Tim Tszyu is predicting another “dog fight” with Sebastian Fundora when the pair meet again in Las Vegas later this year.
Tszyu spoke for the first time since the announcement of his rematch with Fundora, expected to go down at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, July 19.
The bout will reportedly feature as chief support to the return of boxing icon and eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, 46, who is set to challenge Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title, four years after what was supposedly his final fight.
MORE: All the results and highlights from Goodman vs. Vaca
Fundora handed Tszyu his first lloss back in March last year, when defeating Tszyu via split decision in a bloody war.
Tszyu appeared to be well on top over the opening stages of the fight but a cut on his head caused by an accidental elbow at the end of the second round swung the momentum Fundora’s way.
“It was a career-defining moment that I’m looking to avenge,” Tszyu said.
“I’m not emotionally damaged at all, I’m learning from everything, all the mistakes, all the things that went wrong, everything’s very analytical now.
“I do have good memories from the fight, not just the blood splattering, but I do remember being able to see his shots and being able to have some sort of control.
“Fundora’s a tough fight for anyone, with his natural, God-given ability being that tall, it’s never an easy fight for anyone.
“You have to make it a dog fight in there. This is round one – it’s going to be round 13 as soon as we start.”
The towering southpaw took Tszyu’s WBO super welterweight title and claimed the vacant WBC strap that night at the T-Mobile Arena.
Since then, Tszyu took a savage beating at the hands of Bakhram Murtazaliev before getting back in the winners’ circle with a one-sided stoppage of Joey Spencer last month.
The expectation was that Tszyu would fight Keith Thurman, who recently returned to action with a knockout win over Brock Jarvis.
“As soon as my last fight finished, I said, ‘Let’s make Fundora happen, I’m ready,” Tszyu explained.
“I want to avenge what I had. We just pushed for that.”
As for Thurman, Tszyu suggested that the story wasn’t done yet.
“Stay in the loop, because there could be a potential super fight happening, with titles on the line,” he added.
Fundora meantime defended his unified titles once, versus Chordale Booker, before being stripped of the WBO belt after favouring the rematch with Tszyu over a fight with mandatory challenger Xander Zayas.
Tszyu joked that he’s going to “start looking at heavyweights” in order to find sparring partners to replicate Fundora’s height.
“Even though he’s tall, he’s good inside,” he said of the experience fighting the 27-year-old Floridian.
“And he’s got ticker, 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’s a lot for us both to prove.”
And as for fighting on a “PacMan” card?
“Not 100 per cent guaranteed yet but whatever it is, to be fighting on a Manny Pacquiao card would be a real big blessing,” Tszyu said.
“To be fighting on his undercard would be pretty awesome. Fingers crossed.”
Read the full article here
