Tim Tszyu Will Return On September 22 – Who’s Next?
Tim Tszyu will box on September 22 in an IBF Junior Middleweight Title Eliminator.
According to reports, Erickson Lubin is the leading candidate to get that fight. Tszyu is coming off a loss to Sebastian Fundora in March. The fight was controversial, with Tsyzu dominating the earlier rounds, and things changed when the Australian suffered a cut. Tszyu connected on Fundora’s elbow, resulting in a cut that continued to bleed until the final bell. While Fundora’s corner could have demanded that the fight be stopped, that did not happen. Tsyzu continued the bout and admitted he had vision problems. He would lose his WBO belt and miss out on the vacant WBC belt.
Tszyu Reacts
“Look, I told you, I’m an old throwback fighter whatever circumstances. I couldn’t see but all credit belongs to the man who won tonight. These things happen. The momentum was rolling. I was swinging hard in the first rounds and then ‘boom’, you’re blinded completely. But, look, this is boxing. This is part of the sport and it happens. Congratulations to Fundora – he’s the new king at 154 (pounds),” Tszyu said
While there has been talk of a rematch, nothing has happened yet. Tszyu had then agreed to box Vergil Ortiz Jr. on August 3. He would have appeared on the Terence Crawford vs Israel Madrimov card. However, the fight was pulled after Tszyu failed to recover from the cut.
“We are bitterly disappointed with the set back and Tim is extremely frustrated after a great pre-camp with Kostya. He showed everyone that he’ll fight through anything against Fundora but this decision was taken out of his hands to be honest. Ultimately, it was his body and medical professionals telling him he wasn’t ready yet,” George Rose (Fundora’s promoter) stated
Tszyu’s Next Fight
The current IBF Champion is Bakhram Murtazaliev, who won the vacant belt after stopping Jack Culcay. Lubin is no pushover. He has a 26-2 record with 18 KOs. He has won eight of his last nine fights, with his defeat coming against Fundora. His other loss was against the former Undisputed Junior Middleweight Champion Jermell Charlo. Out of those last eight wins, five have come by stoppages.
Another name in the running is Jesus Ramos. Ramos only lost one fight against Lubin. His record stands at 21-1 with 17 KOs. His last fight was a KO win over Johan Gonzalez. Lubin will likely get the fight since he is ranked higher in the IBF. Lubin is ranked third, with the second and first spots vacant. Meanwhile, Jesus is ranked sixth. Either way, the winner knows they will secure a title shot with everything to play for.
Should Tszyu come through with a win and get the IBF title, that plays into the narrative for a Fundora rematch in a big unification. Fundora has been linked with fighting Errol Spence Jr. If the fight is agreed, there is a scenario where Tsyzu faces the winner. Alternatively, there could be a fight against the winner of Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov who face off in an WBA Junior Middleweight Clash on August 3.
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