From Sun Tzu to Fun-Tszyu: Sebastian Fundora, Tim Tszyu ready for 'another bloody mess'
Tszyu was ahead on the scorecards until a nasty cut opened on his scalp. Even with a minute's rest between rounds, his cutman tried to stanch the downpour. But it was a fool's errand. Tszyu looked like he'd been hit with an axe. Fundora was busted up too, his nose and his face swollen to the point he was almost unrecognizable.
Their co-feature supports Manny Pacquiao's return to the ring, aged 46, this Saturday against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios. The event airs as a Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view on Prime Video.
Fundora, a connoisseur of chaos, welcomes more of it ahead of their rematch on Saturday. 'I want another fight like the first one,' he said earlier in the year. 'Another bloody mess.'
Tszyu, a self-styled 'throwback fighter,' has long fought anyone, anytime, any place. With bouts against the likes of Jeff Horn, Tony Harrison and Bakhram Murtazaliev, he's been true to his word.
Speaking to Uncrowned, he recalled the cut that changed everything. 'I felt it straight away,' he said, brushing it off as 'a bit of a scratch.'
The aftereffects still linger in his Sydney home. Inside a cabinet of memorabilia, he keeps the same handwraps from that night — and they are still stained crimson. His shorts remain soggy. Even his French bulldog, Pablo, refuses to give them a second sniff. 'It was a lot of blood, man,' Tszyu said with a laugh.
Spend time around these two and you'll see: This rematch isn't just another fight. It's a campaign. A second front. A test of strategy, discipline and will. And like all great battles, it has its own manual.
Enter Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese military strategist whose teachings 2,500 years ago in "The Art of War" may offer a blueprint for how this rematch unfolds as his words echo through Fun-Tszyu 2.
'All warfare is based on deception.'
'In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.'
'Know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.'
Strategy & Planning
Originally scheduled to fight Keith Thurman in 2024, Tszyu had to pivot fast when Fundora stepped in on short notice after Thurman suffered an injury to his biceps. Going from his original opponent — Thurman is 5-foot-7 with a 69-inch reach — to the 6-foot-6 Fundora with an 80-inch reach, is no small shift in task.
'The biggest takeaway I have from the first fight to the rematch,' Tszyu said, 'is the fact that I get to actually prepare for him. I sort of came out swinging and had to figure everything out on the go.'
This time, Tszyu has had a full camp to adjust. He's been sparring taller fighters, practicing the art of punching at a higher target, and drawing from the 12 rounds with Fundora that he's already banked.
Fundora's approach is simpler. 'When it comes to strategy and planning, we hit the bag, we train, and we spar," the champ said. "Whatever Tim brings is going to be great for him, but we're focused on what Fundora can bring.'
Sun Tzu placed deception at the heart of warfare, and Fundora's simplified look at camp may well be a nod to this, particularly when he provides his thoughts on the famous quote: 'In the midst of chaos, there's opportunity.'
It resonates with the Californian boxer. 'We stay calm in chaos,' Fundora said.
Why?
'Because our camps are never easy. The fancy stuff, family … that's easy. We're smiling, and we're enjoying it. We see fans. They're greeting us, they're loving us. But the camps are hard. They're tough. We go through lots of dramatic stuff through camp. We go through hardship.
'When the fight comes,' Fundora continued, 'the chaos that you guys see, well, it's nothing but a breeze to me.'
The importance of adaptation
Tszyu acknowledges that, like Tzu warned, battles can be lost before they even begin. 'Fights can be won before, but you've got to be able to have a mindset of adapting to what's in front of you," he said.
In the first fight, Tszyu had to adjust to Fundora's range, and then once again when the cut opened and blood poured everywhere. 'I didn't adapt as quickly as I wanted," he said. "That's my biggest takeaway.'
Fundora sees it differently. He credits Tszyu, despite the waves of blood that blurred his vision. 'He looked game through the whole fight to me,' Fundora said, before admitting he targeted the cut deliberately. 'Like you said, this is 'The Art of War.''
Effective leadership and discipline
Sun Tzu also emphasized the importance of leadership and unity: A well-led army does not falter.
'I've got the right people around me with No Limit, my manager, my coach, promoters … everyone's on board and we're all loyal to each other,' Tszyu said. 'That's the main theme.'
Fundora credits his longtime manager Sampson Lewkowicz, and, of course, his father/trainer Freddy. 'My team is one of the best in boxing because we go out there, we do our job, and we do it professionally," he said. "We make sure there's no bumps or cuts or anything like that, and we just get the job done — always.'
That discipline may have shown in how each team handled adversity. Tszyu's corner could have pulled him after that cut in 2024, which may have led to a technical decision win at best, or a No Contest at worst. Instead, he fought on and lost a decision. Fundora, meanwhile, took a year off to heal and then steamrolled Chordale Booker in four rounds. Tszyu returned too soon and was punished by Bakhram Murtazaliev in a brutal TKO loss.
'He needed more time to recover,' Fundora said of Tszyu. 'He got hit more. We had a little swollen nose — nothing wrong with that. They gave us time to heal and we took full advantage [of that time away from the ring].'
It's a lesson Fundora says he often discusses with his father. 'These questions and talking points? They're not new to me.'
Knowing yourself — and the enemy
Sun Tzu's most famous principle may be this: 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will not fear the result of a hundred battles.'
Both fighters feel they've gained that insight.
'You learn more from your losses than your wins,' Tszyu said. 'I intend to come back and put on a show.'
Fundora agrees — to a point.
He says he knows Tszyu more intimately than past opponents like Erickson Lubin or Brian Mendoza, but doesn't overthink it. 'I just need to focus on what I can do,' he said.
So what can Fundora do?
'I can win,' he finished. 'And I'm going to win.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bronze for Australia as US strike gold at worlds
Australian Alexandria Perkins has nabbed a bronze medal, Canadian superstar Summer McIntosh continued her winning ways and the virus-stricken US finally broke their gold medal duck on day two of the swimming world championships. Perkins produced a strong finish to snare third place in a hotly-contested women's 100m butterfly final in Singapore on Monday night. World record holder Gretchen Walsh started the race as the hottest of favourites, but the big question was whether she had escaped the gastro carnage that has swept through the US camp. The widespread sickness resulted in the powerful US team ending the opening night without a gold medal, with Australia beating them in both the men's and women's 4x100m freestyle relays. Walsh put any sickness doubts to rest on Monday night with a powerful 54.73-second swim that gave the 22-year-old a maiden world championship title and brought the US its first gold of the meet. The American now owns the eight fastest times in the 100m butterfly, with her latest effort the second best of all time. Belgium's Roos Vanotterdijk (55.84) finished second, while Perkins came home fast to nab bronze in a time of 56.33. "I can't be happier with that," an elated Perkins told Channel 9. "It was a new experience being in this final tonight. "I missed out last year at the Olympics, so I'm just really proud of myself for handling my nerves against someone like Gretchen. "She's just incredible. She did a phenomenal job." In what served as an entree to Tuesday night's final, Australian Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown finished second to American arch rival Regan Smith in the women's 100m backstroke semi-final. McIntosh, who is aiming for five individual gold medals at this championships, made it two from two on Monday night. The 18-year-old Canadian won the 400m women's freestyle on Sunday, and backed it up with victory in the 200m individual medley on Monday night. McIntosh won the medley in a time of 2:06.69, fending off a challenge from Alex Walsh (2:08.58) in which they were almost even heading into the last 50m. In the men's 200m freestyle, Australian Flynn Southam finished last in his semi-final heat to miss the final. China's Qin Halyang won his fourth world championships gold medal after coming from behind to defeat Italian Nicolo Martinenghi in the men's 100m breaststroke final. Frenchman Maxime Grousset (22.48) edged Switzerland's Noe Ponti (22.51) in a hotly-contested 50m men's butterfly final. Australia's 16-year-old rising star Sienna Toohey swam a time of 1:07.24 in the 100m breaststroke heats but missed out on a semi-final berth by 0.24 of a second. Toohey was in the same heat as triple Olympian and triple world record holder Lily King, who scraped into the semis with a time of 1:06.93. "That was the fastest heat swim I have ever done," Toohey said. "I knew I was racing Lily King but I was trying to pretend it wasn't her because I didn't want to get freaked out. But it was pretty cool."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'The arc for the second season is very exciting': Ballard star explains why Prime Video should renew the Bosch spin-off
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. I want it, you want it, we all want it, but as it stands, there's no news confirming Ballard season 2. The Bosch: Legacy spinoff has had astonishing success on Prime Video during its first week of release, scoring the elusive 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. These days, though, even that doesn't guarantee a future. Ballard, which follows LAPD detective Renée Ballard (Maggie Q) as she oversees a cold case in a new department, remains the most streamed new TV show on the platform at the time of writing, with positive critical reviews flying in thick and fast. Even to someone who knows very little about how the industry works, there's clearly more than enough evidence to commission new episodes. But according to Maggie Q, there's just as much chance that we could never see Ballard again if a second season isn't green lit. The biggest shame if the new series quits while it's ahead? We'll never get to see the 'very exciting' season 2 arc that's been teased by Q herself. Ballard season 2 isn't guaranteed to be renewed by Prime Video, but a 'very exciting' arc would make a cancelation devastating Spoilers for Ballard season 1 finale ahead. 'I have no sense,' Q told The Hollywood Reporter about a potential Ballard season 2. 'This industry is not what it was before. It's barely recognizable to me, and shows are so expendable. They can throw out a show in two seconds, and it doesn't make a ton of difference that whole worlds and livelihoods are at stake. Studios always have options. But we have a writers room, and they've been writing away. 'The arc for the second season is very exciting,' she confirms. 'But I've had writers room hired before and then gotten cancelled. So everyone's like, 'Maggie, of course!' I'm like, 'No, no, no.' There is no 'of course.' I am not a negative person at all. I'm a very positive person, but I'm a realist.' Let's recap what we know. Season 1 left off with the unexpected reveal that Councilman Jake Pearlman's (Noah Bean) own father, Gary Pearlman (Kevin Dunn) murdered his own daughter over an alleged confrontation about his marital affair. Robert Olivas (Ricardo Chavira) was also exposed as being a dirty cop alongside being a generally terrible human (bear in mind the earlier assault accusations), but when he's also killed off, Ballard is arrested for it. We've not seen how Olivas died, but we did see Ballard draw her gun on him in the final moments of their confrontation. If season 2 never gets off the ground, Ballard is essentially stuck in jail, for possibly no good reason, for the rest of her fictional life. Not only this, but Ballard has already defied the typical crime drama stereotype by blending the personal and professional in an entirely new way, so it would be an extra shame to lose something that's bringing us something fresh. As far as I'm concerned, Prime Video owes it to the franchise, fans and the undoubtedly the strongest Bosch spinoff so far to give over some answers. In the meantime, you can check out everything else new on Prime Video in July 2025 to get yourself out of a post-Ballard slump. You might also like The Boys season 5: everything we know so far about the popular Prime Video show's final entry Reacher season 4: everything we know so far about the hit Prime Video show's return The best TV show on Prime Video? I can't stop coming back to this comfortingly cringey comedy series from the 2000s Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Prime Video confirms Invincible season 5 is in the works, but I'm more intrigued about who'll be voiced by Matthew Rhys in the Amazon TV show's fourth season
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Amazon has renewed Invincible for a fifth season The highly-rated animated show's fourth entry will arrive sometime in 2026 Matthew Rhys has also joined the Prime Video series' voice cast for season 4 Amazon has revealed Invincible has been renewed for a fifth season. The announcement, which was made on the adult animated show's social media channels yesterday (July 17), confirms Invincible season 4 won't be its final entry. Considering how popular the critically-acclaimed Prime Video series is, that's no great surprise, but it's nonetheless pleasing to hear that Mark Grayson's story will continue on one of the world's best streaming services. Interestingly, Amazon also revealed that the show's cast had already completed recording their lines for its fifth season. It's likely, then, that Invincible season 5 could be ready to go in 2027 and maintain Prime Video's recently established plan to release new seasons annually: Invincible season 2 part 1 aired in late 2023, Invincible season 2 part 2 launched in early 2025, and its third and most recent season released earlier this year. Season 4 is set to arrive in 2026, too, so there's no reason to suspect the show's fifth installment won't arrive a year after that. Which character might be voiced by Matthew Rhys in Invincible season 4? Invincible's latest renewal and the completion of voice work on season 5 weren't the only announcements made in the above video. Indeed, Amazon also revealed that Matthew Rhys (The Americans, Perry Mason) had joined the voice cast for one of the best Prime Video shows' fourth chapter. Understandably, Rhys' role is being kept under wraps, but that doesn't mean we can't guess which character he'll portray. After all, there are plenty of candidates in the series' graphic novel namesake who've yet to show up in its animated adaptation. So, who could Rhys be voicing? Grand Regent Thragg is a possibility but, as much as I like Rhys as an actor, I'm not sure he has the gravitas to play the Viltrum Empire's commander-in-chief. J.K. Simmons, who plays Omni-Man, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who voices Conquest, have proven that actors with deeper voices are best suited to portray Viltrumites, so I don't think Rhys is the right fit for Thragg. If he plays a villain, he might be better hamming it up as someone like Dinosaurus – real name David Anders – who's something of an superhuman eco-terrorist and, as his name implies, a formidable shape-shifting humanoid reptile when he's in his dino-form. Dinosaurus is a dangerous albeit silly character, so Rhys might be the perfect fit to play him. On the more heroic front, Rhys may be the ideal actor for someone like Space Racer or Tech Jacket. We've briefly seen these superpowered beings in past seasons of Invincible, but neither character has uttered a word yet. It's possible, then, that Rhys has been tapped to voice one of them. I guess we'll find out for sure when Invincible season 4 is eventually released. In the meantime, read the section below for more coverage on the series' latest season. You might also like Invincible season 3 review: another soaring entry of the popular Prime Video series that packs a real punch in more ways than one Invincible season 3 ending explained: is [spoiler] dead, Damien Darkblood end credits scene, and more big questions answered Invincible season 3 episode 7 makes good on a two-year-old Instagram post and a wild rumor about Jeffrey Dean Morgan Solve the daily Crossword