Boxing news: Tim Tszyu ready to conquer USA after signing landmark Amazon Prime deal
Tim Tszyu is eyeing a potential goldmine in excess of $30 million, after clinching a multimillion-dollar American fight deal that will make him one of the world’s hottest Aussie athletes.
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Tim Tszyu has declared he is the best boxer on the planet after clinching a multimillion-dollar American fight deal that will make him one of the hottest Australian athletes in world sport.
Breaking his silence on his landmark Amazon Prime deal, Tszyu outlined his plan to “conquer” the USA by unleashing pugilistic hell in Las Vegas as he eyes a potential financial goldmine in excess of $30 million on American soil.
Unbeaten in 24 fights, the world-champion Sydneysider flies to America on Monday primed to launch stage two of Mission Tszyu – global domination in his ruthless quest to become boxing’s pound-for-pound king.
In 2023, Tszyu morphed from domestic diamond to WBO super welterweight world champion with his savage beating of American Tony Harrison in Sydney.
Now, 2024 marks his planned ascension to global sporting greatness, starting with his offshore blockbuster against American Keith Thurman on Sunday, March 31 (AEDT) in his debut at the Mecca of boxing in Vegas.
The gargantuan rise of Tszyu is backed by the American media monolith that will propel the ‘Soul Taker’ to boxing mega-stardom.
At 29, Tszyu is the first Australia-born boxer in history to headline a pay-per-view card in the might of the USA.
Amazon Prime, which boasts 160 million American subscribers, is screening its historic debut boxing show and Tszyu-Thurman is the main event on a card that will feature several world-title fights, including fellow Australian Michael Zerafa’s bout with Erislandy Lara.
Australia has a proud lineage of world-champion boxers, including Jeff Fenech, Lionel Rose, George Kambosos, Jeff Horn, Jai Opetaia, Jason Moloney, Anthony Mundine, Danny Green, Billy Dib, Barry Michael, Lester Ellis and, of course, Tszyu’s famous father Kostya.
But no Australian has ever been the PPV jewel in the crown in a nation home to 330 million Americans … until now.
“It’s crazy what I’ve achieved, it’s mind-blowing really,” Tszyu said.
“I’m coming to conquer America.
“It won’t be the USA – it will be the Tszyu-SA.
“There’s going to be millions watching on this network.
“To say that I’m starting a new platform on Amazon Prime as the first headline show, there can only ever be one first. It can only be done once in history.
“My dad was never able to do this, it’s a crazy platform to launch my career in America.
“It’s an honour that is surreal, but I always envisioned this.
“As a kid, I wanted this dream – to fight in Vegas – and now I’m going to live it.”
Even allowing for his famous bloodlines, few expected Tszyu to emulate the greatness of his father Kostya, let alone potentially surpass him.
Kostya, ‘The Thunder from Down Under’, was ringside for his son’s professional debut before a small crowd at the hallowed Sydney Cricket Ground in 2016.
Four years later, Tszyu became the new golden boy of Australian boxing when he dethroned Horn, the Queensland schoolteacher who famously shocked Manny Pacquiao, with an eight-round masterclass in Townsville in 2020.
But it’s over the past 12 months that Tszyu has begun to send shockwaves through the wider boxing world.
After hammering Harrison to become a bona fide world champion last March, Tszyu ramped-up his brutality, obliterating Carlos Ocampo in 77 seconds before mauling Brian Mendoza on the Gold Coast in October to set up his foray into America.
Now the big time and the big fights on a massive broadcast network have arrived. Should Tszyu trounce Thurman (30-1) as expected, it could trigger a torrent of mega fights in Vegas against the likes of Terence Crawford, Errol Spence, Jermell Charlo and Mexican icon Canelo Alvarez.
“When Tim walks into T-Mobile Arena against Thurman, it will be the biggest moment in Australian boxing,” said No Limit boss George Rose.
“We’ve had great fighters like Kostya Tszyu, Jeff Fenech, Jeff Horn and Anthony Mundine, but none have headlined a pay-per-view card in America at the Mecca of boxing in Vegas.
“Terence Crawford, who is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today, hasn’t lost in 40 fights and he has been on American pay-per-view just once in his whole career. And he’s American.
“This Amazon deal for Tim is the greatest coup in Australian boxing – it’s groundbreaking stuff for our sport.
“Australian sport has some great global athletes like Sam Kerr (Matildas), Pat Cummins (cricket), Jordan Mailata (NFL) and Ben Simmons (NBA).
“Tim is now in the same domain, he is truly a global star.
“I believe he will be the greatest boxer our country has ever produced and when Tim starts wiping out guys like Thurman, Crawford and Spence, he will be in a league of his own.”
Sin City holds special memories for the younger Tszyu.
He celebrated his seventh birthday just 24 hours before his old man Kostya famously floored Zab Judah on November 3, 2001 at the MGM Grand in Vegas.
That venue is just 1700 metres from the 20,000-capacity T-Mobile Arena, where Tim will face his Vegas baptism against Thurman.
By year’s end, Tszyu hopes to seal an Amazon PPV blockbuster against Crawford to prove to others what he already privately believes.
“I’m the best fighter in the world,” he says.
“I truly believe it. I know it and basically I just have to prove it.
“The best thing is I’m no longer chasing, the biggest names are now coming to me, which is exactly what I want.
“I’m the best in boxing. I see myself in the pound-for-pound discussion, 100 per cent.
“I know what I am made of. I know how dominant I am and the desire I possess.
“I can’t be broken mentally.
“The first step for me was fighting nationally and becoming an Australian superstar, but now I want to take it to the next level and conquer America.
“I want to be a global brand and be up there with the elite of the best sportspeople Australia has produced.”
Tszyu knows Thurman is no mug. He has lost just once – a split-decision defeat to Pacquiao in 2019, when Tszyu was Manny’s sparring partner – and hasn’t been stopped in 31 fights.
But the Florida veteran is now 35 and has fought just once, a win over Mario Barrios in 2022, in almost five years.
Tszyu is more active. Sharper. Hungrier. And ready to lay down a formidable marker in The Land of Opportunity.
“By the end of the year, I’m hoping to fight guys like Crawford and Canelo,” he said.
“This fight against Thurman is all about statements.
“I’ve fought 24 times and won. No losses. Every bloke thinks they will beat me and it doesn’t happen. I will make it 25 soon and that streak will keep going this year.
“Last year, I became a world champion and this year, the butterfly is going to blossom.
“American fans don’t like boring fighters.
“They will like the style that I bring, I’m going to Vegas to do some damage.”
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Originally published as Boxing news: Tim Tszyu ready to conquer USA after signing landmark Amazon Prime deal
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