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Burnt by past bravado, Tim Tszyu vows to use his sharp boxing IQ in the world-title rematch with Sebastian Fundora – but his mother won’t be there to see it.
Natalia Tszyu flew to Las Vegas for Tim’s WBO interim world title fight but won’t be at the arena.
She’s stepped back from ringside after witnessing the damage he suffered in recent brutal bouts.
In March 2023, Tim lost a split decision to Sebastian Fundora in Las Vegas for the WBC super-welterweight belt after a deep cut from an elbow blurred his vision.
Then in October 2024, fighting in Orlando for the IBF world title, he was knocked out in the third round by Bakhram Murtazaliev and taken to hospital.
After that night in Florida, Natalia – Australia’s first lady of boxing – decided she’d seen enough.
Tim Tszyu is ready for the biggest fight of his career but his mother won’t be watching from ringside this time
Natalia Tszyu has stepped back from attending her son’s bouts after witnessing brutal injuries in past fights
Fundora beat Tszyu in a blood-soaked battle last year, leaving him cut and half-blinded early in the fight
‘I am the mother of two warriors,’ the mother of Tim and his boxing brother Nikita said.
‘I’ve stood at the edge of the ring with my breath caught in my throat, watched them fight battles only they can fight, and smiled through fear no one else could see.
‘People see the knockouts, the belts, the bright lights.
‘They don’t see the early mornings, the tears I’ve wiped in silence, the prayers whispered into the night when no one’s looking.
‘I carry their pain. I celebrate their victories. But I never stop being their mother first.’
Like the co-headline act Manny Pacquiao, Tszyu received a hero’s reception after hitting the scales in career peak condition at the official weigh-in in Las Vegas.
But while soaking up the ‘unreal’ atmosphere ahead of the blockbuster card at the iconic MGM Grand, Tszyu said he was locked in for the fight of his life on Saturday night (Sunday AEST).
The 30-year-old promised no more of the gung-ho antics that led to a brutal beat-down at the hands of Russian hitman Bakhram Murtazaliev in his last world-title fight in Florida in October.
Back-to-back losses taught Tszyu hard lessons, prompting him to rebuild with focus, discipline, and boxing intelligence
After hospitalisation last October, Tszyu returns determined to prove he belongs among boxing’s elite once again
‘Smart. Strategic,’ Tszyu said when asked what style he would take to the ring.
‘I feel like a patient Tim Tszyu always brings out the best.
‘When I’m rushing, trying to show my power and showing that physical dominance, sometimes I make a few mistakes.
‘But this time, I’m just going to be smart and patient.’
The humble former WBO super-welterweight belt holder believes he learnt some harsh but crucial life lessons in back-to-back defeats in the US last year to Fundora and Murtazaliev.
‘You grow as a person. I’m just more disciplined. Adversity teaches you some stuff that victories don’t. I’m at a different feeling right now,’ the 30-year-old said.
‘What happened in the past has made me into who I am today. Today is a dangerous, hungry young fighter who is willing to take it all and just wants success.
‘So for me this is a different phase from last year. I’m more mature, more hungrier and more confident.’
Saturday’s world-title bout at the MGM Grand could seal Tim Tszyu’s legacy in the sport’s history books
Tszyu is chasing history by becoming a multi-division champion like his Hall of Fame father, Kostya Tszyu
Fundora won last year’s epic bloodbath on a split decision after Tszyu was left half-blinded by a cut artery to his head after walking into the so-called Towering Inferno’s elbow late in round two.
The US jabber says he won’t need to alter his game plan to prevail once more, but Tszyu is adamant he will win regardless of what his rival brings to the blockbuster sequel.
A revenge victory for the son of Australian legend Kostya Tszyu would vault Tim into the history books as only the second biological father-son duo to capture multiple world titles.
The stakes are not lost on the challenger.
‘I know my dad won his first world title here,’ Tszyu said.
‘He also won his undisputed fight against Zab Judah and to create this Tszyu legacy and Australian sporting moments, it’s a big responsibility.
‘But it’s a big pleasure of mine and I can’t wait to step in there and live a young kid’s dream, chasing some of Australia’s greatest sporting moments in history.’
