Australian junior middleweight contender Tim Tszyu 19-0 (15) has warned Japan’s Takeshi Inoue 17-1-1 (10) that boxing is not a body building contest and has vowed to take his soul.
The 27-year-old Sydneysider’s comments came after Inoue presented at an open media workout this week looking ripped and as fit as a greyhound ahead of his challenge to the WBO number one contender at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on November 17.
“I couldn’t care less about my body,” Tszyu said to The Age. “As long as I’m feeling fit and strong, that’s the main thing. It’s not a body-building contest – it’s a fight.
“I saw a few photos. I saw he was ripped. I’m quite happy for him that he’s got himself into a real good shape and he’s confident.
“There’s no better feeling than facing a confident fighter and then take the soul out of them. The best thing about boxing is muscles don’t win fights. Everyone knows that.
“You could be in the best shape but it all starts in [the head]. I’ll be 10 steps ahead of him before he knows what he’s doing. This fight is all strategic, a bit of patience and the knockout will come.”
Tszyu, the eldest son of former undisputed junior welterweight champion and International Boxing Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, has fast become the face of Australian boxing.
He has been one of the most active boxers in the country during the global coronavirus pandemic, defeated former WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn in August last year, Bowyn Morgan in December, former two-time world title challenger Dennis Hogan in March and late replacement Stevie Spark in July.
Each of those victories has come within the distance.
Tszyu is looking to keep his knockout streak alive against the Inoue, who brings a walk-up, aggressive style to the ring. The 31-year-old lone loss was on points to then WBO 154-pound champion Jaime Munguia 37-0 (30) in 2019.
“I’m stronger than him,” Tszyu said. “I’m telling you, I’m stronger than him. “Muscles don’t do anything. I’m 10 times stronger than him and he’ll feel it when I push him back and his legs start to buckle.
“A lot of those Americans are very slick but sometimes they don’t have a heart and they’re easy to break down. These type of fighters are different. They keep coming forward. They get hit, they keep coming. This fight’s going to be very strategic and I’m going to have to play around with my shots. I will beat him sometime in the middle rounds of the match.”
Tszyu isn’t the only one predicting a knockout.
“I respect his results because Tim Tszyu has not lost,” Inoue said. “I respect also his boxing technique and I basically respect everything about him. But towards the end of the fight, I’m thinking of knockout. That’s how I’m practicing.”
