Tua scored a unanimous points win over Friday "the 13th" Ahunanya in Auckland last night, benefitting from his aggressive attitude.
Ahunanya said after the fight that he thought he had won, but to most eyes he seemed more intent on keeping his record of never being knocked out than he was on trying to win.
Tua threw several big punches against Ahunanya, and appeared to have him in trouble once in the 10th round, but for the most part he had to out-box the Nigerian, and his trainer Roger Bloodworth said he was pleased at the manner of the victory.
"This was exactly the fight that David needed," Bloodworth said.
"It was much better than a first round knockout. I would have been glad with a 12th round knockout but I'm also glad he went 12 rounds. It will be better for him when he goes up against bigger fighters, some of whom won't be as co-ordinated as Friday."
Tua said it was a good fight but he felt like he was in control despite Ahunanya's ability to take several good punches.
"I'm very happy with the win. People now know I can box," he said.
"He obviously had a very good game plan and he stuck to it. For me it was about not getting frustrated."
Bloodworth said he was also pleased at Tua's fitness through the 12 rounds.
"I thought his conditioning was good. It could be a little better, but I thought it was still good.
"He was also thinking every round, instead of just trying to land big shots."
Ahunanya said he thought his plan to try to out-box Tua had been successful and he thought he won the fight.
His trainer-manager Luis Tapia was even more outspoken, saying the judges would have gone their way had the fight been held in the United States.
"Friday beat him every round. Tua couldn't even land a right hand."
When told of Tapia's comments, Bloodworth said: "When's the movie coming out?"
He also said there would be no point in a rematch.
"He didn't really come to fight, he came to survive."
Promoter Cedric Kushner said Tua's planned fight in Honolulu in May was now unlikely to happen.
He said he hoped Tua could fight a couple more times this year, preferably in the United States.
