{"id":620344,"date":"2026-04-21T01:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T01:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/620344\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T01:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T01:25:11","slug":"nikita-tszyu-vs-oscar-diaz-australian-star-opens-up-on-family-and-boxing-life-relationship-with-father-kostya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/620344\/","title":{"rendered":"Nikita Tszyu vs Oscar Diaz, Australian star opens up on family and boxing life, relationship with father Kostya"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nikita Tszyu is being maneuvered into the same world title timeline as his famous father Kostya, and despite \u2018The Butcher\u2019 this week outing a major difference between himself and the man considered Australia\u2019s greatest fighter.<\/p>\n

Only a fortnight out from Tszyu\u2019s latest Main Event headliner, Fox Sports Australia can reveal the 28-year-old\u2019s team privately believe he will be ready to challenge for gold around the same time as it took Kostya to beat IBF super lightweight champ Jake Rodriguez over 30 years ago.<\/p>\n

That timeline \u2014 14 fights \u2014 would also be quicker than older brother Tim, who was in appearance No.21 when he brutally beat Tony Harrison for the WBO interim super welterweight crown. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tszyu vs Diaz | Wednesday 6 May from 7pm AEST | Nikita Tszyu continues his rise in boxing as he takes on Spain\u2019s undefeated Oscar Diaz. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n

The declaration comes as the unbeaten Sydneysider \u2014 who is now readying to face exciting, young Spaniard Oscar Diaz on April 6 in Newcastle \u2014 also stresses that he isn\u2019t being distracted by the ongoing legal proceedings between his longtime manager Glen Jennings and older brother, who split from the agent last year. <\/p>\n

In fact, Tszyu has made several changes to this latest camp to ensure he stays separated from the drama, which he confirmed this week while also asking that they remain private.<\/p>\n

Despite staying away from his brother\u2019s most recent win against Denis Nurja, those close to Australia\u2019s popular fighting duo remain hopeful Tim will be ringside at Newcastle Entertainment Centre for Nikita\u2019s showdown. <\/p>\n

In a sit-down interview with Main Event\u2019s Ben Damon this week, the younger Tszyu stressed he was ready for Diaz, stressing his only concerns right now are the undefeated Spaniard, his daughter\u2019s first steps \u2026 and \u201cmaking sure my dogs aren\u2019t choking on anything\u201d.<\/p>\n

There is also no doubting the growing hype that continues to build around a fighter who, apart from being on an undefeated tear of 11 straight wins, is also now set to take on, in Diaz, what will be his seventh undefeated challenger. <\/p>\n

Diaz sends Nikita training message | 00:10<\/p>\n

Already, American Hall of Famer Timothy Bradley has made headlines by branding Nikita a better fighter than his former world champion brother.<\/a><\/p>\n

Fellow US great Paulie Malignaggi has also suggested the younger Tszyu can become one of the sport\u2019s most exciting champions. <\/p>\n

Yet when asked this week by Damon if his upcoming fight is also about breaking free from the large shadow created by both his father and brother, Nikita said: \u201cI\u2019ve never really thought about that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always thought of myself as an individual. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously everything I\u2019ve got came from my dad and my brother, but I\u2019ve always felt like an individual. I don\u2019t have to live up to anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Tszyu is only 11 fights into his professional career, it\u2019s understood his team are convinced this most entertaining, and unique, of Australian athletes could be fighting for gold within as little as three more wins.<\/p>\n

Nikita Tszyu.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n

And while that would bring comparisons to his famous father, Nikita this week opened up on the significant differences between himself and the \u2018Thunder From Down Under\u2019 \u2013 and how, specifically, that is even influencing this latest camp.<\/p>\n

Rather than completing part of his daily workouts, like road runs, alone, Tszyu instead drives to a nearby park so that his wife, also Nikita, young daughter Curiosity, even his dogs can be with him as he works out.<\/p>\n

Asked about the routine, Tszyu suggested it is about spending as much time with family as possible and changing up the experiences he had growing up as the son of a global boxing megastar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to spend as much time with my family, my daughter, as I can,\u201d Tszyu explained.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Growing up], it\u2019s something I didn\u2019t fully have with my father. We were more separated.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad was focused on his career and I don\u2019t want my relationship with my daughter to be the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know my dad had to do that because that\u2019s the position he was in.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd from his experiences as well, he felt that he missed out on life with his kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s now remarried, has two kids with his new wife and he\u2019s doing the mundane things with them. And he enjoys that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe tells me how much he loves it, how he\u2019s sorry that he missed out with us — it\u2019s just something he had to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m not willing to make that sacrifice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d rather not achieve as much in boxing but still be close to my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tszyu vs Diaz | Wednesday 6 May from 7pm AEST | Nikita Tszyu continues his rise in boxing as he takes on Spain\u2019s undefeated Oscar Diaz. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n

Tim, Kostya and Nikita Tszyu in 2024.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n

Tszyu said he understands there are many reasons why other fighters may choose to do things differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could also be your own selfishness, to want to do things a particular way,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut I always try to fit my family in as much as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I could definitely go for a run around the streets, put my headphones in and run in solitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I go out of my way to run in a park where I can have the dogs off leash (and family present).<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to drive over 40 minutes to go to a national park, or a reserve, just so I could have the dogs run with me. To me that\u2019s important. It helps me feel better and connect more with my family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the most motivating factor for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tszyu also said having daughter Curiosity nearby when he trained was perfect for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have the opportunity to bring her along with me, and I want her to be part of my life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe means everything to me \u2026 and it\u2019s the life I would prefer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tszyu announced the birth of his daughter in June last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cCuriosity Tszyu,\u201d the boxer wrote on Instagram. \u201cNamed after the NASA Mars Rover, Curiosity.<\/p>\n

\u201cCuriosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is this powerful force of curiosity which has led humans to become explorers, scientists, historians & artists.<\/p>\n

\u201cCuriosity is the everlasting flame burning in all of us that compels us to ask questions, to wonder, to learn, to grow and to know.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs parents, we hope our daughter\u2019s name will give her the courage and strength to explore life without fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay her own curious mind be the guiding compass leading the way as she grows to understand herself and the world around her.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Curiosity\u2019s parents, we vow to nurture her spirit of adventure and use the principles of the Japanese Bushid\u014d \u2018The Way of The Warrior\u2019 as a guide to raising her.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nikita Tszyu is being maneuvered into the same world title timeline as his famous father Kostya, and despite…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620345,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-620344","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\/620344","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=620344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}