Nikita Tszyu vs. Dylan Biggs fight: No limit threaten Biggs after weigh in media snub
No Limit Boxing sensationally threatened to fine Dylan Biggs, when he failed to show up for media obligations after weighing-in ahead of his blockbuster showdown with Nikita Tszyu.
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No Limit sensationally threatened to dock Dylan Biggs 25 per cent of his fight purse after the Queenslander initially failed to complete mandatory media obligations ahead of his blockbuster pay-per-view showdown with Nikita Tszyu.
After weighing-in at the Civic Theatre in Newcastle on Tuesday afternoon, Tszyu conducted his all-in press conference and interviews, but when it came time for Biggs’ press opportunities, he was nowhere to be found.
After a 20 minute delay, Biggs, who had returned to his hotel, came back and completed his press duties.
But promoters No Limit were still furious at the Queenslander as a number of media outlets had already left.
Tszyu’s manager, Glen Jennings said it’s another example of Biggs’ camp not pulling their weight in promoting the fight.
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“If you want to get on a No Limit and a Tszyu pay-per-view, you need to sell it,” Jennings told this masthead. “You need to engage people to buy a pay-per-view or put a bum on a seat.
“You can’t just show up and go through the motions, and Dylan Biggs has just said, ‘no’.
“You’re happy to get a paycheck, but you need to put out.
“Nikita’s carried this entire promotion on his own shoulders, and there’s even been a bit of a negative reaction to Nikita.”
Biggs’ team said the weigh-in media mishap was a simple misunderstanding.
“No one had told us there were any more commitments,” Biggs manager, Brendon Smith, told this masthead. “He hasn’t stopped. He’s done everything he’s been asked.
“We thought it was all done, so we walked back to the hotel. They called us, and we went straight back.”
Tszyu and Biggs engaged in an intense stare down after they both made weight on Tuesday afternoon, before The Butcher gave the Beaudesert Storm a short message.
“I just said, ‘May the best man win’. It was a simple exchange between two warriors coming together before war,” Tszyu said. “One survives. One moves on.”
Biggs, meanwhile, said he saw fear in Tszyu’s eyes.
“When you’re drained and depleted mentally and physically, you’re not as strong as you would be normally,” Biggs told this masthead. “It shows the true colours of your character.
“I saw fear in his eyes, and he didn’t look ready.”
Tension has been steadily rising this week as the rival camps argue over who walks to the ring second, the scales in place at the weigh-ins and the officials to be used on fight night.
Jennings said it reeks of desperation.
“There’s a lot of insecurity on their side,” he told this masthead. “It’s an ongoing soap opera.
“Perhaps it’s their way of taking some of the pressure off their 21-year-old fighter who will be under the lights for the first time.
“When there’s a new set of complaints every day, you wonder if they want to be here and if they’re going to turn up.”
Biggs’ team hit back hard, saying they’re just sticking up for their fighter in reaction to the perceived favouritism they believe Tszyu is receiving.
“It’s his promotion and that’s going to happen, but I’m the champion and I should be treated as such,” said Biggs, who is set to headline his first pay-per-view card.
“He’s said that the media and the attention will get to me, and that I’ll crumble under the lights. But it’s just a bunch of people talking. It’s not a big issue.
“The crowd can’t fight for you, it’s just me and him in there.”
After an increasingly heated week during which Tszyu labelled Biggs “cocky” and a “brat”, Smith even said he wouldn’t be surprised if fans turn against Tszyu on fight night.
“If anything, it’s backfiring and Dylan’s gaining more fans across the country,” he said. “Nikita’s losing fans, and that’s disappointing.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see him booed on fight night.”
Tszyu said he hasn’t read any of his opponent’s complaints, giving a typically offbeat response.
“I don’t listen to it. I don’t hear it,” he said. “I’m too busy watching pizza tutorials on YouTube. I’m trying to make pizza dough.”
Biggs, the defending Australian champion, risked being fined up to $10,000 by No Limit over the promotional spat.
“There’s a number of things they have failed to do, so we need to sort this issue out urgently,” said No Limit CEO George Rose..
“We have to address the lack of commitment from Team Biggs in regards to their contractual obligations.
“They signed a contract and they aren’t upholding their side.
“We have two of the hottest prospects in the country, but there is constant complaining.
“Nikita has put himself out there to promote the fight and we feel it’s been a calculated ploy at their end to act in this manner.
“It’s not good enough.”
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