WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu 24-0 (17) says there is nothing remarkable about Sebastian Fundora 20-1-1 (13) apart from his height.
The 29-year-old Australian champion has been making last minute adjustments in camp to prepare himself for the almost six-foot-six southpaw from California, who stepped in at late notice to face Tszyu after original opponent Keith Thurman 30-1 (22) injured himself in training and was forced to pull out of their bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 30.
Tszyu and Fundora came face to face today and got to size each other up in person.
Fundora, 26, has not boxed since his brutal seventh-round knockout loss to Tszyu victim Brian Mendoza 22-3 (16) in April last year.
“The funny thing is last week I was speaking to Mendoza and out of nowhere we had a chat about Fundora,” Tszyu said.
“He said a few things. It was interesting to get that insight. Then a few days later me and him are on, it’s funny how worlds can align.
“He says [Fundora] is awkward, because he uses his height in different ways. But his punches don’t hurt.
“So I guess we’ll have to see on the night.
“Mendoza caught him with a clean punch. Didn’t take much. Clean, textbook left hook… that’s all it took.”
Tszyu predicted he would be in for an early night against the man they call ‘The Towering Inferno’.
“Don’t blink,” he said.
The style switch-up is something Tszyu admits he will have to overcome, but says it won’t be insurmountable.
“Just a week’s notice, a quick preparation to face a fighter like that. It’s David versus Goliath,” he said.
“You’ve got someone that tall, that lanky, who has a completely different style to Thurman, someone I’ve been preparing for eight weeks.
“But nothing fazes me, nothing worries me.
“The show goes on.”
Conventional wisdom suggest that Fundora’s lengthy frame will provide a big target for body shots, but Tszyu says he won’t necessarily be targeting the midriff.
“No particularly,” he said. “I’ll hopefully find the right shots. Every great boxer finds a way to win so whatever it is on the night.
“This fight is now a unification, the WBC has come on board which I’m grateful for. Another legacy defining type fight.
“I hope one day they say the Tszyus are the greatest family to step into boxing.”
Fundora will need to make some adjustments too, albeit not as many. He was scheudled to face Ukrainian puncher Serhii Bohachuk 23-1 (23) on the undercard, a fighter he says boxes similar to Tszyu.
“We got the call Sunday, very big news,” Fundora said. “Fighting for the WBC and WBO title, God works in mysterious ways. And I’m not complaining. I’m just going to work on what I need to do.
“With [Bohachuk], he was right handed, shorter than me and a pressure puncher. I feel it’s the same with Tim Tszyu.
“So I just need to stick with what I need to do. Stick to my plan.”
Fundora cautioned about reading too much into the Mendoza loss, a fight he was comfortably leading on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
“But with my fight against Mendoza, of course I lost but I thought the fight was easy before that,” he said.
“I’m just going to do my thing. Worry about Sebastian Fundora and nobody else.”
