Tim Tszyu camp rocked as health scare takes key man out of his corner for world title fight, Nikita to take on support role
A key member of Tim Tszyu’s camp won’t be in his corner for the biggest fight of his life this weekend, yet his famous family will step-up to provide extra support.
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Kostya Tszyu won’t be drafted in as Tim’s late-notice emergency cornerman this weekend, but there will still be a family feel, with younger brother Nikita set to work the corner.
Team Tszyu was thrown into turmoil just four days out from Tim’s IBF super-welterweight world title fight with Bakhram Murtazaliev when longtime cut man Mark Gambin fell ill in Sydney and needed an emergency appendectomy.
Gambin was unable to travel to Orlando, with Tszyu’s manager Glen Jennings frantically searching for a late notice replacement on Tuesday.
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Kostya arrives in Orlando from Russia on Thursday night local time, and there had been talk of him stepping in on late notice to work the corner.
Kostya hasn’t attended any of Tim’s fights since his debut at the SCG in 2016 after being a “pain in the ass” for screaming out advice and encouragement for the entire bout.
But Tim says he’ll let his old man enjoy the action as a fan and proud dad this weekend.
“Imagine, cut man Kostya Tszyu!” Tim told this masthead while refueling on a lunch of chicken, scrambled eggs and avocado in his villa in Orlando. “Nah, I’ll let him sit down and watch it as a spectator.
“He’s got front row seats.
“I used to think it was about controlling my dad, but at the end of the day, it’s about how I control everything in front of me.
“Hopefully he behaves himself, and I think he will, but it’s about how I control it.”
Instead, younger brother Nikita – who had surgery on his hand last Friday and will return to the ring next year – will be enlisted to work the corner.
It will see the Tszyu brothers join Aussie twins Jason and Andrew Moloney in the rare case of an active fighter cornering a family member in a world title fight.
“Nikita’s a cornerman, it’s a family affair,” Tim said. “It’s good to have everyone on board.
“He’s done it once before, so this will be his second time.
“He’ll be the bucket boy.”
“It’s family. It’s family and loyalty and we all fight for each other.
“Everyone’s got my best interests at heart, and it’s just about having a bit of appreciation.”
Tszyu had an intense week-long training camp in Thailand with Kostya earlier this year.
Kostya hasn’t been actively involved in this fight camp beyond that training block, but Tim said he picked his former world champion father’s brain for pearls of boxing wisdom.
“Not the preparations, but (I’ve got) different methods and different advice from dad,” he said.
“It’s a great feeling to be able to do the same thing as my dad. And the fact that he’s there witnessing it – it’s special to me.
“It’s not really about proving anything to dad, but I just want him to really just sit there and have a little remembrance of what life used to be like.
“That’s gonna be good for me.”
Health scare wreaks havoc in Tszyu cam
Gambin was scheduled to travel to Orlando from Sydney with Nikita Tszyu on Wednesday, but fell ill on Tuesday night and was rushed to hospital for an emergency appendectomy.
Gambin was desperate to be back in Tszyu’s corner after the drama of the Las Vegas bloodbath against Sebastian Fundora.
“I’m shattered mate,” he told this masthead. “I was looking forward to this one.”
Gambin is a huge loss, and this will be the first of Tszyu’s fights he has ever missed.
“He was keeled over in pain and they rushed him to hospital,” Tszyu’s manager Glen Jenning told this masthead just moments after receiving the news.
“He had an extremely inflamed appendix and the surgeon said, ‘It’s gotta come out’ and they operated.
“I just spoke to him, it’s 1am there back home and he’s in recovery.
“We’re just shattered for him. It’s so disappointing to do all the work and then just have it wiped.
“We’re losing one of our very valued members, and we’re sad he won’t be joining us. We wish he was here.”
Gambin is the second casualty of fight week, with No Limit CEO George Rose also unable to travel. Rose had surgery after tearing his biceps off the bone at the Koori Knockout in Bathurst two weeks ago.
Team Tszyu has two options to replace Gambin, who is a long-standing and crucial element of the team.
One is to use fellow Aussie Mateo Tapia’s cut man, the other is to fly in an experienced New York-based corner man who is close with a trainer Tszyu has been working with in Las Vegas.
“We have an option that’s available to us,” Jennings said. “This has all just broken in the past 10 minutes, but we have an option that’s available to us right now.
“Mateo’s cut man is already licensed and he’s already working on the card.”
Tszyu’s trainer and uncle, Igor Golubev said Gambin still wanted to fly to Florida to be there for Tszyu.
“I spoke to Mark at the hospital 10 minutes ago and he was nearly crying, saying sorry and that he wanted to be here,” Goloubev said. “After what happened in the last fight, we wanted to all be back here together, but what can you do?
“He was saying he wanted to fly, but I’ve had the same thing and I can still remember the pain.
“It’s real pain.”
Gambin copped global criticism after Tszyu’s bloody defeat to Sebastian Fundora in Las Vegas in March.
He has worked two of Nikita’s fights since then, and successfully worked on a similarly horrific cut on Shannon O’Connell’s head two weeks ago in Sydney.
But this weekend was set to be his comeback to the big-time.
“I’ve always backed myself,” Gambin told this masthead last week. “I’ve been doing this for 15 years, and people don’t know how bad that cut on Tim’s head really was.
“Everyone can talk as much shit as they want. I’ve worked with football teams and have seen bigger cuts than that. It was just on a vein and it just wouldn’t stop.
“Unfortunately you’re only as good as your last fight.”
Meanwhile, Tszyu has brushed off serious concerns over the IBF-mandated second-day weigh-ins ahead.
After weighing in on Friday afternoon in Orlando, both fighters must weigh within 7.5% of the 154-pound super-welterweight limit on the morning of the fight.
It’s the first time Tszyu has ever had to undertake a second day weigh in, and there had been worries about his ability to do so.
But, speaking with this masthead in the lobby of his resort in Orlando, the 29-year-old hosed down those rumours.
“It’s not a concern,” he said. “I actually put on a lot of weight the night before a fight, and then I lose a lot of weight in the morning.
“That’s just how it happens. Usually when I weigh in on fight morning, I’d only be a little bit over, so the hydration stuff is not a worry at all.
“It’s just controlling a little bit of the food portions and it’ll be fine.
“It could be a good thing, because I’m not going to be feeling too heavy. I’ll be nice and sharp.”
Originally published as Tim Tszyu camp rocked as health scare takes key man out of his corner for world title fight, Nikita to take on support role
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