Thursday, October 17
To be around Tim Tszyu 48 hours before his most important fight is to understand why the contest with Sebastian Fundora unfolded as it did.
It was at late notice in March when he agreed to fight Fundora, when an injury suffered by Keith Thurman – a significantly different nature of fighter – robbed him of the opponent for which he had long prepared.
He then, against Fundora, fought on fearlessly from the second round with blood pouring so heavily from his scalp that his vision was affected – and there remain observers of what unfolded at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena who believe that he deserved to be awarded victory, instead of a split-decision defeat.
Should Tszyu lose for the second time in succession on Saturday night, at Orlando’s Caribe Royale, there is little question that his career will require rebuilding. Yet for all of the pressure that that represents, and the heightened attention that complements the presence of his celebrated father Kostya, like only the most natural born fighters he has the air of a warrior licking his lips.
It had long been tempting to consider Tszyu a “throwback”, such was his apparent willingness to fight any opponent and his relative disregard for his fame. When in the aftermath of the defeat by Fundora he agreed to fight Vergil Ortiz Jnr – he was ultimately prevented from doing so by the cut that required further healing – he enhanced that reputation, and he enhanced it still further when unlike so many of his contemporaries he was dismissive of Turki Alalshikh.
Tszyu not only cuts a confident, relaxed figure, on the eve of what is considered the most competitive fights against a thankless opponent he has a glint in his eyes that betrays the extent to which he is relishing the imminent physical and psychological tests.
“When we step in the ring it’s all going to be a bit different,” he said from the top table of Thursday’s press conference. “That’s the best part about boxing – being taken by surprise. ‘He’s faster than I thought; he’s stronger than I thought; he’s harder than I thought.’ That’s all the questions that are going to be answered on Saturday night.”
If he were attempting to promote his next fight he’d have done so effectively, but Tszyu can be refreshingly reluctant to say much that he doesn’t believe.
When he first spoke, he declared he hadn’t prepared anything of significance to say and that he was “just winging it”, and unlike is increasingly common in the modern era insisted that beyond Saturday’s fight he and Bakhram Murtazaliev have no rivalry at all.
It has been suggested to BoxingScene that should he win, and emerge without another injury, he hopes to fight again as early as December, which ultimately speaks of a fighter determined to make up for lost time.
There, similarly, is little question that despite his compatriots Jai Opetaia, Liam Paro and Skye Nicolson possessing world titles, Tszyu remains Australian boxing’s leading figure. The broadcaster Fox’s dedication to covering his career has contributed to an official total (there will be others) of 27 journalists travelling from there to Orlando, Florida to cover his fight against an opponent who doesn’t speak English; as recently as Thursday his manager Glen Jennings described his father Kostya as “our greatest of all time”.
If Tim Tszyu, often the driest of communicators, was far from desperate to exaggerate the picture surrounding Saturday’s contest, the reality is that he will regardless have known that promoters Premier Boxing Champions would attempt to sell the world a warped dream.
“He said you didn’t want the fight,” the host of Thursday’s press conference told Murtazaliev directly after Tszyu had finished answering one of his questions, when the reality was that Tszyu had said no such thing. Murtazaliev wouldn’t have known he was being misled – he was spoken to and responding via a translator – so he responded, and Tszyu then responded again, so that host’s goal was achieved.
Tom Brown of PBC was absent, and said to be arriving later on Thursday. But Kostya Tszyu’s presence sold Saturday’s fight better than Brown could have hoped to, even if more important to “The Thunder from Down Under” was supporting his son, and being reunited with Nikita – Tim’s younger brother – for the first time in 11 years.
At the conclusion of Thursday’s press conference Team Tszyu – Kostya included – sat down to take some personal photographs. Kostya briefly and lovingly massaged his son’s neck and upper back to ease his hidden tension as only a retired fighter who knows what he is going through. He then got his own phone out to demand that others be taken, so that he had the same images for himself.