already has a Spence blockbuster agreed for the US summer<\/a>, Australia\u2019s longtime pay-per-view king has decided to first roll the dice on a \u2018warm up\u2019 bout against undefeated Albanian Nurja.<\/p>\nOn Tuesday morning, the pair squared off for the first time inside Sydney\u2019s Bondi Boxing gym, with the Aussie then hanging around to watch on as his rival did an open workout for media.<\/p>\n
Immediately after the showdown, Tszyu suggested his rival not only looked ready but was, thankfully, \u201cmy height\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat hasn\u2019t happened for a while,\u201d the fighter grinned. <\/p>\n
Tim Tszyu faces off with Denis Nurja.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
Tszyu also declared Sunday\u2019s Wollongong headliner the perfect chance to prove himself ready for Spence Jnr.<\/p>\n
With plenty of talk already surrounding the blockbuster scheduled for July or August, Tszyu was asked if he wanted to use the Nurja fight to show what\u2019s coming when he throws down with \u2018The Truth\u2019?<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, it\u2019s only natural, right?\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd being totally honest with you, I want to kill this guy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to f***ing annihilate him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut while I want that dog to come out in me, it has to be at the right time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the key.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about me learning to control that dog in me.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnsuring it comes out at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n
And while \u2018The Phoenix\u2019 may have been happy to go the distance in his December outing against Anthony Velazquez, the Aussie famed for his heavy hands has promised a different outcome at Wollongong Entertainment Centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to knock this f***ing guy out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Yet despite his bold declaration, Tszyu stressed he wasn\u2019t underestimating everything coming this Sunday.<\/p>\n
The fighter then added he will prove himself the right opponent for Spence, who is readying for a hyped comeback to the sport after sitting out for almost three years since losing to Terence Crawford.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you know the biggest thing I\u2019ve learned amid all the bulls*** and people trying to f*** with you? It\u2019s put your head down and do the work,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are talking about Errol Spence, about this, and this, and this.<\/p>\n
\u201cThing is though, this Sunday I\u2019ve already got an opponent standing there. That\u2019s my focus.\u201d<\/p>\n
How new training regime changed Tszyu | 07:46<\/p>\n
Tszyu and Spence have been linked to a showdown for years, and ever since Tszyu first headlined what would end up being a bloody Las Vegas title loss against towering American Sebastian Fundora.<\/p>\n
As part of their rivalry, Spence has announced several times in Tszyu fight weeks that he was betting on the opposite corner, including when \u2018The Phoenix\u2019 fought Americans Gausha and Harrison.<\/p>\n
Way back in 2023, and on the eve of fighting American Tony Harrison for WBO gold, Australia\u2019s pay-per-view king branded Spence \u201ca punk\u201d and hinted that they could be set for a future showdown.<\/p>\n
The declaration followed Spence, at the time still ranked No. 4 on the world\u2019s pound-for-pound list, taking to social media to declare he was wagering $10,000 on a Harrison upset, and after also having unsuccessfully backed Tszyu to get beat by Terrell Gausha.<\/p>\n
Then prior to Tszyu\u2019s Las Vegas headliner against Sebastian Fundora early the next year, Spence again took to social media in fight week, writing on \u2018X\u2019: \u201cHeaded to Vegas. I want the winner\u201d.<\/p>\n
And just to ensure everyone understood exactly what he meant by that, the 34-year-old Texan added video imagery of a shark.<\/p>\n
So as for Spence now dropping some cash on almost $7 underdog Nurja?<\/p>\n
\u201cNah, nah, he won\u2019t do that,\u201d Tszyu laughed. \u201cOr I hope he doesn\u2019t try that. Surely not \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Nurja, meanwhile, had no issue with Tszyu\u2019s threats to annihilate him. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is no problem,\u201d the Albanian said simply. \u201cI will be ready, Tim will be ready and the ring will decide it, not the talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two huge names revealed for Tszyu card | 02:41<\/p>\n
And as for Tszyu maybe overlooking him?<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand these thoughts but he still has to pass through me before thinking about Errol Spence,\u201d he warned. \u201cIt\u2019s no easy task.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s better not to talk about what\u2019s next or the plans before a fight. We have a lot of plans we want to carry out and don\u2019t want to give away anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Tszyu also praised the continuing changes being made under new Cuban coach Pedro Diaz, the man famously responsible for guiding 20 world champions and as many Olympic medallists.<\/p>\n
Tszyu said the changes to his training regime, which included less sparring, had him coming into Sunday\u2019s headliner feeling fresh, confident and with what he promised to be an improved fighting style.<\/p>\n
Watching Tszyu training since his return to Sydney for fight week has also shown a fighter with improvements in both his head movement and foot work.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything is so scientific now,\u201d Tszyu said of his preparation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich is great. Has me so much fresher.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I\u2019m somebody who needs to have the brakes put on them at times.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore previous fights, I\u2019ve got all excited and said how I\u2019m going to run a marathon and all this sort of s***<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m a boxer.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd again, that\u2019s why I need someone to but the breaks on me. Someone to stop me from going crazy.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because Pedro has done that, I feel fresh.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn training, we mimic every scenario rather than just hit the pads<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see me using the reaction balls.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are we doing that? We\u2019re working the brain.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just about the physical, getting tired.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, it\u2019s about using your energy systems the correct way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tim Tszyu is ready to show the world why he deserves a shot at Errol Spence Jnr, saying…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575445,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-575444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575444","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=575444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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