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by Keith Idec
TIM Tszyu’s handlers were criticized for not urging referee Harvey Dock or a ringside doctor to stop his fight with Sebastian Fundora before the fourth round ended.
The deep, disgusting cut on the top of Tszyu’s head was so problematic that it completely changed the course of a 12-round, 154-pound title fight Tszyu lost by split decision March 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The wound was opened a couple seconds before the second round ended, when Tszyu leaned forward after absorbing a right hook and his head accidentally grazed Fundora’s elbow.
Blood began pouring from that cut as soon as Tszyu lifted his head. The former WBO junior middleweight champion knew immediately that he would encounter adversity he had never faced in a ring by battling through that type of cut.
At no point, however, did the 29-year-old Tszyu want his trainer, Igor Goloubev, or anyone else on his team to have Dock stop the action so that their scheduled could be ruled a no-contest. Had that happened, Tszyu wouldn’t have the only loss on his professional record, would still own the WBO belt he lost to Fundora and a rematch likely would’ve been scheduled.
Instead, the resilient Tszyu engaged in a bloodbath. He had difficulty seeing clearly at times because blood flowed down his forehead and into his eyes, which helped the 6-foot-6 Fundora get back into a fight it appeared as if he would lose by knockout because Tszyu landed so many flush right hands during the first two rounds.
Tszyu has no regrets about remaining in that fight, despite that it halted the momentum he built with three impressive victories during 2023 over former WBC champ Tony Harrison, Mexican veteran Carlos Ocampo and Brian Mendoza, who viciously knocked out Fundora in Fundora’s previous appearance.
“For me, it was, you know, like if you’re gonna lose, you gotta lose that way,” Tszyu told Boxing News during a virtual press conference recently. “I’m not gonna try and survive. I was there to win. And the only way to win for me was trying to smash my opponent. And to just say, pull out, I guess, forfeit, I guess, that’s not my thing. It’s not in my blood, you know? I’d rather die in that ring, and that’s the mentality I’ve got.”
Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) will return to the ring for the first time since Fundora defeated him Saturday night in Orlando, Florida. He’ll challenge Bakhram Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 KOs) for the unbeaten Russian’s IBF junior middleweight title in the 12-round main event of Premier Boxing Champions’ three-fight stream from Caribe Royale Orlando (Prime Video; 1 a.m. GMT; 8 p.m. ET).
The IBF ordered Murtazaliev to fight Tszyu, the No. 4 contender in its 154-pound rankings, because third-ranked Orlando native Erickson Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs) turned down this title shot due to a hand injury.
Mark Gambin, Tszyu’s longtime cut man, will not work his corner in his first fight since Gambin was criticized for how he handled Tszyu’s career-changing cut six months ago. Gambin underwent an appendectomy recently and was unable to travel to Orlando.
Joe Quiambo will substitute for Gambin, whom Tszyu kept as part of his team after the Fundora fight.
Tszyu told Boxing News that he is confident that the healed skin near the center of his hairline won’t reopen Saturday night. At least now, though, Tszyu knows he can overcome virtually anything to get through a fight.
“The first, initial reaction was, ‘This ain’t a normal cut,’ ” Tszyu said. “As soon as it happened, I looked down and there was a fountain of blood. And I’ve never had that before. You know, usually it’s a couple drips and then it starts dripping a little bit more. And then maybe sometimes it gets a little bit in your eyes. But no, this was different.
“It definitely hit the vein and my initial reaction was, ‘How am I gonna get through this?’ I was feeling so confident – what’s the task of getting through this? And then once the [third] round started, it just completely blindsided me. And after a couple rounds, I sorta got used to it and I was able to adapt to it.”
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