Tua’s scalp a ticket to title fight

GIANT ALEXANDER Ustinov says he is eyeing David Tua as a stepping-stone to a shot at boxing’s world heavyweight title.

The two will square off in the bout dubbed ‘‘David v Goliath’’ in Hamilton on August 31.

Tua and his backers, Duco Events, said a win over the Belarus fighter – who stands at 2.02m and weighs more than 120kg – will put the veteran Kiwi on a path to a second shot at the world title.

But Ustinov says he is ready and willing to end the 40-year-old Tua’s boxing career for good, saying he too was looking at a world title fight.

‘‘We have the same strategies, the same goals,’’ Ustinov said as he had his first hit-out in Auckland yesterday.

‘‘I am thinking of someone to fight for the world title as well.’’

Tua’s handlers are seeking a fight against WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, or his brother, WBC world heavyweight champion, Vitali.

They are fights that the Belarusian also wants, saying he was not prepared to justify his world championship dream with a loss to an ageing Tua.

‘‘I am here to win. I came here to win. I am prepared for anything,’’ he said.

‘‘I came here to do my job well, I have been training for a long time and want to prove myself as a good, experienced athlete.’’

I was told that I was coming here to win, give it my all, to do my best Alexander Ustinov

Ustinov was also primed for the fight with some personal encouragement from both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko.

Ustinov is signed to K2; the boxing company owned by Klitschko brothers.

‘‘I was told that I was coming here to win, give it my all, to do my best,’’ he said.

He said it was perfect for his fight preparations to be able to travel from his home in Belarus to New Zealand a month out from the fight.

‘‘It is about a 24-hour flight, a very long flight, so I need time to recover,’’ he said.

‘‘Also it is a different climate here, the food is different, so it is good to have a long time to prepare and adapt.’’ Ustinov will spend the next week travelling around the North and South Islands promoting the fight for Duco Events.

On returning to Auckland, he will spend three weeks finalising his build-up and fight plan.

‘‘Once it is over I will be fully into training,’’ he said.

‘‘I will be meeting my sparring partner after the tour and it will then be full-on training, training, training. I am here to win.’’

Photo: John Selkirk/fairfax NZ Fighting talk: Big Belarusian Alexander Ustinov has warned the Tua camp he hasn’t come all the way to New Zealand to lose.