Latest news with #TimTszyu
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Sebastian Fundora lobs first fight build-up barb at Tim Tszyu's team as rematch confirmed
Tim Tszyu has boldly promised to 'reclaim the throne' in his world title rematch with Sebastian Fundora, while 'The Towering Inferno' lobbed the first grenade of the build-up by claiming his more experienced team will be the difference on fight night. Tszyu is in America for the official announcement of the bout, which will be a co-main event to Manny Pacquiao's welterweight world title comeback against Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on July 19 (July 20 in Australia). Tszyu and Fundora had a tense face-off after the official press conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning (Australian time), where the American threw out the first jab of the lead-up. Tszyu's team copped months of criticism in the fallout of their first fight last year after being unable to stop the river of blood flowing into his eyes from a cut on his head. The Aussie had dominated the opening two rounds of the bout before an elbow to the head opened the cut and changed the course of his career. Tszyu has stuck solid to the same team that worked his corner that night, with trainer Igor Goloubev, cutman Mark Gambin and cornerman David Barker all working his comeback win over Joey Spencer in April. Fundora is managed by the veteran Sampson Lewkowicz, and is trained by his father, while his sister, Gabriela, is the undisputed flyweight world champion. And he says his team will make all the difference on fight night. 'We had a plan for the last fight, we'll have a plan for this one,' he said. 'Who has a better team, that's who's going to win the fight and for sure, my team's better. 'I just have to listen to my dad and I'll be great.' Tszyu will again keep the same crew he had in their first bout, and wants to repeat the dose of the opening two rounds, when he hurt Fundora with a pinpoint right hand. 'It's a new chapter, and even thought things didn't go my way, I intend to pick up where I left off,' he said. 'I know Fundora is one hell of a fighter, one hell of a champion. 'He's the current king at 154, but it's my turn to reclaim the throne.' Tszyu had been preparing to fight Keith Thurman in his Las Vegas debut 14 months ago, before the big-talking American pulled out injured. That left the Aussie just two weeks to prepare for the 197cm tall Fundora. 'I've had 10 weeks to prepare for his style, which is a blessing,' he said. 'Knowing you have two weeks to prepare for Fundora is quite hard. 'That's no excuses. It's about working out a certain game-plan and working out the mistakes that were made before. 'Things were going according to plan (before the cut). 'I can't go back and relive it, but I have to put on something that I put on before. It's simple, put on some boxing. 'I'm already prepared. If you tell me tomorrow we can go at it, we can go. It doesn't bother me.' Despite his height and reach, Fundora loves fighting on the inside, but Tszyu said he has the strategy to take him down. 'Me and Fundora, we both like to press and we both bring the action,' he said. 'Fighting against Fundora can't be technical. 'You can't really stay on your distance and take your time with him because he's so tall. 'You have to make it a fight and bring the action. 'I'm just going to chop him down. Chop the tree down from the legs up.' Meanwhile Fundora gave a blunt response when asked for a prediction on how the fight will go. 'Repeat, simple as that,' he said. 'I don't think this fight goes the distance.'
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Liam Wilson was agonisingly close to landing blockbuster fight on Manny Pacquiao and Tim Tszyu's undercard in Las Vegas
Liam Wilson was agonisingly close to fighting on the same card as Tim Tszyu and Manny Pacquiao on July 19 in Las Vegas, before the deal fell through at the last minute. The Queenslander will instead fight on the same card as Liam Paro on June 25 on a non pay-per-view show in Cairns. But the 29-year-old was tantalisingly close to facing Brandon Figueroa on one of the biggest cards of the year at the MGM Grand. 'I was on it. I had a fight on that card, but it fell through and was cancelled,' Wilson tells Code Sports. 'The fight was confirmed, and then a day later it was cancelled. 'I got kinda excited about that. I always put my hand up when an opportunity arises, and that's what I did. 'I put my hand up, I'll always fight anybody, but unfortunately the fight fell through. 'I've got no idea why.' Former WBC super-bantamweight world champion Figueroa will now face Joet Gonzalez on the Pacquiao card, which also features Tszyu's rematch with Sebastian Fundora in the co-main event. That card was made official over the weekend, with Tszyu jetting to the US for a five-day media and promotional shoot whirlwind. Wilson also revealed he could barely spar, couldn't hit pads or work on the heavy bag in the lead-up to his fight of the year unanimous decision win over Youssef Dib in March. As first revealed by Code Sports, Wilson went into the fight with fractured L2 and L3 vertebrae and needed cortisone injections to get through camp. His team was close to pulling him out of the high stakes fight, and he was forced to train wearing a back brace after injuring his back seven weeks out from the fight. 'My trainer wanted me to pull out, but I just felt that if I could spar, I could fight,' Wilson told Code Sports. 'So, I fought. 'I had two fractured vertebrae in my back, so I had to manage camp and do the best I could to get through it. 'But I never thought about pulling out.' Wilson claimed a thrilling decision win, dropping Dib twice early on, before being deducted a point for a low blow in the ninth round. 'I couldn't do bag work in the lead-up, couldn't do pad work, I couldn't really even twist my body,' he said. 'Even my sparring was pretty restricted. I was just sticking to my jab and keeping my punches very light. 'I just fought with what I had and got the job done. 'Deep down, I'm just a fighter, and a little injury doesn't deter me. If there's a fight that's been put to me, I'll take it.' Three months on, Wilson is fully healed, has dropped from lightweight back to his natural super-featherweight division and is preparing to take on Ayrton Gimenez on June 25. A win will see 'Mr Damage' move within touching distance of another world title shot. Wilson was short-changed in his first world title tilt against Emanuel Navarrete in 2023, before being outgunned by Oscar Valdez last year. Wilson dropped Navarette in the fourth round, but the referee allowed the Mexican nearly half a minute to recover. Navarrete eventually stopped Wilson in the ninth, and the Aussie is hell bent on revenge. 'It's everything to me,' he says. 'I feel like I let it slip through my fingers. 'I'm not going to sit here and argue the decision. It is what it is. It's made me more hungry and it's made me the person I am today. 'It's made me realise how resilient I am. 'But that world title shot, that's the main objective. I'm holding onto the saying 'third time lucky'. 'I'm number four in the world now, and a win will move me up, and then I'm just a phone call away. 'Hopefully it's the rematch with Navarette that everyone's been wanting.'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tim Tszyu will fight for world title against Sebastian Fundora on Pacquiao card: 'We throw down'
Tim Tszyu will earn his shot at redemption in a world title rematch with Sebastian Fundora on a blockbuster card in Las Vegas featuring some of boxing's biggest names including the legendary Manny Pacquiao. Tszyu will joust for the WBC super-welterweight belt on July 19, 16 months after relinquishing his world title strap to Fundora in an epic and bloody bout in Vegas. 'This one's the most important of my career. It gives you this burning fire. A rematch gives you the chance to rewrite your mistakes,' Tszyu said after losing a split decision last time after fighting mostly blinded after copping a Fundora elbow to the head late in the second round. 'From round three to maybe round 10, I wasn't in the right mindset. I lost my head a bit. But I adapted. Started figuring him out - just a bit too late. Now, I know what needs to be done. 'I've never made excuses and I won't start now. If you lose, you lose. If you win, you win. My plan? Hit him in the face as hard as I can.' Asked about the stylistic match-up against the so-called Towering Inferno, Tszyu didn't shy away from what's to come. 'We both like to press. We bring the action. Fighting Fundora can't be technical. You've got to make it a war - and that's what this will be. A war.' Tszyu said he was honoured to feature on a stacked card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena headlined by the return of the Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao. The Filipino is seeking to win another world title at age 46 against rising Mexican-American star Mario Barrios. 'I was 15 when I saw Pacquiao vs Cotto at MGM. Manny gave me a fist bump and it made my day. Now I'm fighting on the same card. That's wild,' the Sydney slayer said. 'This is going to be the fight card of the year. Pitbull Cruz to start it, then me and Fundora - we don't throw 10 punches a round. We throw down.' Fundora believes he and Tszyu will really put on a show in Las Vegas. 'I think this fight, no doubt, will steal the show, no matter what,' he said 'The first fight was a fight of the year. I'm going to say it, that was Fight of the Decade. 'You never see that much blood in boxing. And that's what people want to see besides a knockout. 'That's entertaining.
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Terence Crawford eyes boxing immortality against Saúl Canelo Álvarez
Terence Crawford has never been to Australia before. That might seem a little strange. This is a man, after all, who was in tentative talks to fight Australian Tim Tszyu at one stage. He is also the man who comprehensively out-fought Jeff Horn and took his WBO welterweight belt in 2018. When Horn won that particular belt in a boilover victory against Manny Pacquiao at Lang Park, Crawford was keen to be in attendance as a future opponent for the winner. At that stage of his career, Crawford was already a world title winner at lightweight and unified champion at light welterweight. So what gives? "Well, I always wanted to visit Australia," Crawford tells ABC Sport, a smile lighting up his face. "Australia has been on my bucket list for a long time now. "I remember when Jeff Horn fought Manny Pacquiao I was supposed to come here and witness, but Top Rank said that my visa didn't get granted because of parking tickets." Seemingly, that's no longer an issue. Crawford was speaking to ABC Sport on the Gold Coast, the first leg of his whistlestop tour of Australia with events in Sydney and Melbourne to come. Just hours after touching down in the country for the first time, Crawford was amenable and relaxed as he settled down on a couch ahead of our interview, displaying no signs of jet lag. In fact, the 37-year-old's relaxed, friendly demeanour is almost incongruous with what the world knows he is capable of in the ominous squared circle where he has made his name one to both admire and fear. This is a man who has a perfect 41-0 record in the unforgiving glare of the boxing ring over a 17-year professional career. But, in so many ways, Crawford is a multi-faceted athlete, both in the ring and out. Crawford's home town of Omaha, Nebraska, was not an easy place to grow up. Crime, poverty and violence were daily issues young people had to face. Many people still have to face them. So, much in the same way he was saved from a troubled life by the peculiar sanctuary found within a boxing ring, he has provided a space for others in his home town to do the same. "What I'm doing with B&B Sports Academy is definitely trying to save one life at a time," Crawford says, leaning forward such is the earnestness with which he tells his tale. "You know, if I could save one [person], then I did my job. "Now, you're not going to be able to save all of them. Once some individuals get to a certain age, they're going to find their way in life and do whatever they want to do. "You, as a mentor, you can do it all, you can do everything that you can to help them stay on course and just give them talks and the guidance so that they would remember everything that you taught them along the way and do the right thing. "But another thing is giving them the opportunity to experience things that they normally wouldn't be able to experience because of financial reasons and other things. "So this thing that me and Brian McIntyre has been doing with B&B Boxing and B&B Sports Academy has been wonderful for the youth in the community as well." Boxing's capacity to assist wayward youths is well documented, wresting lives from the brink of the abyss and pushing them into untold glory. There are far more instances where boxers have not reached the heights of a world championship or an Olympic Games — and the issues fighters face after their career can be unspeakably devastating. Yet, it is a journey that has brought such incredible success for Crawford and established him as one of the all-time greats. When he stunningly took Errol Spence Junior apart across nine phenomenal rounds in 2023, Crawford became an undisputed world champion in a second-weight division. He had, earlier in his career, beaten unified light welterweight champion Julius Indoingo in 2017 to claim all four straps at light welterweight too. Being undisputed is not normal. In the four-belt era since 2008, just 11 men and 11 women have been so heralded. Being undisputed across two weights is virtually unheard of. Only Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue (bantamweight and super bantamweight) and Ukrainian talisman Oleksandr Usyk (cruiserweight and heavyweight) — aside from Crawford — have achieved it in men's boxing. Legendary Irishwoman Katie Taylor (lightweight and light welterweight) and Claressa Shields (middleweight, light middleweight and heavyweight) of the USA have done so in the women's ring. Few fighters in boxing history have been more skilled, more adaptable, in a ring than the man from Omaha, Nebraska. Ever since he won his first world title, the WBO lightweight crown, in a tinderbox atmosphere in Glasgow in 2014 against Ricky Burns, right through to his light middleweight victory against Israil Madrimov last year, Crawford has transferred his power, his speed and his trickery through the weight classes. But up next is Canelo Álvarez in a fight that could be one of the highest-earning pay-per-view fights in history and one of the most eagerly anticipated contests ever. Like Crawford, Canelo is a four-weight world champion and is currently undisputed at super middleweight. Crawford has made it his business to out-think and out-match all of his previous opponents, but Canelo poses an entirely different challenge. He has already beaten one of the 11 undisputed champions in his career, former light middleweight champ Jermell Charlo in 2023. "It's important to me because it's a challenge, in two ways," Crawford says. "It's a challenge because I'm fighting arguably one of the best Mexican fighters of all time and then it's a challenge because I'm moving up potentially three weight classes. "I say three because I was only at 154 [pounds, light middleweight] for one fight." "It's the opportunity to do something that no other men's fighter has done before and … to become a three-weight undisputed world champion." "I want him at his best," Crawford says, confirming there's no rehydration clause in the contract, meaning Canelo may well be several kilos heavier when they meet in the ring. "Because I don't want no excuses when I win. "[If] I get him at his best and there's no stipulations or guidelines, then I get more credit than, you know, having all these rehydration clauses and all this stuff. "He's the champion. I'm moving up to fight him in his division, so long as he makes weight, that's what it is." And what would victory mean?
News.com.au
14-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Blessing' for Tim Tszyu to be on same card as all-time great Manny Pacquiao come his rematch against Sebastian Fundora
Tim Tszyu has declared he has no mental scars from his bloody defeat to Sebastian Fundora as he prepares for a 'dogfight' in his Las Vegas revenge mission against the 197cm tall American. The Aussie added it's 'a blessing' that the world title rematch will take place on the same card as boxing legend Manny Pacquiao's first fight in four years on July 19 at the MGM Grand in Sin City. Speaking for the first time since this masthead broke the news that the fight would land on the same card as Pacquiao's welterweight world title fight with Mario Barrios, Tszyu said he had already cleared out a space for the green WBC world title Fundora currently has. Tszyu lost an agonising split decision to Fundora at T-Mobile Arena 14 months ago in one of the bloodiest fights in recent memory after copping a stray elbow from the much taller Fundora. It started a horror run for the Sydneysider, who went on to be knocked out by IBF world champ Bakhram Murtazaliev in October. But, after annihilating Joey Spencer in his return a month ago, Tszyu says he's ready to become a two-time world champion. 'I'm not emotionally damaged at all. I'm learning from everything, all the mistakes and everything that went wrong,' he said. 'I do have good memories from the fight – not just blood splattering – but being able to see his shots and being able to have some sort of control. 'Fundora's a tough fight for anyone, his natural, God-given ability and being that tall, it's never an easy fight. 'You have to make it a dogfight. This isn't round one, it's round 13 as soon as we start.' Official confirmation of Pacquiao's return is expected within days, while former super-lightweight world champion Isaac Cruz will also appear on the card. 'It's not 100% guaranteed, but to be fighting on a Manny Pacquiao undercard would be a really big blessing. Unreal,' Tszyu said. 'I did two weeks in Manilla with him, and that was an unreal experience. 'To even be talked about fighting on his undercard … it would be pretty awesome. 'The fact it's gonna be in Vegas, it gives you a buzz.' Tszyu dominated Fundora for the opening two rounds of their world title fight in March last year, but was virtually blinded by blood pouring into his eye from the third round onwards. Fundora defended the titles with a fourth round stoppage of Chordale Booker in March, before relinquishing the WBO belt to rematch Tszyu. The 25-2 Tszyu warns it won't be as simple as picking up where he left off before the debilitating cut though. 'He controls the range very well with his God given abilities,' he said. 'He's got those awkward shots inside. 'Even though he's tall, he's good inside. He's got ticker. He's always in it. Even though I broke his nose, he still had it in him. 'When you have a fighter like that, it's a tremendous task. 'There was a lot of questions (for him) as well. It was a split decision, it wasn't a clear answer. 'There's a lot for us both to prove. 'It's a big chapter in my life, it's something I really want to get back. It's a career-defining moment and I'm looking to revenge.' Tszyu had been expected to fight loudmouthed American Keith Thurman in July, but after his win over Spencer, he immediately called for a Fundora rematch. Thurman has seemingly left high and dry, but Tszyu hinted at an even bigger fight if he gets revenge over Fundora. 'Stay in the loop,' he told Thurman. 'Because there could be a potential superfight happening with titles on the line. 'I've cleared out my cupboard. I've got the WBO belt in there, but on the left hand side, I've left a spot specifically for the WBC belt. 'I've got a spot and I'm visualising that green (WBC) belt there.'
