Tim Tszyu's team in huge admission about Sebastian Fundora defeat ahead of rematch

Yahoo

17-07-2025

Tim Tszyu has thrown full support behind his entourage for the highly anticipated rematch against Sebastian Fundora, despite the Aussie boxer's team conceding they should not have allowed him to lose the first fight. Tszyu and Fundora will lock horns again in Las Vegas for the WBC super welterweight title this weekend, with the Aussie out to avenge his ugly defeat in last year's first fight.
Tszyu suffered a brutal cut to the top of his head after accidentally walking into the elbow of his towering opponent late in the second round. The Aussie's team were unable to stem the flow of blood from the cut and he was barely able to see properly, but Tszyu fought on bravely only to suffer the first loss of his professional career via split-decision.
The Aussie's corner came under fire after the brutal defeat and Tszyu's manager Glenn Jennings told AAP that the team accepts they could have pushed harder for the referee stop the fight before the fifth round and had it declared a no-contest. "In context now looking back, it's easy to pull it apart. On the night under the duress and everything going on, it's not so easy," Jennings said.
"But what we do know now is Tim didn't want the fight to stop. Coach Igor didn't want the fight to stop because his fighter didn't want the fight to stop. It didn't mean he didn't care. But you've also got a doctor who's saying 'no, he's fine', and you've got a referee who's saying nothing.
"And keep in mind that at no stage did the referee tell us that it was an accidental elbow. So if you pull early, you lose. If you pull late, you're in trouble... If we've got it right, we'd be geniuses. If we get it wrong, we're arseholes."
Tim Tszyu puts faith in team for Sebastian Fundora rematch
Sixteen months on from the brutal defeat, Team Tszyu insist there will be "no excuses" this time after the Aussie pinned his faith once again in trainer Igor Goloubev, strength and conditioning coach Dave Barker and cut man Mark Gambin. And the Tszyu camp is backing the corner to do the job following a brutal review of last year's debacle.
"After the whole team got together and had a real frank and honest open session, we agreed that this was the best course forward," Tszyu's manager said. "The one thing you can't buy in corners is loyalty and respect, and these boys have been with us forever so there was never any intention to make any changes."
Tszyu says everyone has 'owned up' to their roles and moved on from the Fundora defeat and he's happy to remain loyal to his team. "I'm true to who I stand by with. That's how I am," he said. "I don't really care about the cut man because I'm not intending to use him."
Team doctor Bill Anseline is also flying from Sydney to join Tszyu's entourage in Las Vegas. And the Aussie's manager says even his expertise would not have been enough to prevent the 'one-in-a-million misfortune' that transpired against Fundora last year.
"A ruptured carotid artery is just unheard of, but you might as well turn on a gas sprinkler system in your head and try and put it out with vaseline and adrenaline," Jennings said. "Doctor Bill said he does that when he removes cancers in the head. He said it takes him 20 minutes to sort that shit out.
"It was just unfortunate. It was a one-in-a-million misfortune. It tested all of us. It tested Tim. He fought 10 rounds without clear vision and still only got beaten by a one-point split decision. So it tells you a lot about the kid. The kid is a genuine matador.
All interviews were made possible by support from No Limit Boxing.
The first fight between @SebastianFundo1 and @Tim_Tszyu was an all-out war between two warriors 😮‍💨Will their rematch on Saturday night better the first fight?#FundoraTszyu2 | #PacquiaoBarrios | #BoxingLife | #BoxingHype pic.twitter.com/ZWr5XiWRKa
— IFL TV (@IFLTV) July 16, 2025
with AAP