It's certain Tim Tszyu will not go ahead to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. on August 3rd at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) can’t take the fight because his cut from last March is still healing and will not be ready by August. It will take more time before he’s ready to return to the ring. The twenty nine year old suffered the cut in a gruelling twelve-round split decision battle against Sebastian Fundora on March 30th.
It must be noted, however, that Fundora came in as a last minute replacement for Keith Thurman.
In that defeat against Sebastian Fundora, Tszyu also lost his WBO 154-lb title.
It would have been extremely dangerous for Tszyu to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. (21-0, 21 KOs) with the still-healing cut, which might have opened up once he started getting hit. A power puncher like Ortiz Jr. is the wrong type of fighter for Tszyu to be facing at this point. Many boxing fans felt that Vergil would have beaten Tszyu because he’s fighting at a high level now that he’s moved up to 154. There’s no word yet on when Tszyu will return to the ring or new date for the bout against Ortiz.
He'll probably go for a rematch against Sebastian Fundora or engage Terence Crawford; the latter though, is unlikely because Crawford is fighting in the main event on August 3rd against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov.
Considering the damage he sustained in his last fight, Tszyu’s handlers need to consider how to gradually restore him back; not in a rush, in order to prevent an aggravation to the injuries on his scalp. He can’t fight the best fighters ir compete at his best until he’s completely healed.
“We are bitterly disappointed with the setback, and Tim is extremely frustrated after a great Pre-camp with Kostya Tszyu,” stated George Rose: CEO of No Limit Boxing, about Tszyu’s injury. “He showed everyone that he’ll fight through anything against Fundora, but this decision was taken out of his hands, to be honest. Ultimately, it was his body and medical professionals telling him he wasn’t ready".
Be the First to Comment