WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu 24-0 (17) has warned fans attending his title defence against Sebastian Fundora at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night to be ready to “catch a flying head”.
The 29-year-old Australian was originally scheduled to face Keith Thurman 30-1 (22) in a 155-pound non-title bout before the former WBC and WBA welterweight champion withdrew from the bout after suffering a biceps injury in training.
Enter Fundora, 26. The six-foot-six Californian southpaw will be having his first world title bout. Both the WBO strap and the vacant WBC belt at 154-pounds will be on the line.
“I’m literally firing right now and I feel different,” Tszyu said to CBS Sport. “I think it just came from the news that Thurman is out. Before, I was too relaxed. Now, I’m not.
“I haven’t felt this way in a long time. I’m learning news things in the game. I’m just willing to test myself out every time.
“I think it’s quite obvious [Fundora] is tall. But he uses his uppercuts to his advantage and they are quite long. A lot of people have the same plan to get inside because he is so tall. But they also underestimate my skills.
“I know what to do with southpaws and I know how to fight tall guys. I’m going to hurt him bad. Someone in the crowd is going to catch a flying head. That’s the plan.”
The news of Thurman’s withdrawal came less than a fortnight before the scheduled bout. Fundora, who was slated to box on the undercard, wasted little time in accepting the assignment when the fight was offered to him.
“It has been a whirlwind week, but in a good way,” Fundora told The Ring. “When [promoter] Sampson Lewkowicz called last Sunday to tell my dad that the fight with Thurman fell through, but the fight could still go on if I was willing to take the fight.
“We had an idea of fighting Tszyu later on, but they told us Tszyu’s WBO belt is going to be on the line with the WBC as well, so without a doubt we said yes. I had the interim WBC belt, so this will be my first title fight. It just happens to be for two belts.
“This opportunity is a big surprise, but it is a good surprise. The way I was training we would be ready for what I would say anybody… That we get this fight now, I would say everything is lined up right.”
There is more on the line that just belts, too. The winner is expected to face former two-weight undisputed champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 40-0 (31) in their next bout.
“[Crawford] is an opportunity to become great, for sure,” Tszyu said. “Once the opportunity arises for Crawford, that’s going to be a war.”
