Jeff Horn v Tim Tszyu: Australia’s most anticipated fight in danger of collapsing
Australia’s most anticipated fight is in danger of collapsing after Tim Tszyu threatened to take his wares elsewhere unless Jeff Horn and his team stopped dragging the negotiation chain.
Boxing/MMA
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Come to the party by next Friday or we’ll move on.
Tim Tszyu’s team have issued an ultimatum to rival Jeff Horn, declaring they’ll challenge someone else if Horn’s camp continues to delay locking in a fight.
Tszyu and Horn are close to finalising a deal for the much-anticipated stoush that would pit two of the biggest names in Australian boxing against each other.
The pair have nearly agreed on a bout for April 18 to be fought at 154 pounds (70kg — middleweight).
However, Horn’s camp is apparently dragging the chain on locking in a date for the fight.
This has frustrated Tszyu’s team, who have given Horn a deadline of next Friday to come to an agreement or they are moving on.
The son of legendary Australian boxer, Kostya, wants to fight the ‘Hornet’, but he doesn’t want to wait around.
Tszyu also doesn’t need a marquee fight against Horn to secure a world-title fight.
He has received countless opportunities to fight in the United States while he could also potentially bring two top-10 opponents to fight in Sydney.
Tszyu has said he is determined to become the best pound-for-pound fighter in Australia.
He sees a clash against Horn as the perfect chance to place himself in a prime position to contend for a world title.
At 25, Tszyu also feels that he holds the edge over a 31-year-old Horn, who is clinging onto his career at the highest level.
Despite this, the Brisbane-born welterweight is quietly confident of defeating Tszyu to keep his world title dream alive.
Horn, the man who famously made a name for himself by defeating boxing legend Manny Pacquiao for the welterweight title in 2017, is coming off an epic win over Michael Zerafa in their rematch in Brisbane last month.
He got his revenge by securing a majority points decision over Zerafa, who nearly ended Horn’s career earlier in 2019 by stopping him in the ninth round in last August’s Battle of Bendigo.
But Horn will have to be at his best to beat Tszyu, who is undefeated across 15 professional fights with 11 KOs. Tszyu’s last bout was a fourth-round TKO victory over Jack Brubaker.
The IBF No.7 and WBO No.9-rated junior middleweight has his sights set on taking down some of the biggest fighters in the world.
“I was just getting started. That was just a warm-up, I’m just getting started,” Tszyu said in December.
“We want world titles and we want them in Sydney.
“I’ll be ready for it (a world title shot) whenever it is — it’s all up to my team.”