How Good Can Nikita Tszyu Become – And Will He Emulate Brother Tim’s Success?
Australian prospect Nikita Tszyu takes the next step of his boxing career on Wednesday when he challenges for the vacant IBF Australasian and WBO Inter-Continental titles in Sydney.
Tszyu (9-0-0 7 KO) takes on Koen Mazoudier (12-3-1 5 KO) at the ICC Sydney Theatre in his hometown in an event headlined by a bout between Conor Wallace and Jerome Pampellone for the WBO Inter-Continental light-heavyweight title.
The 26-year-old Tszyu has been generating interest and attention ever since making his professional debut in March 2022, with local fight fans keen to monitor the progress of a fighter who comes from Australian boxing royalty.
Tszyu is the son of Kostya Tszyu, the former undisputed light-welterweight world champion who in 2010 was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Tszyu Senior is one of only five Australian fighters in the Hall of Fame.
Following in the footsteps of a legendary father is never an easy task for a fighter. There will always be comparisons, while criticism is inevitable when the son leverages his family name to engineer opportunities that critics could claim haven’t yet been earned.
Tszyu Aims To Emulate Father And Brother
Tszyu’s older brother Tim has already trodden that path and has done the family name justice. ‘The Soul Taker’ is one of Australia’s most prominent active boxers and became the WBO’s super-middleweight world champion last year.
He lost that title in a unification bout against WBC title holder Sebastian Fundora in March, although Tszyu pushed the American to a split decision having sustained a nasty cut in the second round following an accidental elbow. He will soon have the chance to become a two-time world champion as an announcement to challenge IBF titlist Bakhram Murtazaliev is expected soon.
Before then, though, the attention is on Nikita, who not only has to deal with comparisons to his father but also his older brother.
It’s been so far so good for ‘The Butcher’. In his third fight, he settled a family feud with another Australian boxing family by defeating Ben Horn on points. Horn is the younger brother of former welterweight world champion Jeff Horn, who lost to Tim Tszyu in his final fight in 2020.
Stylistic Differences Between Brothers
Nikita Tszyu became the Australian welterweight champion in November 2023 by stopping Dylan Biggs in the fifth round but not before getting dropped in the first 40 seconds of the fight. He then made his first title defense in April by outpointing Danilo Creati by a wide margin.
Victory on Wednesday against Mazoudier will see Tszyu emulate his older brother, who also won the IBF Australasian super-welterweight title earlier in his career.
The comparisons will never go away, particularly as they fight in the same weight class, but there are clear stylistic differences between Nikita and Tim.
For starters, Nikita adopts a southpaw stance while Tim fights orthodox. Both have shown to have knockout power, but Nikita is the more aggressive fighter, seeking stoppages early in fights whereas Tim takes a more conservative and methodical approach. Perhaps Nikita’s style will evolve as he climbs the ranks, although he’s no carbon copy of his brother.
Outside the ring, they are polar opposites with different interests and personalities – and both brothers were keen to stress these differences.
Tszyu Brothers Total Opposites
“It’s weird, boxing is one of the only things that connects us,” Nikita said. “Everywhere else, he’s completely different. He likes cars, I couldn’t care less about cars.
“He’s more a glamper, looking for the five-star resorts,” Nikita said. “I enjoy digging holes. Being away from anything man-made is peaceful for me, it’s a way of meditating the mind. I feel comfortable.”
Tim added: “We’re so different to each other. We’ve always loved sports, that’s the only similarity we have with each other. And the competitiveness.”
It is of course still too early to assess how far Nikita Tszyu will go in his career, but he has done everything right so far. His aggressive style is fan-friendly, so as long as he keeps winning, he will be involved in progressively bigger bouts while attracting the crowds.
He has emulated his brother’s achievements up to this point, and will no doubt be aiming to collect world titles just like Tim in the future. Before that, though, Tszyu needs to secure victory on Wednesday.
