David Tua has only lost to the very best heavyweights in the world. Tua's first lost came at the hands of Ike Ibeabuchi, a man who would likely be heavyweight champion of the world right now had he been able to stay out of prison. Lennox Lewis handed Tua his second defeat, and Chris Byrd his third.

The importance of (the Tua-Oquendo) fight was in finding out about Fres Oquendo, and we did. Good heavyweight, top 10 kind of guy, but not one of the very best.

All three fights went the distance. The Ibeabuchi fight was close, and the Byrd fight was competitive -- as was the first half of the fight with Lewis.

Several good heavyweights have come close to beating Tua. Hassime Rahman was given a raw deal in their fight. Rahman was winning the whole way when, late in the bout, Tua hit him after the bell. Rahman was never given his full five minutes to recover, and in the next round the fight was stopped a bit prematurely. Still, Tua emerged with the official win. (Rahman, of course, went on to win the heavyweight championship of the world.)

Oleg Maskaev was winning his fight with Tua until he was caught late by some of the Somoan's sledgehammer left hooks. David Izon was doing quite well until Tua caught him in the late rounds.

The good fighters give Tua trouble, the best ones beat him. For Fres Oquendo, that formula provided the context for his fight with Tua last Saturday night. We were going to find out whether Oquendo was a good heavyweight, or one of the very best.

There are several misconceptions in boxing circles about Tua. One is that he has become fat and lazy and a lesser fighter than he once was. During the broadcast of Tua's title shot against Lewis, the point was made on-air that Tua had turned in a disappointing performance. I took exception with that commentary.

The word disappointing means that you were expecting one thing from the fighter and got another. Any Tua watcher knows the way Tua fights against world class opposition -- he stalks his opponent, usually not throwing enough punches to win many rounds. However, the psychological pressure he exerts by constantly cutting off the ring, and the physical energy his opponent has to expend keeping this little block of concrete off him, usually eventually take their toll. By the middle to late rounds, Tua's left hooks that were missing by inches begin to find their mark, and it does not take too many Tua left hooks to end a fight.

The only time in his career Tua ever really moved his hands a lot throughout the fight was in his classic battle against Ike Ibeabuchi, and that was because Ike set a very fast pace and forced Tua to fight back. Saying that Tua was disappointing against Lewis is simply not accurate because he fought the way he always fights. Against a fighter of Lewis' caliber that simply has not been enough to win.

Another misconception about Tua is that he fights better when he comes into the ring at a lighter weight. During the broadcast of Tua's fight with Oquendo, a graphic was used to to make that point. It showed Tua's relatively light weights for his fights with Maskaev, Rahman, Ibeabuchi, and another opponent (I think it was Izon), and then his heavier weights for his losses to Lewis and Byrd.

All of the fights that were listed, however, essentially went the same way. Tua was outboxed by the better heavyweights the whole way, and by the lesser heavyweights until he came through with late-round knockouts.

It turns out that Oquendo is a good heavyweight, but not one of the very best. He is on a similar level to where Maskaev and Izon once were, but he is not of the caliber of a Lennox Lewis, Ike Ibeabuchi or Chris Byrd.

So what happened in the Tua-Oquendo fight? Well, even if you didn't see it, you only have to apply what we know about Tua, and you know more or less how the fight went. Oquendo outboxed Tua throughout the early to middle rounds. Tua missed left hooks, which he did not throw frequently enough. By the middle to late rounds Oquendo began to tire and Tua's punches started coming closer. Finally, Tua's left hook caught up with Oquendo and ended the fight.

No surprises, no new information about David Tua. The importance of this fight was in finding out about Fres Oquendo, and we did. Good heavyweight, top 10 kind of guy, but not one of the very best.

Max Kellerman is a studio analyst for ESPN2's Friday Night Fights.