Nikita Tszyu has revealed he will likely have problems with his troublesome left hand for all of his career, revealing: “There’s just a pain in there and I don’t really understand why”.
The surprise admission comes as The Butcher has also opened up on the newest addition to his comeback training regimen — disappearing into the forest for hours to cut timber just like heavyweight legends George Foreman and Muhammad Ali.
After almost a year out of the sport – and multiple surgeries on that power left hand – the younger Tszyu sibling is finally returning to the ring for an August 20 headliner against undefeated Macedonian, Lulzim Ismaili (12-0).
Nikita Tszyu vs Lulzim Ismaili | Wednesday 20 August 7PM AEST | Order this PPV event now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.
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As part of preparations for his comeback, the Sydneysider recently took Main Event cameras with him into the scrub for those training sessions inspired by legends like Ali, Foreman, even Floyd Mayweather.
More recently, other boxers who have taken to chopping wood in preparation for fights include superstars like Anthony Joshua, Ryan Garcia, even Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
For Tszyu, the regular trips into the forest have been as much about preparing him mentally as physically for this month’s hyped No Limit pay-per-view return — especially given the unbeaten 27-year-old hasn’t fought in a year.
After defeating Koen Mazoudier last August, the fighter then underwent his first hand surgery in October.
Since then, he has twice had proposed comebacks cancelled.
Eventually, whispers even emerged suggesting Australia’s undefeated star – and a fighter now ranked inside the super welterweight top 15 – could be contemplating retirement.
Speaking this week however, Tszyu admitted that while the thought of being forced to give up the sport prematurely did enter his mind, there was never any official discussion of calling it quits.
“I mean, if the hand was getting to a point where it didn’t recover then, yeah, possibly,” he said when the question of retirement was put.
“Because when we tried to come back earlier this year, we did a sparring session and (the hand) just blew up again
“It seemed a lot worse than what it really was so we took another bit of time, let it rest.
“Didn’t rush the process.
“And now it’s at a state where it’s good enough, does the job.
“Not perfect, but that might just be something I have to deal with throughout my career.
“Maybe I have to have a little bit more extended time after fights just to let it heal up.
“A lot of fighters have to deal with injuries.”
Nikita Tszyu is finally ready to return to the ring later this month.Source: Supplied
Asked how worrying things got, Tszyu continued: “I wasn’t so close to actually calling it, but the thought was always there.
“I could barely even touch it.
“It was really sore so the thought was there.
“But I was never actually in the process of calling it quits.”
So as for what exactly is wrong with the hand?
“I couldn’t even tell you,” he shrugged.
“We’ve had surgeries on it, seen multiple physios … there’s just a pain in there and I don’t really understand why.
“We’ve just figured out a way to maintain it.
“It happened in preparation to fight Jack Brubaker (in 2023), so that was four, five fights ago.
“I’ve had it for a while.
“(Initially) it was only on one side of the hand and then it migrated to another point.
“It just slowly got worse and worse over the fights.
“I’ve kind of just dealt with it but I couldn’t say what the hell was wrong with it, honestly.”
Elsewhere, Tszyu also spoke about adding an axe to his list of training tools.
“I need firewood sometimes,” he grinned.
“It’s also quite meditative.
“Being alone in the woods, hearing the sound of the axe.
“Also, it’s a physical task but it’s not like an overwhelming physical task.
“It takes an hour to get one cut done and your muscles, your forearm muscles … it’s a good
session to mentally build yourself up.
“There’s a lot of historic value, too.
“Connection to how people used to build their shoulder resistance.
“I feel like I’m connecting to that old -school style.”
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Asked how it all translates to the ring, he continued: “The motions of using the axe are not the exact same as punching.
“But they both use a lot of upper body rotations, upper body movements.
“Even the legs, your legs have to be planted.
“The body’s a whole unit and training it as one is important.”
Tszyu also admitted to feeling at home during the process.
“It’s kind of like a motivation for me,” he explained.
“The end goal for me is to be able to get away from this sport and be up in the woods.
“So having a little taste of it now, even in my training, it gives me strength and energy to proceed.”
Tszyu said the extended time off this past year had also allowed him to work on his craft, enjoy “living a little bit”, and be with his wife for the recent birth of their first child, Curiosity.
“There’s been a lot of frustration with the hand, especially given it wasn’t healing quickly,” he said.
“So I’ve really just been focused more on technical skills.
“On building some physical foundation outside of punching.
“I’ve also really enjoyed living a little bit.
“The sport is quite overwhelming at times and having this little bit of a break was nice to kind of set me in my ways.
“I know what I’m working for.
“What the end goal is.
“And it was just, it was beautiful.
“My wife has moved down from Brisbane too so I got to really be there for her as she was going through a pregnancy and we’re creating a family.
“So I was not complaining at all.”