David Tua's former manager Kevin Barry believes the leadup to Tua's showdown with Alexander Ustinov has 2009 written all over it and has thrown his vote the way of a Kiwi win in Hamilton on Saturday night.

Barry, who went through an ugly split with Tua in 2003, has previously said he was saddened by the fact Tua was still fighting at the age of 40.

However, despite this, Barry said yesterday from his home in Las Vegas that if all the information he had been provided recently was correct, Tua could destroy Alexander Ustinov in similar fashion to when he beat Shane Cameron in Hamilton in 2009.

"I think it's a very winnable fight for David Tua. A lot of people talk about Tua's inactivity but look, let's remember when he fought Shane Cameron back in 2009 he hadn't fought for two years. Also, if you remember, the Tua-Cameron fight was rescheduled a couple of times, only to work into Tua's advantage and we know this one has been put back a few months and again I think it's in Tua's advantage," Barry said.

"We know how motivated he was for the Cameron fight, he was motivated to get his weight down, he was motivated to get in really, really good shape. Well, these are the sort of things that we're hearing from his handlers at the moment.

"If David Tua is as motivated and fit as they are saying, and he comes out and lets his hands go then Tua becomes a very dangerous prospect."

Barry also has his doubts about the abilities of 36-year-old Ustinov which also has him leaning the way of a Tua victory.

"This guy Ustinov is not a huge puncher - you only have to look at the last fight he had against Ivica Perkovic, Perkovic had been coming into the fight and been KO'ed seven times and yet he went the full eight rounds with Ustinov. Ustinov is definitely not a dangerous puncher.

"The other thing about Ustinov is his hands are slow, he's a big man but he's slow, and David Tua's always had good head movement, he's good at slipping punches. Ustinov lunges with his jabs and there is a definite opportunity to slip outside and catch Ustinov with his trademark left hook."

Barry - who now trains rising New Zealand heavyweight star Joseph Parker - said he hadn't talked to Tua since they split in 2003 but he was eager to tune in from Las Vegas and hopes to watch a Tua win.

"After 12 years together, [since 2003] our relationship has been one of making comments about each other. Look, I'll be rooting for him for this fight, me and Joseph will be watching it."