Tim Tszyu’s Team Blamed For His Loss – ‘Looked Like Devin Haney’
Tim Tszyu’s team has been criticized following his shock loss to Bakhram Murtazaliev in their IBF Junior Middleweight Title clash.
Tszyu was dropped four times on his way to a third-round stoppage defeat after his corner threw in the towel. The Australian was sent to the canvas three times in the second round and once more in the third round before the referee waved the fight off. It was his second defeat in a row, following his loss to Sebastian Fundora via a split decision. The Fundora defeat came after Tszyu suffered a massive cut above his hairline, which continued to bleed. His corner decided to continue with the fight when, in hindsight, it would have been better to ask for a stoppage.
The Australian admitted his vision was compromised. Tszyu was on course to face Virgil Ortiz Jr. in August. However, he withdrew after the cut had not healed. The decision to put him in with a dangerous knockout artist has now been scrutinized. This is especially true since Tszyu had not tested whether the cut had fully healed in a real fight.
It is one thing saying that it feels fine during training camp, but it is another thing entirely when addressing it in the ring. Tyson Fury’s team admitted this following his loss to Oleksandr Usyk when the Gypsy King’s coach Andy Lee stated that Fury could not spar for the fight, even if the cut was not an issue in the actual bout itself. Various people from the boxing industry have come out to question whether it was the right thing to do.
Tszyu’s Career
Tszyu was also dejected in his post-fight comments, stating he did not know what had gone wrong. Reports indicate that Tszyu’s mother, Natasha, wants her son to move to Russia to undertake a Soviet-style training camp. This is on the grounds that Tszyu abandoned his traditional approach, where he would box methodically as he decided to take the fight to his opponent. His father, Kostya Tszyu, was also at the fight to watch his son. This was for the first time in eight years. But whether Kostya will actually take that role is anyone’s guess. Tszyu’s promoter, Matt Rose, made it clear that would be up to Tim and his camp.
What’s Next?
“That would be totally up to Tim. I don’t get involved in the training aspect of things. Obviously his trainers’ training and what they’ve done has been exceptional right up to this and I thought, physically, Tim was fine last night in terms of how he turned up. ‘He looked great.
“He said it was the best he’d ever felt. ‘We’re in a hard game. It’s boxing. Tim’s got to get punched in the face or punched in the head and sometimes things go wrong. ‘Last night was one those things where he got caught and couldn’t recover. ‘He showed great bravery and, to be honest, there’s no other fighter like him. ‘He’s a true warrior,” Rose said
Moving forward, Tszyu has to decide where he goes from here. He has lost consecutive world title fights, meaning another opportunity is far off. His primary goal should be to rebuild his confidence and rack up numerous wins before he seeks another title move.
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