Tim Tszyu v Jeff Horn: Pre-fight stoush over who walks out second has both camps enraged
Tensions continue to rise in both the Jeff Horn and Tim Tszyu camps as they bicker over an age-old boxing tradition which — whatever the outcome — will leave one corner fuming.
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Jeff Horn’s promoter has blasted the Tim Tszyu camp over which fighter will walk out first as pugilistic egos boil over in the build-up to their Townsville blockbuster on August 26.
What should be a relatively simple matter — deciding which fighter walks out first or second — is suddenly a migraine with Horn and Tszyu at loggerheads over the walkout process for their super welterweight clash.
Horn’s promoter, Dean Lonergan, argues ‘The Hornet’ should make the final grand entrance because he is contractually the main man, listed as the ‘A-side’ of the fight who will pocket 60 per cent of the purse.
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But Tszyu, the ‘B-side’ with 40 per cent, believes he is entitled to walk out second because he is defending the WBO and IBF-affiliated regional belts.
Interestingly, Australian boxing fans believe Horn should enter the ring first. Of more than 5000 respondents on website Aus-boxing, 64 per cent claim Tszyu has earned the right to walk out last.
The Tszyu camp won’t budge on their demand, prompting Lonergan to lash the son of Kostya for disrespecting former world champion Horn as tensions rise.
“Not only will Tim Tszyu walk out first, he will leave the ring first because Horn will knock his arse out and send him back to NSW with his tail between his legs,” Lonergan said.
“Tszyu is saying he wants to go second but I’m saying no chance of that.
“Tim’s promoter Matt Rose and myself have to decide the walkout process.
“Unfortunately, we can’t agree. Rose is blowing up saying Tim should walk out second, but I’ve said stick it up your arse, Jeff Horn is walking out second.
“Tszyu thinks because he has a regional belt that he should walk out second, but he’s kidding himself.”
Lonergan accused the Tszyu camp of defying decades of boxing convention.
“Traditionally in boxing, the guy who walks out second is always the ‘A-side’ of the fight and contractually, Horn is the A-side,” he said.
“Horn is earning 60 per cent of the purse on this fight to Tim Tszyu’s 40 per cent.
“There is a significant difference between Tim, who has fought a few local Aussie battlers, and Jeff, who has fought the best fighters in the world in Manny Pacquiao and Terence Crawford.
“Tim is trying to stamp his authority on this fight but he is getting way ahead of himself and his station in life.
“When Jeff fought Terence Crawford in Vegas, Jeff was the world champion, but he allowed Crawford to come out second out of deference to the fact that Crawford was a four-time world champion.
“Jeff showed respect for Crawford and Tim should show the same respect here.”
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Jeff Horn insists he will be fully fit to square off against Tim Tszyu despite suffering a coronavirus scare in the build-up to their super welterweight blockbuster in Townsville on August 26.
‘The Hornet’ was ordered by doctors to undergo a COVID-19 test after suffering a sore throat that has left the former world champion’s voice sounding as hoarse as that of Broncos legend Darren Lockyer.
A positive result would have thrown the Tszyu showdown into chaos, but Horn was relieved to get the green light and is ramping up preparations to consign the son of Kostya to the first defeat of his professional career.
Horn’s voice was still raspy when he spoke to News Corp on Wednesday but is adamant the fight will go ahead and says there are no excuses as he looks to build on his epic defeat of Michael Zerafa in December.
“I don’t know what’s going on with my throat,” said Horn (20-2-1, 13KO), a surprise $2.62 outsider with bookmakers to beat Tszyu (15-0, 11KO).
“I don’t have a cold or the flu or anything, I’ve just lost my voice which is a bit weird.
“It’s been nearly a week now that I’ve had this issue with my throat. It’s a mystery where it’s come from, I haven’t been yelling at all.
“I did have a sore throat, so I got tested for coronavirus.
“I had the test just recently. Thankfully I got the all clear. It was a bit uncomfortable with the stick going up my nose but it’s nowhere near as painful as getting punched in the face.
“I’ve been having plenty of lemon tea to fix my throat. It’s not affecting me at all, I will be fine for the fight.”
Tszyu has faced his own issues, with the 25-year-old forced to abandon his training base in Sydney and relocate to the Gold Coast a fortnight ago to beat Queensland’s COVID-enforced border closure.
Mindful of his tendency to fatigue at the back end of fights, Horn’s trainer Glenn Rushton is putting the 32-year-old through a punishing training regime to ensure The Hornet has some sting in the ninth and 10th rounds.
“Glenn wants me at the same level of fitness that I was at for the Manny Pacquaio fight (in 2017),” Horn said.
“It’s definitely been the most intense training I’ve done for a few years. We want to make sure I am ready to go the full 10 rounds.
“I can’t let Tim win this fight and I will be doing my very best to stop him winning, so I will be going through some hell in training to ensure that is the case.
“I don’t want to be missing those fitness levels if the fight goes into those final two rounds.
“I am a lot more confident this time in terms of preparation than I was before my first fight against Michael Zerafa (which he lost).
“I feel nice and strong … I will be ready to go.”
RAZOR PUNCHES AND HEAD STANDS: TSZYU’S EXTREME TRAINING
The razor punch. The coin catch. The head stand.
Tim Tszyu is incorporating extraordinary skill tests once used by his father Kostya to sharpen his arsenal to defeat Jeff Horn in three weeks.
Tszyu can cut a newspaper page in half with one punch, catch four coins thrown simultaneously before they hit the ground, and stands on his head three times a week after training to strengthen his neck.
The 25-year-old boxing star has been practising the tricks since he was six years old watching his father become a world champion, and says the exercises originated in Kostya’s birthplace of Serov, a small mining town on the foothills of the Ural Mountains in Russia.
“He used to lead by example, but now I think I’ve got him in the bag,” Tszyu said.
“It would have originated in Russia, the Soviet type of training.
“Back in those times there wasn’t the modern technology or proper equipment, so they had to deal with what they had.
“The coins, that’s about quick reaction and accuracy. In the olden days in Russia, especially in a poor town like Serov with less than 100,000 people, you don’t have much, so a simple coin chuck and being able to grab the coins before they hit the floor is a quick reaction drill.
“I’m doing it with four coins now, soon I’ll be doing five, I’ll get it, trust me.
“The paper punch is from Russia, my dad always used to do it.
“It’s all about technique, you can have a super-heavyweight punch, it doesn’t matter how heavy his hands are, you’ve got to punch properly, it’s got to be completely sharp like a razor blade.
“Even standing on your head is quite different to what people do now. Still, I believe in the old school methods, all the old school fighters they reached the top by doing these things. It strengthens your neck.
“I’ve been doing it for a long time.
“As a young kids I was always doing little drills like that.
“In boxing you’ve got to be able to incorporate everything.”
WHEN IT HAPPENS
Tszyu is attempting to emulate the feats of his undisputed champion dad, and that road to glory begins against Horn on August 26 in Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
It is the biggest fight of Tszyu’s young career, with the undefeated Sydneysider (15-0, 11KO) and Queensland hero Horn (20-2-1, 13KO) expected to fight in front of a live crowd of 16,000 people — which would be the biggest boxing event in the world in 2020.
If the anticipated crowd is reached, the Horn-Tszyu super-welterweight showdown will draw more than February’s record-breaking heavyweight rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas, that had 15,816 fans inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Originally published as Tim Tszyu v Jeff Horn: Pre-fight stoush over who walks out second has both camps enraged