Tim Tszyu's crushing dressing room scene as boxing career thrown ‘has to be in doubt'

News.com.au

4 days ago

How can Tim Tszyu possibly bounce back to boxing superstardom following another brutal loss to Sebastian Fundora?
The Australian's dream of exacting revenge in their rematch was dashed when his corner asked the referee to stop the fight after the seventh round of a brutal war at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Fundora knocked Tszyu down in the first round and the challenger was playing catch up from there — but he got hammered with Fundora's fists every time he got close enough to land a punch on the 197cm lanky American.
Tszyu bravely fought his way back into the fight but needed a knockdown or knockout if he was to win. Ultimately his corner decided he had copped too much punishment to go any further.
The result means Tszyu's record now reads 25-3, less than 18 months after it was a perfect 24-0 as he geared up for a fight against Keith Thurman.
When Thurman pulled out due to injury, Tszyu took on the challenge of fighting Fundora, losing a 12-round bloody war after a rogue elbow opened up a massive wound on his head.
He then got stopped by Bakhram Murtazaliev in Orlando, in a fight where he came out swinging way too hard, and looked spooked from the previous fight.
Now Tszyu will have to take time away from the ring to regroup, swallow his pride and fight lesser names on home soil before he is even mentioned in world title fight discussions again.
Former world champion Shawn Porter was stunned on Main Event's coverage, and sounded genuinely fearful that Tszyu would never make it back to a Vegas blockbuster, despite praising his courage against Fundora.
'It's really hard not to feel this train ride come to a halt,' a gutted Porter said on Main Event.
'Doesn't mean it's going to end, it's just slowed down. I don't believe Tim Tszyu has fought his way out of title contention. It just doesn't go through Sebastian Fundora.
'He's not finished at the top level. He'll more than likely never see Sebastian Fundora again. He can still get it done, it's going to have to be in Australia for a little while.
'When he comes back, there's no telling who that name is going to be. I don't believe Tim is done on the world stage, primarily because he fought hard and courageously.
'And we're now in the sport where it's who you bring to the stands, not what your wins and losses are.
'I don't know, I really don't (if Tszyu can get back to world title fights). I think he performed at a level that dictates he can come back to this level. We just don't know what the timeline is.'
Boxing guru Dan Rafael posted on X: 'Tszyu's career has to be in doubt after that.'
There were heartbreaking scenes as Tszyu made his way back to the dressing room, with broadcast cameras capturing the 30-year-old getting emotional as he looked at himself in the mirror in a raw moment that painted a bleak picture about where his career is at right now.
There will be all manner of questions running through Tszyu's head:
Why oh why did Thurman have to get injured last year?
Am I still a world title calibre fighter who just ran into a boxing anomaly in Fundora?
Am I still good enough to be world champion?
Will I ever be on a Las Vegas card again?
Does my future lie in domestic fights in Sydney, Newcastle and the Gold Coast?
Is my legacy cooked, am I destined to just be Kostya's son?
The likes of Michael Zerafa will come calling, and that will be a blow to Tszyu's ego, but he will likely fight international opponents of a lower standard, like American Joey Spencer, who he beat in Newcastle in April.
The Courier Mail's Peter Badel said the entire landscape had changed for Tszyu, who had been due to finally fight Thurman later this year.
'I think the worst thing now would be to jump in with Keith Thurman,' Badel said.
'That was supposed to be the next opponent if he won today. There was talk about this year, I think that would be a disaster if he fought Keith Thurman.
'It would end his career. I think Keith Thurman would put him away. Now it's got to be delicate, slow.
'Put him in cotton wool, give him some time out. Bring him back against some lower ranked international opponents. I think he's better than domestic fighters, but maybe get his ranking up against international fighters and slowly rebuild.'
Two years ago, the world was at Tszyu's feet after he rocked Tony Harrison's chin in Sydney in what remains the high point of his career.
But such is the fickle world of boxing, an undisputed world title fight against Jermell Charlo slipped away and Thurman's withdrawal made him face Fundora, an opponent who proved an impossible puzzle to solve for Tim.
Porter questioned the preparation from Tszyu's camp and the tactics used against a giant super welterweight fighter.
'You find a no-name 6foot1 guy, you do it in Australia, you get him acclimated to fighting a taller opponent, then you try to find a 6 foot 3, 6 foot 4 guy, you inch your way up to a guy like that,' Porter said.
'Sparring is not enough, especially if you don't have a fighter that can emulate Sebastian Fundora.
'On top of that, they played the outside game too much. His natural reaction was to pull back, and when you do that boxing you put yourself in danger. That was the thing to me that really needs to be cleaned up.'
Badel added: 'If Tim wants to rebuild his career, and it could be a one or two year rebuild, he needs to fix his defence. This is the fourth time he's gone down in the first or second round.
'Wade Ryan dropped him early in his career, Terrell Gausha dropped him, (Bakhram) Murtazaliev dropped him and now this. He's got to fix his defensive technicalities if he wants to survive in this sport.'