David Tua - Outside The Ring

Outside The Ring

On October 10, 1992 Tua appeared on the New Zealand version of the gameshow Wheel of Fortune. He asked for an "O for Olsen" (a reference to Olsen Filipaina) but this was heard by some as "O for awesome". He requested "P" when buying a vowel on the same episode. He was also heard to ask if he could buy a "constonant" during the same show.

From 1992 to 2003, Tua was managed by former boxer Kevin Barry, who also trained him from 2001. But in 2003, Tua ended his business relationship with Barry and financial manager Martin Pugh. Though Barry accepted his dismissal as trainer, he resisted Tua's decision to end their contract, which still had two years to go. In 2004, Tua's accountant learned that the boxer's finances with his boxing company, Tuaman Inc. Ltd., were tangled with company expenses; Tua no longer had most of his $NZ 20 million in purses from his professional matches, and important assets Tua thought he owned alone were anything but, including a piece of coastal land at Pakiri. Tuaman Inc. Ltd had business expenses flowing in various directions, involving companies and clients Tua had no knowledge of. Tua's own home was purchased with borrowed money, and the boxer's purses were linked to renovation costs for Martin Pugh's property. These findings were based on documents from Pugh's offices. Court action was inevitable.

In 2005 Tua took Kevin Barry and Martin Pugh to court over their business arrangements. Barry and Pugh have accused Tua of manipulating them to collect revenue, yet Tua maintained that he knew little of the men's affairs and did what they told him to do out of trust. The dispute has so far given both sides legal victories: over the issue of the coastal land property, the court ruled in favor of Barry and Pugh, since Tua failed to properly clarify his ownership over the land; on the issue of the terminated 2003 contract, the court ruled in Tua's favour, concluding he clearly owed no expenses to his former management from that contract. The courts are currently preparing to handle the other issues of the boxer's company's finances.

In October and December 2006, Tua was challenged by fellow boxer and countryman Shane Cameron. With Cameron's 17 straight victories and a ranking from the International Boxing Federation, there has been media attention given to Cameron. However, Tua's camp has resisted the challenge, asking Cameron to first build up his profile in the United States to attract promoters before fighting Tua. Tua himself has stated that such a match would mostly benefit Cameron. In March 2007 Cameron, now with 19 wins, again challenged Tua.

In May 2007, Cedric Kushner, president of Gotham Boxing Inc. and Tua's promoter, filed a $5 million lawsuit against IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and promoter Shelly Finkel among others - and while the lawsuit is unrelated to Tua, Kushner has stated he will drop the lawsuit if Tua is given a title bout against Klitschko in 2008, which ultimately failed to materialize.

In September 2009 Tua lost an aunt in the Samoa tsunami. In early October he travelled to Samoa with cousin Va'aiga Tuigamala to see how they could help.

Tua is a member of the legendary Anoa'i wrestling family.

David Tua has two children, both boys.