‘Have to put him down to win’: Dire warning for Tim Tszyu ahead of world title showdown
More than a few experts say this will be the toughest fight of Tim Tszyu’s career, with Bakhram Murtazaliev unlike anyone the Australian has ever fought.
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He’s a Chechen beast with a scary string of knockouts at the highest level.
And next weekend, world champion Bakhram Murtazaliev promises to deliver Tim Tszyu his second straight defeat.
There’s more than a few experts who believe he’ll pull it off too.
This is a guy who wouldn’t be out of place training with the likes of UFC phenoms Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, and will give Tszyu the toughest test of his career to date.
Put simply, he’s unlike anyone the Aussie has ever fought.
BOXING: TSZYU V MURTAZALIEV | Tim Tszyu faces off against undefeated IBF super welterweight champ Bakhram Murtazaliev | SUN 20 OCT 10:30AM AEDT | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports
“I’ve trained many Russian fighters and Chechen boxers and they’re tough as nuts – it’s not going to be an easy fight,” Los Angeles-based Australian boxing trainer Justin Fortune tells this masthead.
“They’re hungrier.
“These Chechnyans and Russians, they’re tough as shit.”
Fortune was a high-level heavyweight in his fighting days and even took on Lennox Lewis in 1995 before becoming a successful trainer.
The Aussie was a mainstay in Manny Pacquiao’s corner for some of the biggest bouts in boxing history, including his ‘Fight of the Century’ against Floyd Mayweather.
And Fortune has a warning for Tszyu.
“You’re gonna have to put him down to stop him and beat him,” he said. “He’s the world champ, so you’re going to have to beat him decisively to take the title from him.
“That’s usually the way it works.
“I always back the Aussie to win, and I think Tim’s bigger, but he’s not going to steamroll him. Especially not a Russian – he’s defending a title, so he’s not going to give it up easy.”
The 31-year-old IBF champion, who hails from Grozny, has barely spoken to media in the lead-up to this fight.
That fits in with his mysterious aura ahead of his showdown with Tszyu, but hasn’t made the build-up easy.
In fact, No Limit believes Murtazaliev hasn’t been pulling his weight in promoting the fight, while Tszyu has done everything he can to talk it up.
“We’ve had a lot of difficulty getting hold of Bakhram and getting access to him in Australia,” No Limit CEO George Rose said. “We want to be able to talk to him and help promote the fight.
“He’s very confident, but as far as having regular contact, it’s been very difficult.
“There’s two people in this fight, but at the moment it feels like Tim Tszyu’s doing all the heavy lifting. He’s been making himself available.
“He’s done a fantastic job promoting this fight, but it’s been hard to get hold of Bakhram and the rest of the team.”
Instead, the devout Muslim has maintained a relentless training regime in Glendale, California as he looks to “walk through Tszyu” on the way to unification bouts in the future.
In fact, he says Tszyu has been saying too much.
“He’s the most hyped name,” Murtazaliev told Fight Hype last week. “After beating him, a lot of boxing fans will know who I am.
“He talks a lot.
“I believe on fight night we’ll know who the better man is.
“What I like about Tim is I don’t need to chase him.”
There’s also an underlying storyline between the two managers. Murtazaliev is managed by the powerful Egis Klimas, who was in Sydney with middleweight world champion Janibek Alimkhanuly in early October.
Klimas repeatedly voiced his frustrations over every minor detail of fight week in Sydney and at one point ominously promised “payback”.
He was also highly critical of Tszyu’s corner after his bloody world title defeat to Sebastian Fundora in March.
But Tszyu’s manager Glen Jennings has shut down any talk of a rift between the camps.
“I heard he was still spraying off and carrying on that Tim should have replaced his corner and all that stuff,” Jennings told this masthead. “I made no effort to go and introduce myself and say hello (in Sydney).
“I don’t think there will be anything to worry about. It’s a PBC show, so he doesn’t own the shows.
“He’s been around a long time and he knows how to plant seeds and how to try ruffling feathers.
“That’s okay, I know where he’s coming from, but I don’t think there’s too much they can do.”
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