Walking in the footsteps of a boxing great such as Kostya Tszyu is a hard job to follow, but Tim Tszyu has taken the challenge in stride. At 29, Tszyu already has emerged from his father's shadow and quickly gained a reputation as one of the sport’s most feared punchers.
Having made a name for himself in his Australian homeland, Tszyu is now growing into a known and respected figure worldwide. Tszyu was due to face Keith Thurman on March 30, but the former unified welterweight champion was forced to withdraw due to a biceps injury.
It’s a familiar story for Tszyu, who took on the WBO light middleweight championship in September when Jermell Charlo chose to face Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight championship rather than defend his belt against Tszyu.
One fighter who would be keen to meet Tszyu is former WBA light middleweight champion Austin Trout, a former titleholder who recently captured a welterweight title in bareknuckle boxing.
Trout, who claims that he is not done with boxing just yet, said he would jump at the chance to face the light middleweight champion: “I'll fight Tszyu. I'll go ahead and get rid of this Australian monster.”
Trout believes he knows the secret to beating Tszyu, a southpaw – a formula that earned him significant victories over Miguel Cotto and David Lopez – should the two ever meet in the ring.
“I’ll box his ears off, man,” Trout said. “He's just coming forward. Step around. You got to stay active because you know he's coming with punches. Punch while he punches and then get around. Catch him coming in; he won't get past my jab.”
Replacing Thurman against Tszyu – in his first U.S. visit since March 2022, a points win over Terrell Gausha (who knocked down Tszyu in the fight) – is tall southpaw Sebastian Fundora. Trout believes Gausha exposed a weakness that Fundora and other big punchers might exploit.
“Gausha dropped him,” Trout said of Tszyu. “Gausha don't hit that hard. If somebody who can punch is gonna run into him … you know what I mean?”
Trout is also looking forward to the launch of Season 2 of “Team Combat League” on March 28. The former champion, coaching Team Houston Hitman, hopes to pass on his knowledge to the next generation of fighters.
