Nikita Tszyu v Dylan Biggs: Australia’s youngest boxing champion’s booze-free pledge

He is Australia’s youngest boxing champion at age 21 – and is so dedicated to success in boxing he has never touched alcohol. Now Biggs has eyes on derailing the Nikita Tszyu hype train.

Meet the Australian athlete who has never touched a drop of alcohol.

Dylan Biggs is Australia’s youngest boxing champion and the 21-year-old is backing his ruthless dedication to the craft to leave Nikita Tszyu punch drunk in their blockbuster title showdown.

Queenslander Biggs (10-0, 7KO) will defend his Australian super welterweight title against Tszyu (7-0, 6KO) at Newcastle Entertainment Centre next Wednesday night.

It shapes as the domestic fight of the year.

In the blue corner is Tszyu, the youngest product of Australian boxing’s royal family who is nicknamed “The Butcher” because of his raw, high-octane appetite for bludgeoning opponents into submission.

Australian super welterweight champion Dylan Biggs will defend his title next week against Nikita Tszyu.

In the red corner is Biggs, the “Beaudesert Storm” who refuses to touch booze and has been described as Australia’s version of Ukraine boxing superstar Oleksandr Usyk because of his silent-assassin approach.

Biggs’ manager Brendon Smith has been involved in boxing for 34 years and believes the professionalism of his charge will derail the Nikita hype train in “Tszyu-castle”.

“Dylan is obsessive when it comes to boxing,” Smith said. “He is fully focused.

“He is so dedicated to succeeding in the sport he has never picked up a beer in his life.

“He has never put one beer to his mouth, let alone smoked a cigarette.

“Dylan won’t even have a soft drink and he barely touches a lolly.

Nikita Tszyu eats raw liver and other organs in the lead up to fights.

“He is true to his body. He is a real athlete and that’s what I admire about Dylan – his total commitment to boxing.

“Nikita is a dangerous fighter, so Dylan won’t be underestimating him, but his hunger will be the difference.”

While Nikita is cultivating an image as a boxing madman who has eaten cow liver, king cobra hearts, bull testicles and the eye of a pig before his recent fights, don’t be fooled by Biggs’ quietly spoken manner.

“I see a bit of Usyk in Dylan actually,” Smith said in reference the eccentric Ukraine heavyweight world champion.

“There’s no bullshit with Dylan, he calls a spade a shovel, but in saying that, he is developing his own character.

“At the end of one of the promo shoots for this fight, he had this steely look in his eye that Usyk gives.

“He did a smile and a giggle and said to Nikita, ‘Let’s get it on’.

“Everyone is talking up Nikita and that’s understandable because of the talent in his family, but let’s not forget he is the challenger and Dylan is the defending champion.”

The Australian title showdown is scheduled for 10 rounds but Smith believes Biggs will stop Tszyu to retain his belt and inflict the first loss of Nikita’s career.

Nikita Tszyu survived a major scare in his slugfest with Jack Brubaker in August.

“I honestly think this fight doesn’t go the distance,” Smith said. “That’s a comment out of respect to both sides and their power.

“Nikita has very good power but so does Dylan and I’ve never seen Dylan wobbled or hurt. He has a great chin.

“They have sparred each other before and Nikita knows first hand that Dylan can hit.

“I gave Dylan his nickname because he creates a storm when he’s in the ring.

“I can tell you there’s a storm warning for Newcastle next week and I hope Team Tszyu has a storm shelter set up because Dylan is coming to win.”

Originally published as Nikita Tszyu v Dylan Biggs: Australia’s youngest boxing champion’s booze-free pledge