Chairman of Matchroom Boxing Promotions Eddie Hearn says Tim Tszyu’s recent defeats against Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev proved that he’s now an “elite level” junior middleweight.
Career Reset Is Required
Hearn states that the former WBO 154-lb champion Tszyu (25-3, 18 KOs) needs to invest in a career reset, rebuilding himself with a “couple of fights’ to start winning again. Eddie doesn’t say who Tszyu, 30, should fight that will return him to the vintage form he’d displayed before his losses to Murtazaliev and Fundora.
“I really like Tim Tszyu. I think he’s really entertaining. What has been proven is he’s not good enough to fight and win at the elite level,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to Jai McAllister, Boxing YouTube channel, reacting to the three recent failures for former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu.
The defeats for Tszyu against Fundora x 2 and Bakhram Murtazaliev showed that he’s not an “elite level” fighter at 154. Hearn added that there are better fighters than Fundora at junior middleweight, naming Jaron Ennis and Terence Crawford. He believes that Tszyu is down in the pack talent-wise, below Ennis, Crawford, Fundora, and Murtazaliev. Hearn didn’t mention any other fighters that he believes are above Tszyu.
Below the Top Tier
“I think the last defeat [for Tszyu] was really crushing because in the first fight [against Sebastian Fundora], he did really well. Then getting stopped by [Bakhram] Murtazaliev, and then coming and getting stopped by Fundora, it was a big blow. Fans are very quick to put you at the back of the queue. We’re not sure if he is elite world-class,” said Hearn.
Tszyu appeared overmatched from the first round against Fundora and was getting overwhelmed with the volume from the WBC 154-lb champion. On the inside, Tim got hit repeatedly with uppercuts and short hooks from Fundora. He showed no head movement to avoid the punches.
Mistake of the Rematch
“Going straight back to Fundora, a stylistic nightmare, was a mistake. He didn’t show any new tools to handle the height or volume. It was like watching the first fight all over again,” said prominent Sports Illustrated writer Chris Mannix, reacting to Tszyu’s loss to Fundora last July.
“He’s [Tszyu] has got to make the investment now to come back. That for me is to have a couple of fights to get back in the winning groove. I don’t know about his training, but he’s had a lot of tough fights, and those fights take their toll,” said Hearn.
Tszyu already took a rebuilding fight against a low-ranked fringe 154-lb contender, Joey Spencer, earlier this year on April 6th, and knocked him out in four rounds in Newcastle.
In that fight, Tim, 30, looked like the same talent that he’d been before his back-to-back defeats against Fundora and Murtazaliev.
“Tim’s a tough kid, but you could tell he was carrying some PTSD from those losses. He fought like he wanted to prove something, but he didn’t fight smart,” said WBA junior middleweight champion Terence Crawford to ESPN Ringside Commentary, discussing Tszyu’s psychological state during the Fundora rematch. “Against a guy like Fundora, you need movement and a plan B. He had neither,” said Crawford.
When Tszyu fought Fundora in their rematch three months later on July 19th, he was stopped in seven rounds by Fundora in Las Vegas. Tim looked worse than he had in the first fight against Sebastian on March 30, 2024.
