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<\/p>\nThis is Fox Sports Australia\u2019s combat sports column Fighting Words, where we give you all the latest news and views in MMA and boxing, from Australia and abroad.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s Tim Tszyu has taken aim at suggestions he\u2019s secretly sparring younger brother Nikita \u2014 and getting his \u201cass whooped\u201d \u2014 in preparation for a hyped showdown with US superstar Errol Spence Jnr.<\/p>\n
The declaration comes as Tszyu has also confirmed his shock new role in an upcoming Australian movie, while also revealing how new coach Pedro Diaz has overhauled the fight style that rendered him a \u201csitting duck\u201d against Bakhram Murtazaliev.<\/p>\n
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Only days after jetting back into Sydney for his Easter Sunday showdown against Denis Nurja, Tszyu has hit back at a bizarre tirade from retired American great Tim Bradley.<\/p>\n
Fundora vs Thurman | Sunday 29 March from 11am AEDT | WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Sebastian Fundora will return to the ring looking to continue his 154-pound reign against the former unified world champion Keith Thurman. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n While the Spence showdown has yet to be officially confirmed, Tszyu has already begun sparring southpaws in preparation and told<\/a> Fox Sports Australia <\/a>only last week <\/a>he even considered a leftie for his impending \u2018warm up\u2019 fight on Sunday week. <\/p>\n Speaking around the same time on his growing YouTube channel, Bradley surprisingly took the big stick to Tszyu, branding the former world champ \u201cdone\u201d, then set to be KO\u2019d by Spence, before even suggesting he\u2019s getting beat up in sparring by his younger brother.<\/p>\n Bradley said Nikita, a southpaw, had now surpassed \u2018The Phoenix\u2019 as a fighter, saying of Nikita in their supposed sparring sessions: \u201cHe been whoppin\u2019 his arse. I know he do. I know he be whoopin\u2019 his ass in the gym, for real \u2026 but they don\u2019t be talkin\u2019 about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about Bradley\u2019s comments on Wednesday, a clearly surprised Tszyu replied: \u201cI haven\u2019t heard anything \u2026 what has he said?\u201d<\/p>\n So we told him.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, my God,\u201d Tszyu laughed. \u201cIs that what you think Tim Bradley? Really? OK, go ask Nikita. Go ask him and you\u2019ll get your answer … get the f*** outta here.\u201d<\/p>\n How new training regime changed Tszyu | 07:46<\/p>\n Tszyu went on to say he has never met the retired champ and has no idea what\u2019s driving the clearly personal accusation.<\/p>\n Certainly, Bradley is no stranger to fight fans, having held multiple world titles and famously fought Manny Pacquiao in a hyped trilogy \u2013 winning a contentious 2012 split decision before losing the next two.<\/p>\n \u201cBut what I will say about Tim Bradley is that I watched those fights,\u201d Tszyu grinned. \u201cAll of them. And I remember Manny Pacquiao whoppin\u2019 him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always thought Manny won those fights. So even Bradley\u2019s greatest victory … it really is a Pacquiao win.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018I WAS A SITTING DUCK\u2019 <\/p>\n While the Tszyu boys may not be sparring together, both Tim and Nikita held overlapping sessions at the family\u2019s famed Rockdale gym on Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n Initially, Tim Tszyu had suggested he would be finalising his Easter Sunday camp in a gym closer to his home in Sydney\u2019s Shire, with some suggesting the switch had to do with his ongoing legal battle with former manager Glen Jennings.<\/p>\n However, Tszyu said on Wednesday he was now back working out of the family gym for one simple reason — it\u2019s closer to the hotel where coach Diaz and the rest of his new team are staying. <\/p>\n Quizzed on the changes being made to his style under the Cuban master, Tszyu said: \u201cLooking back on my old sparring sessions back in the day, bro, I used to be a sitting duck. A sitting duck.<\/p>\n \u201cSo when you get a sniper like Murtazaliev, I was just there …\u201d<\/p>\n Bakhram Murtazaliev walks to the corner after knocking down Tim Tszyu at Caribe Royale Orlando on October 19, 2024 in Orlando, Florida.Source: AFP<\/p>\n And why?<\/p>\n \u201cI got too comfortable,\u201d Tszyu continued. \u201cYou see me in my young days, I was a slick boxer. I was moving, had footwork, a nice one-two.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then I got into a different mode. Against Dennis Hogan, against Jeff Horn I just thought \u2018ah, I\u2019ll start bullying everyone\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201c[Laughs] I thought I was Artur Beterbiev.<\/p>\n \u201cIn training, I\u2019d skip for 15 minutes, do some shadow boxing, hit pads, smash it out on the bag, gas myself, and then do heaps of sparring. But now I\u2019m doing footwork, doing head drills, doing bag, doing reactions, working on mental skills \u2026 it\u2019s a new perspective and I\u2019m embracing that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018HOLLYWOOD\u2019 TSZYU TO PLAY DAD IN MOVIE<\/p>\n Still on Tszyu, and the 31-year-old has offered to pay Fighting Words an agency fee after being hired to play Hall of Fame father, Kostya, in an upcoming movie about iconic Australian boxer, Jeff Fenech. <\/p>\n Only a week after revealing in this column he would take the role if asked<\/a>, The Phoenix has been signed on by director Matt Norman to a cast already including the likes of Aussie actors Gary Sweet, Daniel Amalm and Nicky Whelan.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s happening,\u201d Tszyu confirmed with a grin. \u201cAnd I can\u2019t wait. Because while you only live one life, you\u2019ve gotta live it a thousand different ways. And that\u2019s exactly what I want to do. [Laughs] So any more opportunities, let\u2019s bring them out.\u201d<\/p>\n The film is set to feature an eclectic mix of Australian fight types, including former IBF super featherweight champ Gairy St Clair, Charlie Kazzi and Main Event\u2019s own Ben Damon. It\u2019s understood Amalm is already so devoted to the lead role of Fenech, he\u2019s begun training regularly with longtime Australian fight favourite Nader Hamdan.<\/p>\n Why is Tim Tszyu taking this fight?! | 02:00<\/p>\n OPETAIA SET TO BE STRIPPED AGAIN<\/p>\n