Promoter Eddie Hearn says he’s undecided if Tim Tszyu is “elite-level” after watching his back-to-back defeats in 2024 to IBF junior middleweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev and Sebastian Fundora.
Rebuild Tszyu
Hearn feels that Tszyu’s promoters believed he was higher than he truly was and put him in fights that have been above his degree. He’s now suffered consecutive defeats, and his profession is on the rocks. Eddie says if he have been Tszyu’s promoter, he would deliver him again to Australia and provides him a “confidence” booster kind of battle. He must be rebuilt when it comes to his confidence.
The best way that Tszyu (24-2, 19 KOs) was obliterated in three rounds by Murtazaliev on October nineteenth was a crimson flag that he’s not preventing on the elite degree. There have been no changes made by the previous WBO 154-lb champion Tszyu after the primary knockdown, and he got here into the battle with a foul sport plan of brawling with top-of-the-line punchers within the division.
“I’m an enormous Tim Tszyu fan. I feel he’s an incredible fighter. Generally, you’ll be able to consider your individual hype somewhat bit as a fighter, and I feel they felt that Tim was unbeatable,” mentioned Eddie Hearn to Jai McAllister’s YouTube channel, speaking about former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu’s administration matching him somewhat too powerful in opposition to Bakhram Murtazaliev.
“I actually admire that they took that battle, and they need to have taken that battle [Bakhram] as a result of it’s for a world championship. However nobody actually needs to battle that man as a result of he’s a critical dude with no worth. So, in case you get beat by him, you’re sort of like, however I like the truth that they did it, and I like the truth that he’s an actual fighter.
“Generally, you will get carried away. There’s a large distinction between preventing in Australia and the Australian market after which going out on the world stage and taking up elite opposition. You noticed that in opposition to [Sebastian] Fundora, and he [Tszyu] was very unfortunate in that battle with the damage and every thing,” mentioned Hearn.
Tsyu might want to develop extra as a boxer as a result of there are fighters within the 154-lb division with higher offensive capability than him. A few of them, like Murtazaliev, Serhii Bohachuk, and Vergil Ortiz Jr, have simply pretty much as good energy, if not higher. It’s troubling that Tim didn’t make any changes in both of his final two fights in opposition to Bakhram and Fundora when issues have been going badly for him. He simply saved plowing forward, strolling into pictures, and getting crushed up.
“However you’ll be able to’t simply stroll by individuals at that degree,” mentioned Hearn about Tszyu.”You’ve bought to be cuter than that, and Tim has been constructed off that. I like watching Tim Tszyu. He’s very, very thrilling, however you don’t really need too many fights like that. It’s actually going to shorten your profession, and it’s going to be attention-grabbing to see what they do with him when he comes again.”
One might see earlier than Tim’s battle with Murtazaliev that he was going to have issues with this man if he didn’t change his type and use a distinct method. He thought he might knock him out like he’d finished in opposition to lesser fighters like Carlos Ocampo, Tony Harrison, and Steve Spark. He came upon that they’re loads higher than these flawed guys, and now his profession is struggling for his mistake.
Elite Stage Hole
“I feel the unknown about Tim Tszyu is, is he actually elite degree,” mentioned Hearn. “He’s a world-class fighter; there’s little doubt about it. However is he actually at that degree? Perhaps. I feel the jury is out. There’s no disgrace in that. Generally, you step as much as that degree, and also you’re not ok.”
Clearly, Tszyu isn’t an elite-level fighter, however Hearn is being diplomatic by not telling it like it’s. He’s a contender-level fighter on the mid-range degree however nowhere close to the highest. For those who put Tszyu in with former 154-lb champions Serhii Bohachuk and Israil Madrimov, it will finish badly for him.
“If I used to be his promoter, I’d most likely battle him over right here [Australia], and get him a confidence win in opposition to a prime 15 man, after which I’d return to America. One factor you understand. He’s must-watch TV, Tim Tszyu. He’s not going to wrestle to get alternatives as a result of individuals suppose they’ll beat him, and he’s nice to observe,” mentioned Hearn.
