In his first bout in close to two years Tua wasted no time underlining his utter dominance of New Zealand's heavyweight boxing ranks last night.
His second round knockout of Shane Cameron at Mystery Creek near Hamilton was stunning for the ferocity and clinical efficiency shown by the 37-year-old, who shed 26kg to get into fighting shape.
It meant an early finish to the one of the most anticipated heavyweight contests in New Zealand boxing history.
Tua, who many had considered a spent force, exhibited brutal power to finish off Cameron sevens seconds into the second round after twice flooring him near the end of the first round.
Amid the pre-fight banter which built for weeks, much was made of the winner going on to a potential crack at a world title next year. Only time will tell whether that materialises, but Tua's powerful display answered one important question.
Providing he wants it enough he certainly still has a future in the ring.
He wanted it enough last night, decimating the taller, younger Cameron, who used his longer reach to land some left jabs early on.
But Tua soon began landing some of his famed left hooks on Cameron, who offered little in the way of a guard to what has always been Tua's main weapon.
When Tua launched his first real offensive of rapid-fire blows with both hands, Cameron went down against the ropes. Referee Bruce McTavish allowed him to continue after an eight count, but as soon as Cameron was back on his feet Tua rained more punches to his red and swollen eyes.
Tua landed two blows while Cameron was reeling on his knees against the ropes. McTavish overlooked those illegal punches and let the fight go on just long enough for Cameron to have some brief respite in his corner at the end of the round.
Tua pummelled Tua with 13 consecutive punches to Cameron's head at the start of the second round before Cameron went down for the last time.
Tua said he was a little surprised by the swift knockout.
"I wasn't expecting that but we prepared well and I trained really hard -- for anything. I knew he would either come out fighting or moving but I was ready for either."
Tua said he was also surprised the referee didn't stop the contest at the end of the first round, when Cameron was clearly out on his feet.
"I was shocked about that," said Tua, who left Mystery Creek with a cheque for $500,000.
"But I am not going to make something out of that. I came out in the second round and did what I had to do."
Tua spoke as one who is keen to continue banging bodies in a brutal sport.
"I know I've lost a lot of weight and I think a lot of people have said I lost my speed. Now I believe I have just started my career, if anything," Tua said.
"So it was important for me to win this fight and win it well."
His immediate future remains uncertain, although there has been speculation about a fight against American Hasim Rahman in Auckland in December.
In recent years, Tua's career has been interrupted by a legal dispute with former manager Kevin Barry.
His last bout was in late 2007, a second-round technical knockout of American Cerrone Fox, and anything but a convincing win last night could have spelt an end to his boxing career. The win took his career record to 50 wins, 43 by knockout, three losses, all of them on points, and a draw.
Cameron was rated No 7 by the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) before the fight and lost his WBO Asia-Pacific and Oriental championship belts last night.
The WBO's Asia-Pacific, Oriental and Africa zone chairman, Leon Panoncillo, had said Cameron's ranking and Tua's record made it feasible for the victor to go up against a world champion despite last night's fight not being an official world championship eliminator.
