Tszyu Promises To Prove Himself Against Fundora – ‘I’m Not Emotionally Damaged’

Tim Tszyu says he has recovered from his Sebastian Fundora loss.

Tszyu’s troubles began when a nasty gash over his hairline early in the bout impaired his vision and contributed to a narrow split-decision loss. Tszyu’s form dipped after the Fundora loss, as he would get knocked out by Bakhram Murtazaliev in his next fight. Tszyu was dropped four times in that loss.

Tszyu’s father, Kostya Tszyu, encouraged him to train in Russia to regain his form. Tszyu rebounded with a win at home in Australia over Joey Spencer and is now set for a rematch with Fundora on July 19, as part of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Mario Barrios card. Tszyu has reassured fans that he is ready. 

“They’re respectful. They also understand it was a split decision. It was real tight. So there is a lot to prove. I’m not emotionally damaged at all. I’m learning from all the mistakes, all the things that went wrong. And I do have good memories from the Fundora fight. And not just the blood splattering (laughs). I remember being able to see his shots, having some sort of control. Fundora is a tough fight for anyone. You have to make it a dogfight in there,” Tszyu said 

Tszyu’s Aim

Tszyu knows a win puts him back into contention for the biggest fights. He could face off against the likes of Vergil Ortiz Jr. The pair were on course to face each other before Tszyu pulled out of the fight, as his cut was not healed. Ortiz then faced off against Serhii Bohachuk, which was followed up by a win against Israil Madrimov.

Tszyu knows a win makes him one of the biggest names in the division, putting him in contention for the other big fights in the division, such as Xander Zayas or Erickson Lubin. A win also adds the historic WBC belt to Tim’s former WBO belt, something which is keeping him motivated.

“I’ve already got one belt there, the WBO belt. But on the left hand side I’ve made a spot specifically for the WBC belt. “I’ve left space there and I’m visualising that green belt being there,” Tszyu stated