Dad banned again: Team Tszyu reveals why Kostya has been kicked out from fight week
He’s been banned before, and now Tim Tszyu has kicked out his dad from fight week again. Plus, you won’t be seeing brother Nikita in his corner.
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Kostya Tszyu has been banned from fight week, while younger brother Nikita has been “kicked out” of the corner for Tim’s rematch with Sebastian Fundora in Las Vegas this weekend.
Meanwhile, a win this weekend will catapult Tszyu back towards big-money fights with the most elite boxers in the division.
Kostya was a surprise late arrival in Orlando ahead of Tim’s world title showdown with Bakhram Murtazaliev last year, sparking scenes of heart-warming family reunions.
The last time Kostya had been at one of Tim’s fights was the first one, at the SCG way back in 2016.
He was banned then after causing a nuisance in the corner, but welcomed back, albeit briefly, last year.
After the hugs and catch-ups in Orlando though, Team Tszyu now admits ‘KT’ was an unwanted presence as the world title fight approached.
“I didn’t really feel a pressure, but my dad isn’t just a normal dad that comes in and supports his son,” Tszyu said before one of his last training sessions in Las Vegas this week. “He brings a different presence, feeling and aura when he walks in.
“I’m not used to that and nor have I been used to him my whole time.
“That’s why it rattled me a little bit, not in a disrespectful way, but it just felt different.”
Kostya’s appearance also changed Tim’s fight week mentality.
“I don’t like to feel soft, or vulnerable before a fight,” he said. “It’s warrior mentality.
“The fact my dad was there, it was a little bit of emotions from that, but I’m more stoic when I get into the ring and before the fight.
“That’s how I like to feel.”
That’s why, despite enjoying some of the best moments of his glittering career at the MGM Grand, Kostya won’t be in attendance this weekend.”
Jennings was there when Kostya scored a stunning second round upset knockout win over Zab Judah at the famous fighting venue, but says the ‘Thunder from Down Under’ created unwanted distractions in Orlando.
“I wouldn’t say meddling – he didn’t really do anything wrong – but Kostya creates a wave around him anyway,” he said. “And indirectly, that wave sometimes splashes around the team, and Tim and our team, we’re not used to that.
“I’ve got nothing bad to say about Kostya being there, but I don’t believe it helped.
“There’s this expectation that his dad would have and all that stuff.
“I would prefer not to have that for Tim. I’ve got the utmost respect for Kostya. He’s a great mate of mine, but as Tim’s manager, I think that we’ve just got to keep it really quite insular, which we’ve done this time.”
Jennings stressed the importance of this weekend’s fight, and says winning another world title will lead to even bigger opportunities than fighting on the same card as the legendary Manny Pacquiao.
“We’ll go home with leverage and the opportunity for big paydays,” he said. “The path can go one of two ways, and if Tim wins the belt, we believe we can take whatever belt we want next.
“We’ll have the leverage to say, ‘We want Charlo, we want Spence, we want all these big guys’.
“But the 154 pound division has changed as well. Charlo’s in the wind, Spencer’s in the wind. You’ve got Murtazaliev and Israil Madrimov, and Keith Thurman wants a piece as well.
“But the only thing on our agenda now is Fundora this weekend.
Meanwhile, Nikita won’t be working the corner, with ‘The Butcher’ joking he’s been “kicked out”.
Nikita was a last-minute addition to the corner for the Murtazaliev fight after cut man Mark Gambin needed an emergency appendectomy and couldn’t fly.
Nikita ended up throwing in the towel after Tim was dropped four times in three rounds, in a move widely praised by the likes of Jeff Fenech and Johnny Lewis.
But that looks like being Nikita’s last stint in the corner, with the 27-year-old in Las Vegas, but not given an official role.
“I’ve not been asked, I’ve been booted from the position,” Nikita joked. “I didn’t get the email but I did get booted.
“I was just the bucket boy anyway. I didn’t have that big of a role.”
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