Manny happy returns: Tim Tszyu reveals revenge mission
Tszyu will share top billing with Pacquiao when he fights, literally, to save his career in a mouth-watering world-title rematch with Sebastian Fundora in Las Vegas on Sunday (AEST).
While the Australian son of a gun's showdown with Fundora is the co-main bout on a star-studded PBC pay-per-view blockbuster at the MGM Grand, Tszyu knows he remains some way from matching Pacquiao's unrivalled record as an eight-division king.
But Tszyu's career trajectory is otherwise eerily similar to the great Filipino's.
Pacquiao may now be sitting pretty in boxing's hall of fame but, just like how Tszyu's back-to-back losses to Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev have placed the Australian superstar's career at a crossroad, only boxing aficionados remember he also suffered devastating successive setbacks before surging again.
American Timothy Bradley Jr controversially stripped Pacquiao of his WBO welterweight strap in 2012 before Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez flatlined him six months later.
Rather than throw the towel in, Pacquiao punched on and not only resurrected his reputation but thrust himself into sporting immortality with a succession of wins over Brandon Rios, Bradley in a rematch, Chris Algieri, Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman.
He was already star in the boxing world but that second coming cemented Pacquiao's status as a global icon.
Tszyu hopes he is on the same path to potential mega-money legacy fights with the likes of Jermell Charlo, Thurman and even possibly pound-for-pound champ Terence Crawford.
"There's no such thing as a a successful story without failures," Tszyu said ahead of his date with destiny.
"Yeah, a couple of bumps on the road doesn't mean you're completely out.
"But this year is going be like a vengeance year. That's the word for me.
"The starter was Joey Spencer (in March) and it's going to keep going and keep on rolling."
Tszyu vividly recalls being a starry-eyed 14-year-old watching on at the MGM Grand, the iconic venue where he will square off with the "Towering Inferno" Fundora, when Pacquiao KO'd Miguel Cotto to reclaim the WBO strap in 2009.
"Yeah, I was that little kid up in the top going 'Manny, Manny, Manny' and he gave me the little wave," Tszyu said.
"So hopefully I can do that go back for the next generation and inspire the next person to be fighting at the MGM Grand one day."
Knowing it's boom or bust, Tszyu insists he is no longer falling for the play of looking ahead to what - and who - is next. Fundora is his sole focus.
"It's different feel about him this time around," he said.
"I've had a whole different feeling towards this whole camp. I've literally paused everything in my life, all the external noise is just gone.
"When you have that, it's an unbelievable feeling because when you're so obsessed with reaching a certain goal, that's all that there is in this life for me.
"It's Fundora, by KO."
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