Three months ago, the ‘Super Bad’ found his soul spirited away by the ‘Soul Taker.’ Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena ruptured into a standing ovation for the hometown boy as he became WBO (Interim) Light Middleweight champion. Come Sunday night, Tim Tszyu would be on for the first title defense against Mexico’s Carlos Ocampo. The 2011 Australian national champion, who is yet to face a professional defeat, carries a fabled legacy. His father, Kostya Tszyu, believes that the junior is doing an excellent job of managing it.
At Broadbeach, Queensland’s Gold Coast Convention Center, he will meet Ocampo. So should he win, he would be headed in the right way to the undisputed champion Jermell Charlo. Incidentally, the two were meant to clash early this year. But as it turned out, not once but twice, the American’s hand injury got in the way of a much-vaunted contest. Anyhow, Kostya Tszyu is happy with his son’s career trajectory.
Like father, like son – Kostya and Tim Tszyu
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The Russian-Australian boxer is a former Light Welterweight world champion. He enjoys far-reaching fame as one of the best boxers from the Down Under. The 2011 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee fought in his prime with Roger Mayweather, Julio Cesar Chavez, and Zab Judah. So while speaking to Perth-based WA Today, he said, “He’s the man. He has proven to the world, to all the people that never believed in him, that believed it was only his name. I’m proud of it.”
But given his experience fighting Mexican boxers, he cautions his son not to take the June 18 bout lightly. Moreover, the proud, practical father believes in focusing on one fight at a time. So talking about Tim Tszyu’s next plan of action, he said, “Let’s have that [Ocampo] fight first [before we talk about Charlo] and see how we go… I did my way by winning one title, then another, then another one. Over here, it’s only one opponent.”
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As an amateur, Tim Tszyu amassed an enviable record of thirty-three wins at the cost of only a single reversal. Finally, at age twenty-two, he turned professional, debuting against Zorran Cassidy in 2016. In the seventh year of his career, Tszyu remains unbeaten, with fourteen out of his twenty-two wins coming through knockouts.
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Who do you think is a better boxer between the father and son? Do share your thoughts and views with us in the comments below.
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