‘He will become world champion’: Stunning Tszyu prediction after epic battle against Brubaker

The man who helped guide Kostya and Tim Tszyu to world titles predicts Nikita will become the third member of the famous fighting family to collect a championship belt.

Nikita Tszyu earned a sixth-round stoppage victory against Jack Brubaker in front of a capacity crowd at the Hordern Pavilion. “The Butcher” was the overwhelming favourite, but didn’t have it all his own way.

There were plenty of scoring punches in the epic battle between Nikita Tszyu and Jack Brubaker.Credit: No Limit / Gregg Porteous

Tszyu fell to the canvas after a head clash that was deemed a knockdown – the referee later apologised for the incorrect ruling after the fight – and then walked into a right hand that he admitted scrambled his memory.

The 25-year-old, who will go for scans to check if there is a facial fracture, overcame the setbacks to record a memorable victory. Brubaker lasted longer against Nikita than Tim – his corner threw in the towel in the sixth round on Wednesday night – in a wildly entertaining affair.

Tszyu admitted afterwards that he is still far from the finished product as his team consider pitting him against Australian super-welterweight champion Dylan Biggs in his next fight. However, manager Glenn Jennings, who has also been in the corner of Tim and Kostya, was bullish when asked if he felt Nikita could eventually become a world champion.

“It’s a good question, but none of us have a crystal ball,” Jennings said.

Nikita Tszyu gets the job done.Credit: No Limit / Gregg Porteous

“Nikita has got a lot of work to do, he’s still learning, [trainer] Igor [Golubev] is still uncovering things with him and working on things.

“But in my heart, I believe both the boys will be world champions in their time.

“It’s certainly not a race for us, he’s younger than Tim. Whilst we keep him busy and learning the craft, my personal thoughts are, yes, he will be a world champion.

“He’s got a lot of things to learn and get better at. We are realists and we know that he’s got a long way to go.”

Plenty of respect between Nikita Tszyu and Jack Brubaker.Credit: No Limit / Gregg Porteous

It was a big night for Australian boxing. Liam Wilson recovered from the disappointment of his controversial loss to world champion Emanuel Navarrete with a commanding win against the previously undefeated Argentine Carlos Maria Alanis.

However, the night will be best remembered for a cracking contest between Tszyu and fellow slugger Brubaker.

“I had to face adversity, copped a nice little headbutt and scored my first knock down,” Tszyu said.

“Jack can take a hit, I was hitting him with some pretty hard shots and he was walking back at me every time.

“It was a little annoying, to be honest.”

Tszyu was non-committal about the prospect of a rematch – “Ask management, I don’t call the shots” – but is now likely to contest for an Australian title.

Tszyu extended his record to 7-0, but not until after surviving an even bigger test than that posed by Ben Horn.

“Boxing is still new to me, every time I step into the ring it’s still a new experience,” Tszyu said.

“I’m glad to go a few more rounds. More fights like this will be hugely beneficial for me later in my career, these tough tests where you really need to dig in deep.

“I feel like if it was any other opponent, the shots would have finished the fight. But Jack has a granite chin, he is known for it and definitely showed it today.”

Tim Tszyu, who will be soon be elevated from interim to full super-welterweight WBO world champion, will announce his next opponent on Thursday.

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