Tszyu says he\u2019s just glad that he\u2019s on the other side of the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen much of it [the Zerafa-Tszyu build-up],\u201d he told media on Friday morning.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought them two being too nice to each other is not down my path.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet them do whatever they want. I\u2019m staying far away from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked if he thought it might be too early for Nikita to be fighting somebody as experienced as Zerafa, Tszyu mulled it over.<\/p>\n
Tim Tszyu says he\u2019s happy that he\u2019s far away from the build-up to his brother\u2019s fight with Michael ZerafaSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly – with [his] experience,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think the biggest part is that Zerafa\u2019s kryptonite is southpaws – and Nikita is a southpaw.\u201d<\/p>\n
When pressed on if he thought Zerafa might use his name in the pre-fight build-up, a visibly irritated Tszyu replied: \u201cI don\u2019t know, man. I really don\u2019t give a f**k to be honest with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, the former WBO junior middleweight champion hinted at when fight fans will see him back in the ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cFingers crossed we can secure something in the next couple of weeks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefuly I\u2019ll be able to fight by the end of the year, or next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tszyu spoke at length about how impressed he has been with his new head trainer, Diaz.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old spent weeks Stateside trialling different coaches, including renowned duo Rudy Hernandez and Abel Sanchez, before deciding on Diaz.<\/p>\n
Diaz has been in the fight game for over 40 years and has helped shape the careers of countless boxing champions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was looking for a Mike Tyson and Cus D\u2019Amato relationship – someone you can look up to,\u201d revealed Tszyu.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes when the fire is burning you can get somebody to ignite it back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s who I got.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a real loyal, passionate, family type man – and that\u2019s what I am as well and we clicked straight away. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m glad where we are at right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tszyu revealed that he had fallen out of love with boxing over the last several years, but training with Diaz has reignited his passion for the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoxing is in my blood. I\u2019ve realised that it\u2019s part of my DNA,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe love I have for it, what it\u2019s done for me, what it\u2019s given me. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe discipline. The life I\u2019ve always dreamed about.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve embraced it. I\u2019ve been watching old-school tapes, old fights.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust really fallen back into the process and the love back for it. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good feeling to have. The reason for it is being introduced to Pedro and his passion and love for the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diaz famously reinvented boxing legend Miguel Cotto, and Tszyu says he can see why.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiguel Cotto was one of my favourite fighters back in the day and I saw the changes that he made,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s crazy the names he\u2019s worked with – something like 20 world champions\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been there and done that and he\u2019s still got a burning desire in the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guy is a genius, his energy levels are insane.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tszyu says Diaz told him that he is a better fighter than his last opponent, Sebastian Fundora, but he just used the wrong tactics when they fought.<\/p>\n
“It’s going to be a bloody mess” | 00:40<\/p>\n
The Aussie says he is now becoming a more cerebral fighter under Diaz and it will pay off in the ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tactically prepare differently now, more strategically, I guess,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think more in there instead of relying on my destructiveness, because it can only get you so far in this sport.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tim Tszyu has bristled at the prospect of long-time rival Michael Zerafa using his name to drum up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-283286","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-boxing","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}