past Mark went backmost and kicked it!"

Tua fashioned a formidable 52-5-2 grounds implicit his heavyweight vocation and fought Lennox Lewis for the satellite rubric successful 2000.

His devastating near hook and durable chin are legendary and Hunt enlisted his assistance for the showdown astatine the Aware Super Theatre.

"It's a privilege and a honour to beryllium asked to beryllium portion of it," Tua said.

For him to scope retired - I person a batch of admiration and respect for some him and Sonny. They're some iconic successful their fields and to beryllium portion of this lawsuit is amazing.

"I'm not going to archer the fable however to fight, helium already knows however to fight. He knows his near from close truthful I'm not going to alteration anything. I'm conscionable present for support."

And being successful the force campy wasn't going to halt Williams approaching Tua to wage his respects to "the uso" successful betwixt sparring sessions and media duties astatine Tony Mundine's gym successful Redfern.

The brace embraced and spoke unneurotic for respective minutes.

Sparks alert earlier Pangai Jr fight

"Sharing a batch of stories astir increasing up successful New Zealand and the accidental to combat Mark. It's bully to spot him backmost successful the ring," Tua said of Williams.

"He's iconic for the Polynesian community. When Sonny was playing league, everybody wanted to beryllium a league player.

"When helium played union, everyone wanted to beryllium a rugby national player. Same with Mark Hunt - helium smashed it retired successful K1 and became champion - everyone wanted to go K1 champion. Same with MMA and his conflict successful tribunal with UFC - he's going up against a large giant. I person admiration and respect for him taking connected that large combat due to the fact that it's not a large combat for himself. It's astir aboriginal generations that travel through, it helps them."

Hunt's singular 20kg value loss

There has been nary trash speech betwixt Williams and Hunt and the erstwhile has admitted helium was initially reluctant to combat a chap Samoan.

But Tua didn't deliberation it would beryllium hard to flick the power wrong the ropes.

"No, they're earthy calved fighters, they cognize what's expected of them. Every combat is simply a unsafe fight. You don't person to accidental things to beforehand the fight, conscionable talk your bosom and your mind.

"None of that matters for us, it's astir doing your precise best. In those ropes you go idiosyncratic else."

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