Nikita Tszyu could be gone from Australian boxing within five fights.
Or measured another way, however long it takes to afford that remote Blue Mountains acreage with three chickens, two goats and a cow.
But who knows?
Could be it’s that troublesome left hand which cruels The Butcher first.
You know, the one still hurting every time he spars.
Which sounds like a problem, right?
Nikita Tszyu vs Lulzim Ismaili | Wednesday 20 August 7PM AEST | Order this PPV event now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
Tszyu to show ‘no mercy’ vs. Ismaili | 02:02
Just like those old blokes with busted noses will talk about the younger Tszyu’s propensity for getting hit, and how fixing that requires more than eating your wife’s placenta.
And maybe in his year out, Tszyu has done both.
But what of the pressure that now comes with being No Limit’s newest poster boy? Or the cerebral damage suffered from having sat ringside as your big brother loses one, two, then three world title fights?
So with your appetite for breast milk and Michael Zerafa no-shows likely exhausted – and with Tszyu now only hours away from making his hyped return to the ring — these are the issues we can now start talking through.
Same deal, four words scrawled inside an Illinois jail cell.
Don’t start crying now.
Understanding, this is exactly what American fighter Mikey Dahlman saw first night of his second stint inside.
When laying back on his bunk, and wondering how the f*** things had again got so bad, this fella now looking to play his own part in cruelling Australia’s latest Tszyu fairytale had everything change by simply looking up.
“And the words, they were right there,” says the fighter readying to upset Michael Zerafa in the co-main, “right as tears were forming in my eyes”.
But more on the danger of double figure underdogs below.
Same deal whatever motivation Tszyu takes from being promised, in victory tonight, an oversized box of sex toys.
For with Australia’s Dark Prince now finally returning to the ring against European prospect Lulzim Ismaili, we look at the six big questions hovering over his comeback.
START TIME AND FULL CARD: Everything you need to know
IS NIKITA’S LEFT HAND COOKED?
According to his longtime manager Glen Jennings, the answer is unequivocally ‘no’.
Yet after undergoing multiple hand surgeries since last October, and having not one, but two return dates delayed, Tszyu has done nothing to quell concerns this past week — suggesting his left mitt “is not in the greatest position” and “still in the healing process”.
Of course, in the next breath Nikita also tells you “the hand is f***ing fine, don’t worry”.
Speak with Jennings later for some clarity, and the manager stresses this is simply one of Australia’s quirkiest athletes doing his thing — and insists his fighter’s plight will be no different to what scores of NRL and AFL stars do weekly.
“The hand has well and truly repaired,” Jennings insists. “And that’s coming from the surgeons.
“They’ve also said the soreness (Tszyu experiences), that may never go away.
“But that’s no different to what NRL players are doing every week, and it doesn’t stop them from performing.
“So the issue is gone, and the team has moved on. I just think Nikita needs to get through this fight and he can also then put it all aside himself.”
No Limit – No Limit – Weigh Ins for NIKITA TSZYU v LULZIM ISMAILI fight night Pictures: No Limit Boxing/Gregg PorteousSource: Supplied
WHAT IMPACT HAS BIG BROTHER’S TITLE LOSSES HAD?
Less than two years since being talked up for Canelo, Tim Tszyu suddenly finds himself on a run of three straight world title losses – including two brutal stoppages against Bakhram Murtazaliev and Sebastian Fundora.
And good luck if you want to say The Soul Taker is done.
We won’t.
Yet more than having been ringside for all three of big brother’s defeats, it was also Nikita who threw the towel last October during Murtazaliev’s beatdown.
And there are plenty questioning how all this impacts a fella.
Asked by Fox Sports Australia this week about the strain, mental or otherwise, Tszyu has taken from Tim’s defeats, all three of which he entered as favourite, and the fighter initially takes a long pause.
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Tim Tszyu after his loss to Sebastian Fundora. Picture: InstagramSource: Instagram
“Nah,” he says eventually, “I don’t think it’s affected me.
“I certainly don’t fear losing.
“And we’re in our different worlds.
“Yes, our worlds are connected … but I’m on my path and Tim is on his.”
The Butcher also stressed he feels no pressure to restore any family reputation, or continue a run that has seen all three Tszyu’s never lose on Australian soil – with the current tally at 51 fights and counting.
HOW HEAVY IS THE CROWN?
Given Tim Tszyu’s losses, there is undeniably growing pressure on little brother to now do some of the heavy lifting for promoters No Limit – and in tandem with IBF welterweight title contender Liam Paro.
“When Tim Tszyu loses,” Jennings says, “the light of Australian boxing undeniably dims.
“And that’s because you could walk down the main street of any town in Australia and say ‘do you know Tim Tszyu?’ and the answer will be yes.
“What other fighter in Australian boxing can you do that with?
“Give it a try and let me know how you go …”
But the kicker?
“It also now means,” Jennings adds, “someone else now gets their chance”.
Specifically, Nikita.
While the most likely – and lucrative – domestic option for The Butcher is a showdown with Michael Zerafa, it’s understood No Limit’s Rose boys are also keeping their options open, with Brock Jarvis another possible rival.
Zerafa ‘feels for’ Tim Tszyu after loss | 01:20
In short, with Zerafa continually talking up a fight with Tim Tszyu, and his continuing world title push at middleweight, No Limit could potentially switch to Jarvis should he win his own fight on tonight’s card against the undefeated Sam Beck.
Despite once being hailed a genuine world title contender at super featherweight, Jarvis has more recently moved up five weight classes, in part, to earn himself a shot at the undefeated southpaw.
As revealed on Tuesday, talks are already underway about the possibility of Tszyu headlining in Las Vegas next March, and on the same weekend as the NRL season opener.
To ensure such a bold proposal works, the Rose boys know their client will need, standing across the ring, another fighter whose name is recognisable to travelling rugby league fans – with American heavyweight great Evander Holyfield’s son among those being discussed.
WHAT WILL TSZYU REVEAL TONIGHT?
Despite all the jibber involving those mystic benefits of eating your wife’s placenta, what really matters tonight is learning what improvements Tszyu has made to his game in almost a year away.
Given he has been unable to punch hard, Tszyu says the layoff has given him valuable time to make significant adjustments, both offensively and defensively, while also learning to become “a more patient, thoughtful fighter”.
Given he only boasts 10 fights, The Butcher is undeniably a work in progress.
Elsewhere, the fighter’s ability to learn on the run, and often while headlining under the bright lights, should also not be underestimated.
But apart from proving ring rust isn’t real, or winning as well as he should against an opponent paying $14, Tszyu must also show he has made the necessary improvements to take the oversized step that would be fighting Zerafa – whose own career includes outings against the likes of Erislandy Lara, Kell Brook, Peter Quillin and Jeff Horn.
Nikita Tszyu vs Lulzim Ismaili | Wednesday 20 August 7PM AEST | Order this PPV event now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
Tszyu explains why he drinks breast milk | 02:56
Say what you like about Pretty Boy – plenty do – but there is no doubting Australia’s boxing villain will be the toughest test for a fighter who, so far, has been progress perfectly by those around him.
As an interesting aside, a Tszyu win tonight will also see him gifted the most uniquely prize anywhere in Australian sport.
As part of a wonderful promise from Australia’s premium online adult store Taboo Hub – which, of course, doubles as one of his trunk sponsors — Tszyu has been promised a box of sex toys if he wins.
“Yeah, I’ve asked for a mystery collection,” he laughed this week. “Just said ‘surprise me’.”
CAN A FORMER US INMATE PLAY SPOILER?
First time he fought professionally, Mikey Dahlman knocked his rival right out of the ring.
“Barely even felt it land,” he grins of the brutal right hand. “But yeah, through those ropes and laid out by the judges …”
And OK, so that same fella from some place called Kalamazoo would eventually fight 13 times, and lose all of them.
But still in 18 fights, Dahlman has 16 finishes – making him that puncher’s chance in every sense tonight against Michael Zerafa.
So while he may not be fighting Tszyu, this two-time Chicago inmate is still convinced he can play spoiler and ruin his proposed all-Australian grudge match against ‘Pretty Boy’ for December.
“I’m very well aware of the Tszyus,” Dahlman explained after Tuesday’s weigh-in.
“Kostya, of course, is a Hall of Famer while Tim has also been on the big stage for a while.
“And while I’m not as familiar with Nikita, I’m definitely embracing the idea of becoming a massive roadblock in his plans.”
So as for how he upsets Zerafa, whose has won twice since being brutally stopped against WBA middleweight champ Erislandy Lara in 2024?
No Limit – No Limit – Weigh Ins for NIKITA TSZYU v LULZIM ISMAILI fight night Pictures: No Limit Boxing/Gregg PorteousSource: Supplied
“Ah, I’ll leave all that until fight night,” he grinned. “But I really think I’m going to surprise some people.”
Getting a prediction from Tszyu’s own rival meanwhile has been far more difficult this week, with the Macedonian saying little, with or without the aid of an interpreter. At the weigh-ins, for example, he topped out with only five words for The Butcher: “See you in the ring”.
Yet Dahlman.
His life changed on a sentence even shorter.
Scrawled on the underside of a jailhouse bunk he stared up at every night.
“During my second stint,” he recounts.
“I’d already done 11 months, and now here I was again on a dope case, doing four more.
“And I can still see it vividly.
“That moment I looked up, first night inside, and saw those words: Don’t start crying now.”
Which given where everything was at for him, he was just about to do.
“So I’d love to know who wrote it,” he grins.
“Because that’s when everything changed for me.
“That was the moment I said ‘OK, I’m done with this’ …”
So much so that on the day Dahlman got out, he never went home – but straight to a boxing gym.
Now tonight, he plans to play spoiler.
WHAT CHANCE NIKITA TSZYU WALKS?
While he may be morphing into something akin to Australia’s pay-per-view prince, it’s been whispered more than once that Nikita, at any time, could give it all up to go bush and effectively disappear forever with his young family.
Unlike big brother, who is driven by greatness, The Butcher sees the fight game as a means to an ends.
Sure, he has that inner darkness. Loves hurting people and all that
Still, it’s understood he likes the idea of disappearing more.
So as for how long The Butcher will be around?
“Nikita is the first to admit he isn’t in this for the long haul,” Jennings says.
“Boxing isn’t the be all, end all for him.
“Nikita has a family he wants to set up, has financial goals, and I’m helping him reach them.
“So that could see him gone sooner rather than later.
‘Dark things’ Nikita’s emotional reveal | 02:17
“And if Nikita does come to me five fights from now and says ‘thank you, I’ve got what I need’, then he has my full support.
“Or maybe he wins a world title and retires.”
Undeniably though, Nikita isn’t Tim.
“If you were to compare the brother’s careers after 10 fights, they don’t look that different,” Jennings continues.
“Nikita though, has always sat on that top table at press conferences.
“So he’s had to mature a lot faster.
“Adapt to the pressure a lot quicker.
“But does that also mean he is going to follow his brother’s path? No, I don’t think so.”
But the point Jennings really wants to make.
“While these Tszyu boys are here,” he says, “appreciate what we’ve got.
“Because there ain’t no more of them.
“And when Tim and Nikita are winning, the light of boxing here burns that much brighter.
“They’re the best thing for Australian boxing since their dad.”