Junior middleweight contender Tim ‘The Soul Taker’ Tszyu 19-0 (15) is preparing for arguably the toughest test of his career when he takes on Takeshi Inoue 17-1-1 (10) at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia on November 17.
Inoue has only lost once on points to power-puncher Jaime Munguia 37-0 (30) in Houston, Texas in his lone world title shot in January 2019.
The 31-year-old Japanese boxer is ranked IBF number 15 and seven by the WBO.
Tszyu, 26, of Sydney, Australia knocked out late replacement Stevie Spark 12-2 (11) in three rounds his last outing in Newcastle, New South Wales in July. Spark stepped in at the last minute after Michael Zerafa 28-4 (17) refused to travel interstate due to concerns about Covid-19 protocols.
Tszyu has made it his mission to clean out the domestic ranks before facing world-rated international opponents.
Prior to facing Spark he knocked out former world title challenger Dennis Hogan in five, world-rated Bowyn Morgan in one, former WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn in eight and Jack Brubaker in four.
Inoue is a come-forward type with an aggressive style and a solid chin. It is a risky fight for Tszyu who is already ranked number one in the world by the WBO behind their champion Brian Castano 17-0-2 (12).
“It’s a different prep this prep is all about conditioning, all about being grit, being strong, being able to last the twelve rounds because this guy’s built like a brick wall,” Tszyu told Main Event’s Ben Damon.
“You’re going to punch him, punch him, punch him and he’s going to keep moving forward and those type of opponents are very hard to deal with at times.
“Strategically I know what’s going on, but for me this fight’s more about being in a crazy conditioning state.”
Tszyu was looking to face former WBC 154-pound champion Tony Harrison 28-3-1 (21) before talks fell apart.
Tszyu is looking to keep his five fight knockout streak alive by becoming the first boxer to take out Inoue within the distance.
“I don’t want the last bell to ring,” Tszyu said.
“It was frustrating at first because my mind was focused fully on Tony Harrison and I was ready to get my hands on him and I was psyched because I knew it was going to be a good challenge.
“He’s a good boxer. But you know what, the ball moves on. You’ve got to keep adapting and overcome what obstacles are put in front of you and Takeshi Inoue is the next one.
“I don’t take a step back and he doesn’t take a step back and that’s going to mean there’s going to be a clash. It’s going to be good.”
Tszyu is the eldest son of former undisputed junior welterweight champion and International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Kostya Tszyu.
