Tszyu\u2019s chilling last words at tense presser<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cHe gets the opportunity to cement his position in the history of global boxing, or even more so in the history of Australian boxing,\u201d Damon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA victory against a modern superstar, a former unified welterweight champion and one of the best fighters in or around Tim\u2019s weight divisions of his lifetime \u2026 if Tim Tszyu wins this fight, it\u2019ll be a victory that we talk about alongside some of the very, very best that we have ever seen on Australian soil.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an event to rival anything that we\u2019ve seen in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bloodied and beaten: Tim Tszyu during his first loss to Sebastian Fundora. (Photo by Steve Marcus\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u2018CLEARLY HERE TO WIN\u2019: THE \u2018GLOBAL SUPERSTAR\u2019 STANDING IN TSZYU\u2019S WAY<\/p>\n
Damon is in no doubt that defeating Spence, who Tszyu idolised while emerging as an up-and-coming talent a decade ago, would be an \u201calmighty task\u201d.<\/p>\n
And the 36-year old isn\u2019t taking his long-awaited return to the ring lightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people from Tim Tszyu\u2019s part of the world in his team and who support him were hoping that we might get a clocked out version of Errol Spence, who was turning up just to go through the motions,\u201d Damon said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not what we\u2019ve got. He is here for business. He is clearly here to win this fight. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s saying all the right things, he looks the part. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a real fight for Tim Tszyu. Errol Spence firmly believes that he comes here and does a job on him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spence\u2019s loss in July 2023 to Terence Crawford cost him his belts, his unblemished 28-0 professional record, and, until now, his status in boxing.<\/p>\n
There is every chance his date with Tszyu in Sydney will be his final appearance, win or lose.<\/p>\n
If the stakes are high for the Australian, the American in the other corner might just be fighting for even more.<\/p>\n
For Damon, a fight of this calibre can instantly wash away the last two years of heartache: or it can affirm that the Australian is a rung shy of the true greats.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you win this fight, it\u2019s a shortcut to the top,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re taking out a global superstar, and all of a sudden you are if not the guy, one of the guys in and around your weight division with that one win. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the same time, you\u2019ve got to beat the guy, and Errol Spence is someone who has an incredible resume. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s achieved so much through a boxing career that saw him as one of the purest pressure fighters in the modern version of the sport. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot to gain, but there\u2019s so much risk, because he is the real deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he does, as he appears to, have plenty left, then it\u2019s a very, very difficult fight to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
“This is the biggest test of my life” | 08:18<\/p>\n
\u2018IN THE RIGHT PLACE\u2019: THE AUSSIE FACTOR GIVING TSZYU HIS CHANCE<\/p>\n
To return with a bang, Spence needs to overcome more than 30 years of history – and in Tszyu\u2019s own backyard.<\/p>\n
Since Kostya changed Australian boxing forever by emigrating to Sydney in 1992, no one named Tszyu has lost a professional bout on home shores.<\/p>\n
The eldest Tszyu finished with a perfect 17-0 record down under; Tim himself has 25 wins without defeat; younger brother Nikita is 12-0 in Australia too.<\/p>\n
Battle of the brothers: Nikita Tszyu defeated Ben Horn by unanimous decision in January 2022. (Photo by Brendon Thorne\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
It is, quite literally, a generational run of family success \u2013 and in Damon\u2019s eyes, it will give Tszyu a crucial edge at Afterpay Arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that this fight is in Australia brings Tszyu right into calculations to win it,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf this fight was held in Texas or elsewhere in the United States, Tszyu would be a significant underdog. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut because of that home crowd advantage, and even more than that, the comfort factor of being at home knowing that his family is undefeated in this country, and having still the scar tissue of some of those fights held on American soil, gives Tszyu every confidence and every possibility of winning this fight. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis week, you can just tell what it means to him to be fighting in front of this crowd, to be so relaxed and ready, the right people around him, without the inconveniences of living this fight week in a casino on the other side of the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat puts him in the right headspace and in the right physical place to acquit himself to the best of his capacity, which perhaps were opportunities that weren\u2019t afforded him in some of those big fights in America.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Nothing left to say!” Tszyu V Spence Jr | 05:15<\/p>\n
\u2018SUPERSTAR AT HOME\u2019: HOW TSZYU CAN TAKE THE NEXT STEP<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no surprise that Tim Tszyu\u2019s career has forged a path previously trod by his father.<\/p>\n
For both, a dominant run in Australia led to opportunities \u2013 and riches \u2013 in the United States.<\/p>\n
Kostya took to the challenge like a duck to water. Tim \u2026 less so.<\/p>\n
But as he awaits a fight that will shape his future in the sport, Damon believes it\u2019s another boxing icon that Tszyu should seek to emulate should he rise, Phoenix-style, from the ashes of the first chapter of his career.<\/p>\n
And it would bring the 31-year old just as much stature as anything he could achieve on the other side of the Pacific.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea of needing to graduate to fight in the United States might no longer be a thing,\u201d Damon said. <\/p>\n
\u201cFrom an event like this, from bringing a name like Errol Spence to Australia to fight against a local and a former world champion, we do it as well as anyone. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo longer do you need to break through here in Australia in order to fight in America to fulfil this USA dream. <\/p>\n
\u201cNow, you can become a superstar at home, and you can make just as much money and develop your reputation just as broadly by doing exactly that.<\/p>\n
Tim Tszyu celebrates after defeating Denis Nurja to claim the WBO International Super Middleweight Title in April 2026. (Photo by Jeremy Ng\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw Jeff Fenech do it – his major fights were here in Australia, and he became the biggest name in the history of Australian boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tszyu\u2019s emergence onto the world stage proves that home soil domination, provided quality combatants keep coming, is enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cTim Tszyu\u2019s had plenty of fights in the US, but his big moments, notably Tony Harrison and Jeff Horn, have been right here at home,\u201d Damon added. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if he even needs to go back to the United States. <\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe if there was an offer that came and it had to be over there, or it was a rematch with Errol Spence and it had to be in Texas, then fine. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut otherwise, why not just continue to put on some of the biggest events in the entire world of boxing, around the corner from your house, in front of a passionate boxing audience, with some of the best broadcasting conditions that the sport has anywhere else in the world?\u201d<\/p>\n
A Spence victory would leave the boxing world at Tszyu\u2019s feet again: and this time, Damon believes, would be the most special of all.<\/p>\n
\u201cTim Tszyu\u2019s legacy is safe – he\u2019s won a world title, he\u2019s become a major name in the sport, and even more so, a mainstream name,\u201d the voice of Australian boxing said. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe was at one point one of the most Googled Australians that existed, he has the eye of the entire Australian sporting public, and obviously he has a passionate fanbase in Australia\u2019s boxing community. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever happens in this fight, Tim Tszyu will be very fondly remembered and respected off the back of what he has achieved as a fighter, as a personality, and as a popular mainstream athlete. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut he will want to win this fight for his boxing legacy. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe did become a world champion, but he hasn\u2019t had, outside of those big fights in those big moments with Jeff Horn and Tony Harrison and perhaps Brian Mendoza, the crowning moment at centre ring in Australia that he has been chasing.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE \u2018OUT AND OUT GUNFIGHT\u2019 LOOMING LARGE<\/p>\n
Tszyu enters the fight in the unfamiliar position of being the underdog \u2013 a status he wasn\u2019t faced with even in his twin defeats to Fundora.<\/p>\n
But with both Spence and the Australian out to make a statement as well as claim victory, Damon predicts the bout could soon turn into a \u201cgunfight\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a question mark over what version of Errol Spence we\u2019re getting. But he\u2019s turned up looking like a fighter who is prepared to go 12 rounds,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
“I’m from Texas, bro”: Errol stands tall | 07:40<\/p>\n
\u201cMy instinct is that whoever gets hit first is going to usher in a gunfight, and I think that both fighters at that point will be trying to prove that there is something that has been taken from their opponent. <\/p>\n
\u201cOnce one big shot gets through, I think we\u2019ll see both trying to finish it, and that might even happen early in the fight. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy inclination is we might see once there is an opportunity to do so, two fighters trying to destroy each other and to cement their own future and legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Damon, too, has something at stake as he prepares to call the biggest fight in recent Australian boxing history for Main Event.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually had a couple of conversations, and got a couple of messages, from his team yesterday and last night, asking me if I had any thoughts on potentially a nickname, should it be required, for the next stage of his career,\u201d Damon said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have a couple of ideas, but I would more likely just float them myself, spur of the moment, at the end of the broadcast if things go that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rose to fame as the Soul Taker. He returns now as the Phoenix.<\/p>\n
If more chapters are to be written in a remarkable story, Tszyu\u2019s next Damon-appointed moniker will likely be the most lasting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Tim Tszyu prepares for a battle royale with fellow former champion Errol Spence Jr, he must be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":823722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-823721","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\/823721","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=823721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/823722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=823721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=823721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=823721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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