The ring return of former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu 24-1 (17) might’ve been delayed, but the fire to compete has never dimmed.
The 29-year-old Australian was scheduled to return to the ring in the Los Angeles on August 3 to take on undefeated American contender Vergil Ortiz Jr 21-0 (21).
But doctors were unhappy with the way a deep gash on his scalp was healing, a war wound caused by an errant elbow in his split decision loss to towering southpaw Sebastian Fundora 21-1-1 (13) back in March.
While sidelined for now, Tszyu says he will be ready for the top dogs in the 154-pound division as soon as he is cleared to fight.
“I can definitely go straight back into a world title fight because I didn’t come out of the Fundora fight as a loser,” Tszyu said to Fox Sports Australia.
“The whole world knows that. I didn’t get bashed.
“Even though Fundora won, I was hurting him. Did you see his face after the fight? See his nose?
“Other than a few bruises, I was fresh. I just had that cut. So of course, I can still go straight back into a big fight.
“I think [Errol] Spence beats Fundora and I think [Terence] Crawford wins as well, but it won’t be an easy fight.
“But I honestly believe I’m the king at 154.”
Speaking of the injury, Tszyu said: “I don’t have anything lined up. But I’ll be ready to go soon. As soon as I get the clearance, I’m in.
“When they give me the green light and I’m allowed to fight, I’m in.”
He added: “Right now there are multiple names flying around [for my next opponent].
“Of course I want to fight for the belts, I’d like to fight [Jermell] Charlo, Fundora, Erickson Lubin is out there and [Bakhram] Murtazaliev, the IBF champ.
“But right now it’s a waiting game, which is frustrating. I’m not somebody who likes to wait. But they’re saying I can return to sparring in early July. Which for the Ortiz fight would’ve meant two-and-a-half weeks of sparring.
“And I’m not going into a fight like that, unprepared. It would be complete stupidity.”
Tszyu still expects to get the opportunity to face the six-foot-six Fundora, 26, in a rematch.
“They were keen for the rematch. That was fine,” he said. “But because of [issues with] the cut, we then allowed the Fundora and Spence match to take place.”
As for a fight against the heavy-handed Ortiz, Tszyu is hoping that can be rescheduled down the track too.
“Hopefully Ortiz and I can get it on sometime in the future,” he said. “It’s a fight I definitely want, 100 per cent.”
For now, though, it remains a waiting game.
