ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Everyone knew David Tua had power. On Saturday night, Michael Moorer quickly found out just how much.

	David Tua improved to 41-3 with his 30-second stoppage of Michael Moorer.

The 29-year-old Samoan powerhouse embarrassed the two-time former heavyweight champion he calls his friend, stopping him 30 seconds into their scheduled 10-rounder. "I'm a friend of Michael's now and I always will be. But this is business,'' said Tua (41-3).

Business, indeed.

Attacking immediately after the opening bell, Tua backed Moorer into the ropes and hit him in the head with a hard left. Moorer backed away and was on the ropes on the other side when Tua delivered a crushing right to the chin and a left to the back of the head.

Moorer (43-3-1) sank into a crouch, dazed, as referee Rudy Battle waved a halt to the fight.

The 5-foot-11, 243-pound Tua, who came in nearly 20 pounds heavier than Moorer (224), barely broke a sweat. But he made $500,000 doing it. Moorer's share was $425,000.

Tua threw 16 punches, to five for Moorer, before the quick ending before a crowd of 4,471.

"We worked very hard in the gym. We didn't take anything for granted,'' Tua said.

He said he wouldn't call the victory "easy,'' but then he did just that.

"The hard work made it easy. Not bad for a country boy,'' Tua said.

The performance evoked memories of his 19-second knockout of John Ruiz in Atlantic City in 1996. It was over practically before it started.

Tua said he wasn't out for an early night, it just turned out that way.

"I was just thinking to go out there early and let my hands go,'' he said. "The knockout was there, so I took advantage of it.''

Moorer, who dropped out of boxing for three years beginning in 1997, had won four of five fights in his comeback. The 34-year-old left-hander held the IBF and WBA titles briefly in 1994 after defeating Evander Holyfield, but he quit the sport three years later after Holyfield floored him five times in the rematch.

He says he'll keep boxing.

"I'm going to go back to the gym and I'm going to continue to fight. I know who I am,'' Moorer said.

"I felt good coming into the fight. He tried to get inside and he did. I got hit with some looping punches I couldn't do anything about.''